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Photojournalist, filmmaker and educator Ed Kashi has dedicated his career to documenting the social and political issues that define our times. His next project takes him to Nicaragua, where sugar cane workers are dying in record numbers from kidney failure, and no one seems to know why.

Help make this project possible through IndieVoices.

The Background

The average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar per year. In Nicaragua, which exports 40% of its sugar to America, the average life span of men who harvest sugar cane is 49 years. At the root of these early deaths is an epidemic of fatal Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu). In the town Chichigalpa, often called the “Island of Widows,” 1-in-3 men, mostly cane workers, are in end-stage renal failure. This fatal disease is not only a public health crisis, but also a social injustice.

The Project

The cause of CKDu epidemic is unknown. Kashi and his production team hope to use this documentary project to help draw attention and resources that could help save lives. Research on the subject of CKDu by La Isla Foundation has indicated that repeated dehydration, severe heat, and environmental toxins may play a huge part in the rising death toll among cane workers. These clues need further investigation and increased media coverage to find a solution to this critical problem. Images and film from this project will be made available to La Isla Foundation, and any other advocates working to raise awareness of the issue, support affected families and eliminate this growing work place hazard.

How to Help

Contributions made to this project will finance transportation, accommodations, communications, and post-production expenses. Donate by March 5th, 2014.

More information is available on The Island of Widows IndieVoices page.