I wanted to create thematic maps too and the first thing I explored was Indiemapper. This is a free online application that produces neat and aesthetic maps. It is very easy to work with .

The only thing that you need to produce a thematic map of an area is its shapefile.

I got my shapefiles from here http://www.gadm.org/download , http://www.maptell.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=159&func=selectcat&cat=1 (Maptell) and

The shapefile folder that you download will have different types of files in it. The files that you would need in Indiemapper are

1)      Shape format file (.shp file) . This has the various shapes that are there in the map. Ensure that the .shp file is to your required scale. For eg , it could represent the different states of India or it could also show the different districts within the states of India. You can figure this out on the name of the shapefile before downloading or opening in Indiemapper after the download.

2)      Attribute format file (.dbf file) . This has the attributes corresponding to various shapes in the .shp file .

Your Theme:

Once you have identified your shapefile , you can fill in the attributes to be mapped in the .dbf file ( Make a copy of the original and use it to fiddle around in the beginning ) .

Use scalc to open it and add the extra attributes in it . Make sure they are stored as numbers ( not text ) and none of the cells in the attribute column are blank ( if nothing is assigned to a cell then it must have the number zero ).

Next you can go to Indiemapper to create your thematic map . Obviously , you will be using your data to map , so choose the YOUR data tab page and choose “Browse for SHP/GPX/KML” .In the next step choose to add your .dbf file .

Once both are loaded you will have the options to map your attributes in different styles i.e choropleth , proportional symbols , dot density or cartogram . You can map two attributes simultaneously in these maps .

You may check out the options to tune the way things are mapped and export the .svg file on to your computer . The .svg file can then be used in Adobe Illustrator to give final touch to your maps .

I shared it with GRAIN. They liked it and asked if I could show the land grab as a percent of total agricultural land instead of total area of the countries ,as it would be more precise in depicting the situation .

I have also attempted to decongest  Africa. ( It is good to have friends with aesthetic sense )

So here it is……..

Feedback and collaborations are welcome.

Cheers.

It was fun visualizing it. I worked with Indiemapper and Adobe Illustrator to produce this.

The maps show the percentage of the land grabbed, with respect to the total land area, from different countries.

To view and zoom into the details of the infographic, open the image in another tab/window, save it and view.

I will be posting lessons on mapping using IndieMapper soon.

Cheers.

Materials Required: 1)Shoulder Rig 2)Notebook 3)Transfer Cord 4)EOS 1000D 5)Another rig to keep the Notebook hanging and in place

The Shoulder Rig.It is made of PVC pipes and joints. The jack to mount a camera was taken from a broken tripod.

The Shoulder rig -side view

Arrangement for the Notebook.Notice the 2 straps.The cream colored one is holding on the
softwood .The black one is tied to the notebook as well as is linked to the metals of the cream strap. 

The whole assembly.

Check out my first movie to come out of this rig.

Cheers.

The two things that I am going to share are

1) Photos of the eighty year old bag that I was carrying— Bergans Original 57106

2) A glimpse on how villagers are using multimedia for sharing stories on agricultural practices .

The Bag:

The bag belonged to my sister’s friend’s father .He got it during his army days and now it is with us. It is about eighty years old .Its Norwegian .The tag on its inside says Bergans Original 57106.

Started from home

In a BMTC bus to Majestic , Bangalore.

Overlooking the buses in Satellite Bus Stand.

In an auto in Kushal Nagara towards hotel

Morning in Kushalnagar.Art credit on the bag -my friends

Back to Bangalore

Back profile

Attigudu Village:

Training sessions for video showcasing happened in Attigudu village .This is how it looks like.

The building on the left is a Ration Shop

One the external walls is intentionally pasted with mud.

Many houses had one wall pasted with mud.

 Sharing of knowledge and practices among farmers:

Digital Green ,in collaboration with local partners ,is facilitating communication and sharing among farmers.

Training mediators

Video screening requires a micro projector , a speaker and a white screen.

The micro projector

Demonstrating the operation

Practicing with the micro projector

Namdroling monastery in Bylakuppe:

This monastery is near Kushalnagar .We went there at 9 pm when the monks were practicing their ceremonial dance.

A flag

The monastery

Lamps

The Film

The Process

I used an EOS 1000D.It is factory designed only to click photos and not record videos.Installing a EOS Movie-Rec software (available here) onto a computer enables to record videos onto the computer (not the camera’s datacard).Moreover, voice won’t be recorded.I used a Philips GoGEAR as a voice recorder.

To use it well ,my friends helped me in coming up with a shoulder rig.

The shoulder rig for EOS1000D

Check the assembly of the rig here.

The trade-offs

As far as the handling of the equipment goes, it is definitely cumbersome and requires a practice of the whole process of recording .Initially I forgot to switch on  audio before starting the video recording.Also , there is a need to specify the output folder for the video .Otherwise they are written on  ”system32″ folder ,which is inconvenient.Also the camera switches off automatically after 10 mins ,so there is a need to  switch it on time and again.

Software:

I used Pinnacle Studio12 to process the film. It rendered photographs with reduced clarity though.

The End

The videos have superior quality when compared with the point and shoot and that pays-off for the effort.

The exciting part about the first day was that I met some school kids who have worked on environmental projects or know a little bit about it. Here is a photo essay on it.

1)These are kids from the Prakriya Green Wisdom School who are clear about the concept of a Green Toilet .Although one kid was a little apprehensive about using one , which is expected to be installed in their school soon .

2)Prakriya school kids again ,sharing their experience of their gardening class and drip irrigation using 2L pet bottles of soda. The produce is used at their canteen. 

3)These are  kids from Shishu Griha School in Tipasandra , Bangalore. They have researched on font styles and the space they occupy on a page. This pic shows the space occupied by Footlight MT light with respect to Times New Roman(TNR). The kids recommend Footlight MT over other styles as they think that it is neat & legible and consumes less space compared to other default styles.

4)This pretty and witty  girl is also from Shishu Griha School .She told me that currently there is a competition going on in between the houses of her school on power savings. Therefore , the children have observed their consumption and taken measures like using CFL , opting for black as the  desktop background colour  in their labs. I asked her if the savings buzz will die once the completion gets over, to that  she responded saying that those getting involved are at least getting to know the consequences of their activities and if they want ,they might continue with the means that best suits them.

5)This displays a few of the products from Christ University , Bangalore which has its own paper recycling units run by slum dwellers residing nearby. It is a green business providing livelihood opportunities for the poor.

6)These kids were sharing their experience of organic farming in the terrace of their school- Pragnya Bodhini High School , Goregaon , Mumbai.The girl to the left shared that she has a wish of implementing rain water harvesting in her apartment ! .

7)She was explaining the Hydram that transports water from a nearby stream to her school-Sholai Wisdom School in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. The Hydram uses the force of the water to direct it in the desired direction and doesn’t use external energy (electricity /fuel).

I met a resident from Rainbow Drive in Sarjapur ,Bangalore who was a part  in implementing Soil Biotechnology in their premises for treatment of all their waste water including sewage. The total value of the project is around Rs1 Crore. I would call that community development at Elite Urban Level. Although he still has grievance about blatantly resource wasteful residents.

Icing on the cake for me was the afternoon play with the 5 yr old kids of Prakriya.Of course , that was not there in the schedule and I was opportunistic J .

Bhoomi was the first forum on environment attended by me. Its  intention was to bring environmental project doers together and it did it well.

Watch it here !

I have used a Canon PowerShot SX 130 IS.

My Observations- Drawbacks of the Camera:

1)It cannot shoot continuously for more than 10 mins.

2)It also loses focus , readjusts and comes back to focus while shooting.

My Observations- Positives of the Camera:

Picture and voice clarity pass the muster.

The output video files from the camera are in .mov format which could not be used  in my Pinnacle software (strange !). Therefore, I had to convert them to .avi with video codec as xvid using Any Video Convertor with substantially lowered quality .

“Aarti Home was started to help orphaned and abandoned children in Kadapa district. We started with just five children in a rented house in 1992 and now have our own premises housing ninety-seven children ranging from ages 1 to 20.

Over the years, Aarti Home has opened its doors to many needy children, some needing a security for a short time, some coming in when they are no older than a day old and leaving the Home when they are ready to face the world. Over 250 children live or have lived as long-term residents and around 800 children have found short-term relief here when they were rescued from traffickers and subsequently rehabilitated.”—-Aarti Home

Watch the compilation here…

Here is the link to it