Dicing with Death

Grigori and inhabitants of Eiik in Siberia face the same problem every year. Surrounded by miles of swamp, in summer their village is inaccessible to cars. This means their only source of supplies is airplane. In winter, this all changes as the frost freezes the swamps solid and goods can be carried into Eiik by cars and vans. So the great adventure begins for Grigori and the villagers.

Double the size of France but with a population of less than three million people, Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. But water levels are critically low. To find water, women travel through the desert, filling their containers in the puddles formed by the all-too-rare rains. In Namibia, breaking down on the roadside poses a real danger...

Bhutan is one of the world's unique corners. One of its peculiarities is that it has enshrined in its constitution the "national gross happiness". It's a happiness-measuring scale, used by its inhabitants. To this end, the country shuns globalization, meaning the population faces stringent social protection. But are its 750,000 inhabitants really happy?

Two legendary creatures live side by side in Zambia. The first is a very old truck. For 46 years it has been used to construct farmers' homes, despite leaks and constant break-downs. The second is a person. When the waters of the Zambezi flood the plains, the signal is given to the King to leave and move to a drier place. This is the start of a procession where the king leaves with his court.

Lesotho is a tiny land-locked kingdom within the gigantic territory of South Africa. Among the poorest in the world, this high-altitude country has landscapes that take the breath away, but, most importantly, it possesses something rare and precious in Africa: water. During the long months of winter, the country is covered in snow and amidst the bare hills there is even a ski slope!