There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa

South Africa holds 70 per cent of the world’s platinum and chrome resources, which are integral to building electric vehicles, solar panels and other green technologies. But, as the short documentary God Stumbled Here examines, the riches of the land have not trickled down to the people who are native to it. Indeed, in many cases, it has left them far worse off. Travelling to Mmaditlhokwa village in Marikana, located north of Johannesburg, filmmakers from Icarus Complex magazine capture how, for more than a decade, the Indigenous community of Mmaditlhokwa has faced poorer, less healthy and less stable lives, while outsiders have reaped significant rewards from the area’s rich resources. Through the arguments of the South African human rights activists Christinah Mdau and Jay Naidoo, the film makes a powerful case that a green future isn’t fully sustainable until it’s sustainable for everyone.

You can read more about this film at Icarus Complex magazine.