A former television camerawoman who once filmed conflicts in Afghanistan, Peru and Sri Lanka has spent the last 27 years living on a remote island in Uganda's Lake Victoria. Ali Porteous, 66, originally from Chichester, West Sussex, discovered Bulago Island during a boat trip and decided to make it her home.
Ali lives frugally, growing her own fruit and vegetables and relying on solar power. She drives a 1996 Rav4 and buys most of her clothes from a second-hand shop on the mainland. 'I'm happy to live quite frugally,' she says. 'We grow the juiciest pineapples I've ever tasted and the best and biggest avocados.'
Her animal companions include a horse named Tufani, a donkey, two camels from North Kenya called Rumi and No 9, and a pack of small dogs. However, island life has its dangers. Ali has lost dogs to crocodiles and snakes, and recently three puppies died after attacking a forest cobra. She also risks injury or illness with no medical facilities on the island.
Ali's career began with a commission from BBC 2's Newsnight to film an Afghan prisoner exchange. She later embedded with the National Resistance Army in Uganda in 1985, reporting on a silent genocide. Her son Oliver was born in 1986, but she returned to Uganda shortly after. Ali stars in the new series of Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, airing on Channel 5.
