Due to civil conflicts, landmines, broken roads, and a decommissioned runway, a town called Tempué is cut off from the rest of Angola. As powers rise and fall, the town has guarded the rivers and lakes that run near it. Now facing an opportunity to reconnect to the rest of Angola -- and the world -- what will the people of Tempué decide to do? And who will they trust as their partner?

Show notes:

To learn more, visit www.wildbirdtrust.com.

This episode featured voice actors who spoke for Ribio, Fanta, and Regedora Cristina. They are Edson Neto, Ana Carreira, and Baiana Carreira. The villagers of Tempué also granted permission to record their day-to-day activities, from pounding cassava to prayer. This episode is being translated into Portugese to be distributed in Angola and throughout the Lusophone speaking world.

This podcast is hosted by Kerllen Costa. It is written, recorded, and directed by Cat Jaffee and House of Pod in partnership with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. Funding for this project comes from a National Geographic storytelling grant and the Wild Bird Trust. Additional audio recorded for the documentary was provided by Neil Gelinas and Kaya Ensor. Fact checking was conducted by Aimee Machado. Juliette Luini is the producer. The audio editor and sound designer is Jason Paton. The Angolan producer is Kerllen Costa, and the Motswana producer is Thalefang Charles. Story editing comes from Rebecca Mendoza Nunziato.

Geração 80 is the recording studio in Angola.

Music: The Guardians of the River theme song was created by Victor Gama.

The theme music of this podcast is a journey of sounds from the villagers of Tempue preparing food and drumming on bomb drums while celebrating their faith in village churches, which is interwoven with a greeting song by the children of Tempue sung before the community meeting. There is also a reed harp played by Tom Rethio, a WaYei musician. In addition to custom pieces from Victor, the music featured in the series also comes from Victor's 2010 album Pangeia Instrumentos. The tracks included on the podcast are O Pescador De Sonhos, Homem Vermelho Homem Verde, A Guerra dos Homens Répteis, O Olho No Anzol, O Diálogo Dos Pernetas, Mibanga.

Art: The episode art for Guardians of the River was illustrated by Fernando Hugo Fernandes.