Edge of Existence is a British travel documentary series produced by the Discovery Channel in which reporter Donal MacIntyre chronicles four tribes who live in some of the most fantastic, yet inhospitable, places in the world.
The series aired in the UK on Discovery Channel in 2007. There are four hour-long episodes in the series.
Edge of Existence premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Knowledge channel on Friday 9 October 2009, at 21h30. New episodes air weekly.
Repeats
Saturdays: 02h05, 06h00, 21h00
Sundays: 17h10
Synopsis
The Western world has said goodbye to societies who use sea shells as currency and sacrifice animal hearts in religious rituals, but award-winning reporter Donal MacIntyre is determined to seek out these forgotten communities in Edge of Existence.
This four-part series follows MacIntyre on adventures that combine survival skills, anthropology and extreme physical challenges in spectacular locations around the world.
From the desert-dwelling Bedouins of Oman to the Bajau Laut sea gypsies of Borneo, Edge of Existence chronicles the people who live in some of the most fantastic, yet inhospitable, places in the world.
MacIntyre moves in with members of these resourceful communities, shadowing their every move in attempt to find out how they survive in these harsh environments.
Episodes
Bolivia
Every breath is a battle for MacIntyre when he visits the Quechuan Indians in the mountainous Altiplano region of Bolivia some 5,100 feet above sea level.
Pre-dating the Incas, the highly spiritual Quechuan survive in South America's poorest country by herding llama and harvesting salt to sell to traders.
MacIntyre's stamina is put to the test when he witnesses a sacred ritual to celebrate Pachamama, or Mother Earth, involving animal sacrifice and extreme physical fighting.
Borneo
MacIntyre travels to the southeast coast of Borneo to track the Bajau Laut, a tribe of nomadic sea gypsies who live their entire lives on boats.
After managing to locate the elusive tribe in the dangerous pirate-infested waters, MacIntyre endures sunburn, poor diet, lack of sanitation and cramped conditions while learning to free dive for fish and experiencing the sea gypsy way of life.
Oman
The Bedouins have lived in the desert for over 4,000 years weathering extreme heat and a lack of rain. Sleeping in canvas tents and racing camels, surviving in the harsh climate requires great skill.
MacIntyre moves in with the Al-Amri family on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to find out why the Bedouins choose this difficult desert life over the comforts of modern technology.
Papua New Guinea
Unknown to the outside world until the 1950s, the Insect Tribe of Papua New Guinea are so named because its members worship the praying mantis and have been known to engage in tribal warfare and cannibalism.
Fearless crocodile hunters who use traditional spear hunting techniques, the tribe uses sea shells for money and lives on fish and whatever they can hunt in the jungle they call home.
For the first time ever, the tribe has allows a visitor to experience their way of life and MacIntyre joins them on a terrifying night-time hunt in dug out canoes.