Autumn 2016

Local Futures
The Newsletter of the International Society for Ecology and Culture

Note from the Director

In this issue:

W• Events in the UK, Italy and South Korea• The Ladakh Project• Local Futures blog
• A poem for Helena’s 70th birthday

Helena Norberg-Hodgee are privileged, as ambassadors of the
Economics of Happiness, to be in regularcontact with an ever-larger number ofinspiring individuals and movements around theworld. We feel more motivated than ever to continue
expanding our work to provide a counter-narrative
to the stories in the mainstream.
This work is more needed than ever today,with the problems stemming from the corporateled global economy leading to rapidly escalating
political polarization. Emotions are high on all
sides and extremist interests in many countries
have taken advantage of the instability. From thereferenda in the UK and Colombia to the elections in
the Philippines and the US, we are seeing old
tensions intensify and new divisions created.
Meanwhile, there is an understandable
sense of desperation within the social justiceand environmental movements as inequality
increases, the climate warms, and the politicalprocess unravels.
These trends will only worsen if we continue on
the globalization path: societies and the planet will
be further torn apart by an economic system that has
become like a machine, with computer algorithms
swapping trillions of dollars every day without
human thought for the real-world consequences.
All this economic activity has very little to dowith providing for people’s needs: it is a systemthat chews up mountaintops, devastates thesoil, and pollutes the air and water — all for

Local Futures p. 1

Continued on next page

corporate profit. And by ignoring real human needs,
it is leading to discontent that can easily turn into
xenophobia, conflict, and violence.
To solve our problems we must move awayfrom the false assumption that human greed andaggression drive this system. I saw in Ladakh
how different religious groups managed to livein harmony with each other, generation aftergeneration. I also saw how the global economy
turned harmony into discord by creating artificial
scarcity, unemployment, and competition.
Human nature is also blamed for environmental
breakdown. In the west, we have been told for
decades that greedy consumers are causing climatechange — that polar bears are dying because wehaven’t switched to energy efficient light bulbs, or
because we’re driving our cars to the store. Whatis rarely acknowledged is how globalization has
massively increased fossil fuel use. The express
purpose of the global economy is to increase
trade — especially long-distance trade — sincethat is what creates economic growth. This is selfdefeating insanity at a time when cheap sources offuel are running out and atmospheric carbon is at
unprecedented levels.
Fortunately, there is a groundswell of opposition
to this system. People are fighting at the policy level
and innovating at the grassroots. Local Futuresis pleased to be at the forefront of this heartening
trend. From our webinars and workshops to ourbooks and films, we are contributing a valued “bigpicture” perspective that is being used by people
around the world.
For decades, we have been raising awarenessabout how “free trade” treaties have given banks
and corporations more and more power over
governments. We are beginning to see a major
critique of these treaties, and widespread pushback.
Trade treaties were even a major topic in the US
elections — a sure sign of people power. And thatpower is getting stronger by the day. The genie isout of the bottle and it can’t be put back!
A clear manifestation of this is the local foodmovement, which has grown by leaps and bounds
in both rural and urban areas worldwide. When
we launched our Local Food Program more than
30 years ago, local food was not the buzzword it istoday. But we recognized that localized food systems
simultaneously strengthen local communities andprotect the environment, and we made local fooda focal point of our efforts. In the UK, we worked
with other organizations to set up the country’s firstbox scheme and its first farmers’ market in modern
times. We were able to put local food on the national
agenda, and our original message is now embodied
in hundreds of projects across the country — someof which collaborated with us on this year’s events(see page 3).
We are having a similar impact with our
Economics of Happiness conferences, which thisyear were held in Florence, Italy, and Jeonju, South
Korea. For us, it is heartwarming and extremely
gratifying to see how these conferences pull together
such a remarkable range of movements and thought
leaders. The Italian conference, which featured
numerous speakers from the localization movementin Italy and internationally, attracted over 1,200
participants and extensive media coverage in boththe mainstream and independent press (see page4). We have also been working in Italy with the 5Star Movement — a political party and grassroots
organization that offers an inclusive and localized
alternative to politics-as-usual.
In Korea, we are working with a network of 35
mayors, including the mayor of Seoul, to promotea global-to-local shift. This same network has been
screening The Economics of Happiness across thecountry, and they are eager to continue working with
us in the coming year. The mayor of Jeonju thanked
us for opening his eyes to the profound signficanceof localization, and the entire local government
offered such warmth and hospitality that many ofus had tears in our eyes when we left.
These experiences leave us more convinced
than ever of the importance of bringing together abroad range of people and organizations, and doing
so internationally. Although the modern era hasoften been described as the Information Age, a great
deal of the information exchanged is little morethan corporate advertising, angry tweets, vain social
media posts and noise of all sorts. Meanwhile, vitally
important information is not being disseminated.
This is where Local Futures is playing a unique rolein promoting a new economy: we act as a bridge
between grassroots movements across the worldthat can be greatly strengthened by informationsharing, dialogue and collaboration.
I hope you will enjoy reading about our projects
over the past year and will continue to offer yoursupport for the future.

Local Futures p. 2

The Economics of Happiness Program
Economics of Happiness in the UK
Kristen Steele, Associate Programs Director

N

early five years ago, we launched The
Economics of Happiness in London. Since
that time, we’ve seen the issues raised in thefilm take on an even greater importance in the UK.
Brexit has created both a crisis and an opportunity— a crisis in the dividing of British society, but an
opportunity to shape a new future for the country.
In September, Local Futures co-organized two
events that highlighted the challenges that lie ahead
and the opportunities offered by a global-to-local
shift.

The first event, co-hosted with Initiativesof Change and the Global Hub for the Common
Good, was oriented towards both the business andactivist communities. Featuring a combination ofbrainstorming sessions and talks, speakers included
socially-responsible businessman and UN official
Lawrence Bloom, Swedish eco-village founder
Stephen Hinton, social entrepreneur Diego Isabel
La Moneda, and Local Futures Director Helena
Norberg-Hodge. Diego also presented the launch ofa new global network — New Economy and Social
Innovation (NESI) — of which Local Futures is apart.
The second event was co-organized with
London-based Green House Think Tank. Speakers
included Green economist and Member of European
Parliament Molly Scott Cato, former New Economics
Foundation chairman James Skinner, Green Houseco-founder Rupert Read, writer and activist Shaun
Chamberlin, and Helena Norberg-Hodge. A broad

overview of the problems of globalization was
followed by an afternoon session focused on local
food — the heart of the localization movement.
Anja Lyngbaek of Local Futures spoke of the global
spread of local food initiatives, while Bruno Lacey
and Charlotte O’Connor described two local foodinitiatives in London. It was particularly exciting
to hear about Loughborough Farm, a volunteerrun community center and farm in urban London,
which has just been granted a 20-year lease toexpand on their current site. The day concluded
with a lively panel on Brexit and the prospects for amore localized UK.
A special collaborative report was also launchedat this event: Post-growth Localisation. Written by
Rupert Read and Helena Norberg-Hodge, thisbooklet covers the most pertinent issues facing a
post-Brexit UK. It contrasts eight key features ofglobalization with eight features of localization, andadvocates for a new set of international policies andgoverning institutions. A pdf version of the reportis available for download from the Local Futures
website.

Local Futures collaborated in three other
Economics of Happiness events in the UK this year,
facilitated by Associate Programs Director Anja
Lyngbaek. The first of these, which also featured
the participation of Helena Norberg-Hodge, was coorganized by Transition Town Totnes. Two moreworkshops were held in Wales — at the Center for
Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, and at the
University of Lampeter. A number of participants inthese workshops expressed interest in hosting DIY
Economics of Happiness workshops in the future.

Local Futures p. 3

Economics of Happiness Conference in Italy
Alex Jensen, Project CoordinatorFlorence, Italy, was an appropriate place to hostour 8th international Economics of Happiness
conference. What better city than the ancient
European center of international banking andtrade in which to assemble Italy’s contemporary
localization movement — today’s dissidents againstthat old system? Despite its long history in thedevelopment of the commercial economy that besets
the whole world — and despite significant impacts
to the country from corporate globalization — Italy
retains much promise for a “re-renaissance” of sorts,
a society of local production and consumption rooted
in principles of justice and ecological integrity. Thevernacular architecture and settlements — many ofthem bequeathed by centuries-old merchant wealth— are well-situated for new localization initiatives.
By their historic stature, they also stand as barriers
to the rationalized infrastructural grids necessary to
global investors and trade.

And what better day to hold this conference
than Gandhi’s birthday, October 2nd, now also
known as “International Day of Non-Violence”.
Gandhi saw and exposed the violence and structuralirresponsibility inherent in economic expansionism/
imperialism, and conversely, recognized that a nonviolent society required a place-based economics
guided by an ethos of sufficiency. “When production
and consumption both become localized,” hewrote, “the temptation to speed up production,indefinitely and at any price, disappears. All theendless difficulties and problems that our present
day economic system presents, too, would thencome to an end.”
The conference was co-hosted by Local Futures

and the Italian NGO Mani Tese, a global justice andanti-hunger organization, and counted dozens ofother organizations as sponsors, partners, media
partners, and allies. These groups are working on a
gamut of issues to do with resistance to the corporate
economy and (re)construction of alternatives
oriented towards social and environmental justice
and well-being.
Enthusiasm for exploring and debating the
big-picture issues raised at Economics of Happiness
conferences was evident not only from theimpressive and extensive group of organizational
supporters, but also in the 1,200 people who filled
the elegant Teatro Verdi — most of whom stayed
all day long, from 9am to 7pm, listening to lectures,
forging new friendships, networking in the foyer,
and sharing local, organic food. In addition toan opening keynote by Local Futures’ Helena
Norberg-Hodge, they listened to translated lecturesby notable international speakers including ecofeminist Vandana Shiva, Transition Town pioneer
Rob Hopkins, local business advocate Michael
Shuman, Indian environmentalist Ashish Kothari,and unschooling proponent Manish Jain.
Radical economist and philosopher Serge
Latouche delighted the audience with his trenchanttake-down of neo-classical economics delivered in his
inimitable French-Italian. A host of amazing Italian
activists, scholars, and critics rounded out the day’s
lectures, including non-violence scholar Gabriela
Calderaro; Carlo Sibilia, the parliamentarian of
the 5 Star Movement; Maurizio Pallante, honorarypresident of the Movimento per la Decrescita Felice(Happy Degrowth Movement); noted peace activist
Rocco Altieri; clinical psychologist Dr. Giuliana
Mieli; and Rosanno Ercolini, president of ZeroWaste Europe and 2013 winner of the Goldman
Environmental Prize. (For a complete list of speakers
and their bios, see www.economiadellafelicita.it).
The conference tapped into an emerging

Local Futures p. 4

movement in Italy, visible in the wonderful ‘map ofalternatives’ across the country being assembled byanother conference partner, Italia Che Cambia (“Italy
That Changes”): http://mappa.italiachecambia.org.
The spirit of the day was captured by conference
press officer Giorgia Vezzoli: “Lately conferences
do not attract many people, but this was something
incredible!”
One left the conference feeling a palpable
sense of inspiration and encouragement, a hopefulvision of myriad converging currents of sanity andcommitment to a better Italy, and by extension abetter world.
Special thanks to Gloria Germani, the mainorganizer and instigator of the event and to Lucy De
Fazio and her team of volunteers for their tireless,selfless efforts towards making everything happen.

Economics of Happiness Conference in South
Korea
Marjana Kos, Executive AssistantF

ollowing on the success of the 2015 Economicsof Happiness Conference in Jeonju, Local
Futures organized a second conference incollaboration with the Jeonju city government andan association of 35 mayors. International speakers
at the conference included:
George Ferguson, mayor of Bristol, UK, 2012-2016. A
leader in the localist movement, George has createdwidespread interest in local currencies, among otherthings by taking his full salary in Bristol pounds.

Jonathan Dawson, Head of Economics atSchumacher College in Devon, UK. Jonathan is aformer President of the Global Ecovillage Network,and co-author of the Gaia Education sustainableeconomy curriculum.
Zan Boag, formerly a banking executive andjournalist. Zan has launched two new ad-freemagazines — New Philosopher and Womankind —which seek solutions to the fundamental problems
faced by humankind.
Raymond Epp was instrumental in establishing
the first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
projects in Western Canada, Nebraska, USA, andJapan in the 1990s. His commitment to growing
food to feed local people led him to oppose theintroduction of genetically modified crops in Japanand more recently to organize resistance to theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

This conference is part of the Jeonju city council’s
long-term commitment to a global-to-local shift
and the strengthening of place-based economies.
According to these local leaders, the conferences
are not only inspiring — an antidote to anger anddespair — they also provide practical and strategic
tools for action.
We were thrilled to learn just how committed
the local government is to building up a local
food movement in Jeonju, and to supporting local
businesses and entrepreneurs. As part of thiscommitment, the mayor and the city council would
like to make this an annual event!

Local Futures p. 5

DIY Economics of Happiness Workshop
Anja Lyngbaek, Associate Programs DirectorLocal Futures worked closely this year with asmall team of volunteers to develop a Do-itYourself Economics of Happiness Workshop
and toolkit. The goal was to create a tool that people
anywhere can use to raise awareness about theworkings and costs of the global economy, and to
kick-start effective global-to-local action.
The workshop uses our film The Economics ofHappiness as a springboard to a discussion about
the broad impacts of the global growth economy,
and about localization as a strategy for systemicchange. Various exercises take participants througha reflective and analytical process that culminatesin the elaboration of a personal or group-based
global-to-local action plan, depending on whether
the workshop is hosted for individuals or groups.
Plans are centered around five key action-elements:
connect, educate, resist, renew and celebrate.
The two-pronged resist & renew approach of
the workshop involves resisting the corporatecontrolled global growth economy and renewing
healthy place-based economies subject to ecologicallimits.
The DIY workshop toolkit, which is available
free of charge, consists of The Economics of Happinessfilm, a step-by-step guide to running a workshop,and specially designed exercises, templates andreading materials. The toolkit is presently available
in English and Italian, but we hope to make itavailable in more languages soon.
We would like to express our deep gratitude toAngie Polkey, Susanne Stoiber and Robert Kuhfus,
who shared their expertise and volunteered theirtime to help develop the workshop model. Also a
special thanks to Angie and Susanne for fearlessly
piloting workshops for diverse groups of people inWales, Germany and Ladakh.
Economics of Happiness Translations
Steve Gorelick, Managing/Programs DirectorThe Economics of Happiness film remains oneof our most effective tools for disseminating
the global-to-local message. In response
to worldwide interest, in 2016 we added twelve
more languages to our Vimeo on Demand channel,
including Ukrainian, Farsi, Nepali, Norwegian,Swedish, Portuguese, Greek and Chinese.
During the year we also created an abridged,
20-minute version of the film, which is available
for free download or streaming from our Vimeo
and YouTube channels. This shortened version of
the film has already been translated into Spanish,
Italian, French, Japanese and Nepali, with moretranslations in the works.
There is such an urgency for shifting our
economic models and your film, which I often
show in classes, offers such hope.”~ Educator from Portland, Oregon
Most of this translation work is being done byvolunteers — individuals who embrace the messageof the film, and want to see it disseminated in their
homelands. Although there have been scores ofpeople across the world involved in this endeavor,
we want to acknowledge the efforts of Marisha
Stock, who worked diligently for the past two years
on the Russian and Ukrainian translations of thefilm and trailer, and continues to promote the film
in both countries. We also appreciate the hard workof Bertrand Raguet, who helped us add subtitles tothe film in numerous languages this past year. We
are particularly grateful to Bertrand for overcoming
a series of perplexing technical obstacles to the Farsi(Persian) version. Many thanks to you both, and to
all the volunteer translators who helped us this year!

Planet Local

Isabel Marlens, Researcher
Sean Keller, Media and Outreach CoordinatorW

e are now in the third year of Planet Local,
our web series that showcases inspiring
localization initiatives from aroundthe world — in such diverse areas as community
renewable energy, food and farming, local business,alternative education, community rights and more.
At a time when so much of the news we read fromaround the world is bad, Planet Local helps us
remember that positive change at the local level ishappening every day.
Recent examples include The Zimbabwe
Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (whichhelps small farmers defend their livelihoods); theDechinta Centre for Research and Learning (anLocal Futures p. 6

Indigenous-led initiative for land-based learning in
Canada); Low Carbon Hub (a community-owned
renewable energy initiative in the UK); Soul Fire
Farm (an organic farm and training center thatworks to end racism in the US food system); Fair Tax
Town (a small village in Wales intent on preventing
big business from evading taxes); and the newlyopened Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (whichworks to preserve not only traditional seeds, but thetraditional way of life.) New examples are posted
each month.
While our Planet Local series continues tohighlight local renewal projects around the world,
our third annual Planet Local Photo Contest allowed
our supporters to show us the impacts of localization(and globalization) in their own communities. This
year’s entries gave us inside perspectives on, among
other things, the life of rural herders in Nepal, plant
nurseries made of papyrus on the banks of the Upper
Nile, a weavers’ cottage in Thailand, and a rural
public library in the mountains of Italy. Thirteen
countries were represented in this year’s contest,
which was judged by renowned photographers Jim
Hurst and Pierre Ferron.
The breathtaking collection of photos we
received serves as a powerful reminder of thecultures and ecologies at risk from the global
economy. We hope that sharing them with the world
will inspire others to help keep these images real.
Winning photos and all submissions can be viewed
at www.localfutures.org/photo-contest-2016

Tribute to Doug Tompkins
Douglas Rainsford Tompkins
March 20, 1943 – December 8, 2015

W

ith the death late last year of Doug
Tompkins, mother Gaia lost one of her
most formidable allies, and Local Futures
lost one of its closest colleagues, supporters andfriends.
Over the course of his life, Doug Tompkins
was an outdoorsman, businessman, philanthropist,
agriculturalist, and activist. In the mid-1960s he
co-founded the outdoor equipment and clothingcompany The North Face, as well as the clothingcompany Esprit. But by the late 1980s Tompkins
realized that the consumer culture he’d helped
promote as a businessman was part of an industrial

growth economy that was fundamentally toxic to
the natural world. He sold his stake in Esprit andused the proceeds to endow the Foundation for
Deep Ecology, an activist-oriented environmental
foundation. Local Futures/ISEC was one of the firstgroups the foundation supported.
Doug was also one of the founders of theInternational Forum on Globalization (IFG), an
important North-South think tank. Helena NorbergHodge was instrumental in the IFG’s creation: “I
invited Doug to Stockholm where we had organizeda ‘Future of Progress’ meeting to question thedominant globalization agenda from the perspectiveof both North and South. This is where I introduced
Doug to Teddy Goldsmith, Vandana Shiva, Martin
Khor and others. There was enthusiasm on all
sides, and a fertile exchange of ideas, strategies andexperiences. After the Stockholm meeting, Doug andJerry Mander, the head of the Foundation for Deep
Ecology, hosted several international meetings that
led to our setting up the IFG.”
In recent years, Tompkins and his wife, Kris,bought and conserved over 2 million acres of
wilderness in Chile and Argentina, with the goal ofpreserving its biodiversity and wild nature. Muchof this land is now national parkland in the twocountries.
Over the years, Doug became one of Helena’s
closest friends and most valued allies: “I neverencountered anyone more determined and hardworking. He was brilliant and tireless, and he neverstopped reading and studying in search of the deeproot causes of our socio-ecological crises. We werein regular contact, and not a year went by without
us meeting face to face. We often had heatedarguments, but at a deep level we were singing fromthe same hymn sheet. He was a very rare and dearsoulmate, and I sorely miss him.”

Local Futures p. 7

The Ladakh Project

Anja Lyngbaek, Associate Programs DirectorIt has been 39 years since the founding of the
Ladakh Project — the forerunner of Local Futures/
ISEC. From the start we cautioned against theblind adoption of western-style “development”
while promoting alternative models, including
the use of eco-technologies to enable significant
improvements in living standards without creatinga dependence on fossil fuels.
In 1977 there were relatively few tourists visiting
Ladakh. This year, more than 200,000 arrived in just a
few months — the largest number ever, and a lot fora region with only 270,000 inhabitants and a fragile
environment. There are now 1,000 guesthouses andhotels in the capital, Leh, and 5,000 taxi drivers
whose clients are mostly tourists. New roads havebeen built and private cars are commonplace. Youngpeople are still being drawn out of the villages into
the city, where they are schooled for an urban,
industrial lifestyle that has little to do with Ladakh’s
culture, resources and environment.
Despite these trends, I feel cautiously optimistic.
Many of the appropriate technologies that we werealone in introducing nearly four decades ago aretoday promoted by a multitude of NGOs, as well
as by the Hill Council, Ladakh’s local government.
Passive solar heating systems can be found on
almost every roof in the capital, and photovoltaic
panels are a common sight. Composting toilets —a technology indigenous to Ladakh — remain in
use in most households, and continue to provide
nutrients for the fields. Many new buildings mirror
traditional Ladakhi architecture and are constructedof natural, locally-available materials. Home gardens
still flourish. Traditional farming has diminished,but is far from abandoned. Organic agriculture
is promoted by several local NGOs, including
the Ladakh Ecological Development Group(LEDeG) and the Ladakh Environment and HealthOrganisation (LEHO), and the Hill Council has set
a goal of 100% organic farming regionwide. Mostencouraging of all, there is growing interest in local
alternatives to the global “development” model:
people are increasingly aware of the importanceand value of place-based knowledge and skills, andnumerous inspiring initiatives are underway.
While we cannot take credit for the good workof other groups and individuals, there is no doubtthat our efforts to raise awareness and promote
alternatives have contributed significantly to thepositive trends now visible.
Here are some of the highlights of our activities
in 2016:
Workshops
The Women’s Alliance Centre provided theperfect setting for two Global to Local Workshops.
More than 80 people from 19 different countries
participated, including 20 young Ladakhi students.
The workshops took a close look at the mechanisms
and consequences of globalization in Ladakh
and abroad, and explored strategies to create andstrengthen strong local economies and communities.
A number of important Ladakhi change-makers
contributed, including Mohammed Deen from
LEHO, Morup Dolma from the Women’s Alliance(WAL), Dolma Tsering from the Ladakh Buddhist
Association (who gave a compelling talk about therole of women and the work of WAL), and noted
film producer Stanzin Dorjai (who spoke on placebased knowledge and traditions).
The highly interactive workshops included:
exercises that tackled controversial issues in the
global-to-local debate; a “mad economy guessinggame” illustrating the illogic of our economic
growth model; a lively world café discussion;
inspiring stories of successful localization initiatives
from around the world; and a global-to-local action
planning exercise.

Solar Powered Centre
One of our hands-on projects this year was theinstallation of a solar photovoltaic system at the
Women’s Alliance Centre. Richard Hendin, ourLadakh Logistics Coordinator, rescued an unused
solar power system and installed it with the helpof Mike Sullivan, an American solar engineer who
volunteered his expertise. Richard and Mike also
trained WAL staff to maintain the system.

Local Futures p. 8

Tourist Education
With the number of visitors to Ladakh continuing
to grow, our tourist education program has become
more important than ever.
• We continued to distribute our Mindful Tourism
brochure and other materials that provide guidelines
for tourists, enabling them to play a more positiverole in Ladakh.
• We hosted daily screenings of our films, Ancient
Futures and The Economics of Happiness (on alternatedays), followed by an hour-long discussion. The
discussions were led by Local Futures’ facilitator,
Henry Coleman. Film screenings continue tobe an effective way to get visitors to Ladakh torethink preconceived notions of “progress” and“development” – not only in Ladakh but in theirhome countries as well.
• A tailor-made “rethinking development” program
was prepared for the Canadian group Operation
Groundswell, which runs a gap year “backpacking
with a purpose” project. The collaboration was a
success and is set to continue next year.
Special screenings and teachings
Special film screenings and discussions were heldin Leh at The Jewish House and the Mahabodi
Meditation Centre, and in Choglamsar at the Central
Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS). More than 400
students participated in the event at CIBS, which

was also the venue for a series of talks on alternatives
to the consumer culture, place-based education andknowledge, and localization initiatives worldwide.
Farm Project
Our Farm Project enables tourists to assist and learn
from Ladakhi farming families, especially during
harvest time. This year’s activities took place inthe villages of Likir and Stakna. Helping out on thefarm is a rewarding experience for participants andthe labor they provide is much appreciated by their
Ladakhi hosts. Most importantly, the participationof foreigners helps counteract the multiple forcesthat have led to a decline in farming – including thenotion among many young Ladakhis that farming is“uncool”.
The Local Futures team in Ladakh this year
included Richard Hendin, Henry Coleman and Anja
Lyngbaek. A big thanks to the amazing volunteers
that assisted us: Mari Hasle Einang, Philip Tripp,Rebecca Carruthers, Mike Sullivan, Hugo and Luke.
I was finally able to experience first-handthe dynamics discussed in Ancient Futures...
Spending time at the Womens Alliance ofLadakh and on a farm stay in Basgo village has
only confirmed my beliefs.
~ Marchéta Wright, Professor of International
Relations, Lynn University, USA

Local Futures p. 9

International Alliance for
Localization

Global to Local Webinars

Anja Lyngbaek, Associate Programs DirectorL

ast year we launched the International
Alliance for Localization (IAL) – our mostambitious networking initiative to date. The
purpose of the IAL is to serve as an informationand strategy-sharing network for the many groups
and individuals around the world working on a
global-to-local shift, and to provide the localization
movement with a clear and powerful collective
voice.
A multitude of localization initiatives are
already underway worldwide, from local food andcommunity-owned renewable energy projects tolocal businesses alliances. These initiatives are
resulting in multiple benefits: lower carbon
footprints; healthier food; more dignified
livelihoods; closer community ties, and more.
However, localization is not yet widely recognized
as a systemic strategy for change. The IAL is a step
towards addressing this.
With members from 58 different countries,
the IAL proves that there is broad interest in
localization worldwide. IAL members include
individuals, groups, NGOs, trade unions and local
businesses. Among those are more than 70 membergroups working on issues ranging from social andenvironmental justice to sustainable farming, fromworkers’ rights to indigenous knowledge, fromholistic education to policy change and beyond.
Through the IAL, we share information about
inspiring localization initiatives and strategies, andabout campaigns to resist the corporate growtheconomy. Our Global-to-Local Webinar Series, free
for IAL members, addresses key issues on a monthly
basis, while our Planet Local series regularly
showcases inspiring initiatives, many of them partof the IAL network. We are keen to do more: one
new project on the drawing board is a Voices fromthe IAL podcast series.
For more information or to join the IAL, checkout the IAL page on our website.

Sean Keller, Media and Outreach CoordinatorAs part of our International Alliance for
Localization (IAL) initiative, we launched a
Global to Local Webinar Series in December
2015. The webinars are designed to address key
issues in the global-to-local debate, approachingthem from the perspective of both resistance andrenewal. The webinars allow IAL members to listen
to live conversations between a representative ofLocal Futures (most often Helena Norberg-Hodge)
and distinguished guest presenters who are activein the struggle for social justice and environmental
sanity.
The webinars not only give participants theopportunity to ask questions of our presenters andto get answers in real time, they allow participants
and presenters alike to share their knowledge withother like-minded individuals, and to learn about
new initiatives, projects and organizations. Several
webinar participants said they left feeling inspired
and energized, andmore aware of the bigpicture
importanceof their local activist
work.
Webinar topics
have ranged fromclimate change tolocal investment, fromlocal food to debt,
and from free trade
to effective activism.
Among the guest
presenters so far have been Michael Shuman (aninternationally-recognized expert on community
economics), Charles Eisenstein (author of Sacred
Economics), Manish Jain (unschooling advocate from
India), and Stephanie Roth (campaign coordinatorof the Stop TTIP movement in Europe).
The Global to Local Webinar Series will continue
through the end of this year. Upcoming webinars
will include a discussion of democracy and thecommons, and an exploration of community-based
renewable energy projects featuring Bill McKibben,
co-founder of the global climate movement 350.org.
A recording of each webinar is available after
the event. Check out our past webinars at www.
localfutures.org/programs/global-to-local/webinars.

Local Futures p. 10

AnimationIn line with our education for action mission,
we are branching out into a new medium ofcommunication: animation. Our forthcoming
animated film summarizes our global-to-local visionin less than 5 minutes, engaging those who arefamiliar with the message as much as newcomers.
Using whimsical drawings and narration, itemphasizes
how
the global economy
undermines
ourmost universal of
aspirations — clean
air,
clean
water,astableclimate,happiness — andillustrates the key
ways in which localization can turn things around.
The film will be released soon on our website, ourVimeo and YouTube channels and on social media.
We hope it will be a useful, bite-sized introduction toboth our work and the wider localization movement.

Tribute to Bill Mollison
Alex Jensen, Project CoordinatorLocal Futures pays tribute to Bill Mollison,visionary co-founder of permaculture, who
passed away on September 24. Permaculture
was the portmanteau Mollison and his partner David
Holmgren coined to describe a system of ecologicalthinking and design aimed at the restoration ofland through the radical re-localization of foodproduction. Permaculture is based on replacing
intensive inputs of energy and extensive outputs ofwaste with humility, intelligence and an intimate
camaraderie with the natural world. By looking
at systems deeply and holistically, Mollison andHolmgren were able to debunk many taken-for-granted assumptions about industrial agriculture,
exposing them as myths and inversions of the truth.
They showed that the much-ballyhooed efficiency
and productivity of the industrial system, forexample, falls apart once the veneer is peeled back to
expose the mines, power plants, global infrastructure,poison, and landfills of waste — all subsidized bygovernment hand-outs — underpinning the wholeapparatus. Under the same lens, ecological, diverse,
small-scale, local production appears genuinely
efficient, logical, productive, and yes, rational, sans
hidden disasters scattered around the globe.
This way of looking at the world, skillfully
developed in the first two chapters of the weighty
Permaculture Designers’ Manual, planted the seeds forthe permacultural way of acting in the world: insteadof few gigantic industrial monocultures for global
trade, innumerable small ecological polycultures for
local needs; instead of huge, polluting mines andcentralized electricity plants, passive, decentralized
harvesting of existing sources of coolth and heat.
More and more such observations arise, until one
soon realizes that everything must change. And
permaculture provides clear guideposts for making
that change.
Although there is room to integrate innovationand new ideas from permaculture into traditional
systems, especially where traditional knowledge
has been marginalized or lost, it is telling how
much the permaculture vision captures the look anddynamics of a typical peasant village and houseyard arrangement. Mollison worked extensively
in the South to improve or re-generate local selfreliance, but he acknowledged that permaculture
learned from and mimicked the traditional practicesof low-energy localized cultures. In this and manyother ways, permaculture turns the arrow of“development” in the opposite of its conventional
direction.
Today, Mollison’s great legacy is embodied
in the hundreds of thousands of permaculturists
around the world carrying forward his vision ofpeople-healing through earth-healing.

Local Futures p. 11

A New Edition of Ancient FuturesT

his year Local Futures published a 25th
Anniversary edition of Ancient Futures, witha new preface by Helena. An international
bestseller, it has been immensely gratifying to seejust how influential the book has been:“Everyone who cares about the future of this planet
and their children’s future should read this book”~ The Guardian“Some books provide insights into our problems;
others offer guidelines for a different future. Ancient
Futures does both brilliantly. A true classic.”~ Bill McKibben“Ancient Futures was a critical early warning about
the enormous social, spiritual and ecological costsof exporting ‘Western’ lifestyles to every corner ofthe globe.”~ Naomi Klein“Ancient Futures is one of the most important booksof our time...[I]n these pages one encounters a living
example of a future that could save us all.”~ Susan Griffin“Now more than ever we need to read and heed thelessons Helena Norberg Hodge offered us 25 yearsago.”~ Vicki Robin“Ancient Futures seems all the more relevant today
because of the widespread contemporary efforts tobuild up local economies. ... This book is a gem.”~ Charlene Spretnak“Ancient Futures is a classic. Today, this message ismore important than ever.”~ Mary Evelyn Tucker“A lesson for all the world. Lucid and poignant,Ancient Futures [is] a classic of human ecology andunyielding hope.”~ Stephanie Mills“Ancient Futures was a formative influence on myworldview. That it is still so relevant today, 25 years
later, shows how far ahead of its time it was.”~ Charles Eisenstein“Ancient Futures had a huge impact on the course of
my life’s work. Its central message is wonderfully
empowering. It shows us that another, better worldis possible!”~ Frances Moore Lappé“This passionate book is a gift to us all… an
experience-based manifesto for change.”~ Alice Waters“A classic when it appeared 25 years ago and evenmore so today...a story that offers authentic hopethat we can create a humane, joyful, and life-centered
future.”~ David W. Orr“When I first read Ancient Futures in 1992, it changed
my life, and it has colored my thinking in all theyears since.”~ Richard Heinberg

The updated edition of Ancient Futures can beobtained from the Local Futures shop, as well asfrom both online and brick-and-mortar bookshops.

Local Futures p. 12

Other Local Futures Publications
Localization: Essential Steps to an Economics ofHappinessby Helena Norberg-Hodge
A new edition of our popular report, Localization:
Essential Steps to an Economics of Happiness, has justbeen released. Divided into three parts, this booklet
provides a thorough overview of the global-tolocal vision. Part 1 details the current economic
system and its impacts on people and planet. A
vision of economic localization is presented in Part2, along with the multiple benefits of going local.
Part 3 describes how to make localization happen,
including the necessary policy shifts and grassroots
initiatives in many sectors — from education
to energy, agriculture to banking. Chock full of
statistics and examples of localization in action, thereport also includes sections on Ladakh and “Big
Picture Activism”. It helpfully counters many ofthe most common objections to localization, suchas “Doesn’t localization mean isolationism?” and“Don’t we need industrial agriculture to feed theworld?”
Localization: Essential Steps to an Economics ofHappiness is the essential primer on localization. A
printed version is now on sale in our online shop
and a free pdf is available for download.
Climate Change or System Change?
A Local Futures Action Paper
Following on from the Paris climate talks in
December 2015, Local Futures released a 16page climate action paper.
In it we argued
that globalization is the driving force behindincreased greenhouse gas emissions, and that theclimate problem can only be tackled effectively ifgovernments stop subsidizing globalization, andbegin pursuing a localization agenda instead. The
paper is available for free download from our website.

Articles, Essays and Blog Posts
The online publication Excellence Reporter featured
Helena Norberg-Hodge as one of the “great thinkers,
artists, leaders, musicians, CEOs” and others asked
to respond to the question, “What is the meaning oflife?” Helena’s essay focused on a spiritualconnection to the natural world.
In the run-up to the Brexit referendum in the
UK, The Ecologist magazine published an essay by
Helena Norberg-Hodge, Rupert Read and Thomas
Walgren titled, “We must localise the EU and curb
corporate power – but does that mean in or out?” Theessay faulted both sides in the debate: the “Leave”
campaign for appealing to narrow nationalism andxenophobia, the “Remain” campaign for ignoring
the EU’s role in promoting corporate-friendly
globalization. The article was also posted on the
Local Futures blog (under the title, “Why Global
Capital Fears Brexit”), and it was widely viewed,
cited, and reposted.
The results of the Brexit vote defied conventional
wisdom, inducing numerous publications to seek
Local Futures’ perspective. Among them were theprint and online magazine Positive News, which
printed her essay, “Beyond Brexit: Localisation Key
to Britain’s Future”, and Resurgence magazine, where“Beyond Brexit: Look Locally for Hope” appeared.
Another view on the vote came from Associate
Programs Director Kristen Steele, in her Local
Futures blog post, “How Globalization Divides Us:
Perspectives from a Dual Citizen.”
Brexit wasn’t the only issue explored on the
Local Futures blog, which featured a wide range ofthought-provoking posts from our own staff as wellas our international network. Because most of these
posts were picked up by other sites – from Common
Dreams and Huffington Post to CounterPunch,
Truthout, Resilience and more – they reached huge
numbers of people. Here are excerpts from some ofour most visited blogs of the year:
Adivasi Economics
Felix Padel“An Adivasi economy, in its traditional or preglobalization form at least, was based in many
ways on ecological principles. In the words of aKond elder in Kandhamal district, Odisha, ‘Where
are the saints in your society? In this village we are
all saints. We consume little, share everything, andwaste nothing.’”

Local Futures p. 13

Globalization and the American Dream
Helena Norberg-Hodge and Steven Gorelick

From Livelihoods to Deadlihoods
Ashish Kothari“What is often called ‘American culture’ is no longer
a product of the American people: it is instead an
artificial consumer culture created and projected bycorporate advertising and media. This consumer
culture is fundamentally different from the diverse
cultures that for millennia were shaped by climate,topography, and the local biota – by a dialogue
between humans and the natural world. This is a newphenomenon, something that has never happened
before: a culture determined by technological andeconomic forces, rather than human and ecologicalneeds...”“Economic progress, we are told, is about movingfrom primary sector jobs to manufacturing andservices. And so the livelihoods that keep all of us
alive – farming, forestry, pastoralism, fisheries, andrelated crafts – are considered backward. In India,
this marginalizes 700 million-800 million people,
two-thirds of its population…”

From Local Pants to Local Energy: The Case for
Localizing our Economies
Erica Etelson“Localization enables us to live within the material
and human limits of our bioregion rather thanraiding the resources of other bioregions as is thecurrent practice, in which the global South serves asa labor and natural resource colony for its northern
overlords (enabling us to postpone the day ofreckoning our consumptive lifestyle begets). Relocalizing and re-decentralizing our economies are
prerequisites for human survival on a hot, crowded
planet with finite resources. To paraphrase James
Hansen of NASA fame, we can either change ourways or they will be changed for us…”
How Globalization Divides Us: Perspectives on
Brexit from a Dual Citizen
Kristen Steele“I’m a diehard believer in independence, freedom,democracy, and strong local economies. For some,the Brexit result represented those things. But likeevery other choice offered in the global economy
these days, Brexit was a false one. Getting out ofEurope does nothing to address the real problems in
UK society—or the world. We’re still headed down
the same destructive path together, but now more
fractious and divided than ever…”

Branding Tradition
Steven Gorelick“The forces that are transforming maple syrup
production in Vermont are similar to those thathave decimated small farms around the world. In
both cases, the ‘technological treadmill’ requires
producers to make continual investments inequipment just to keep from falling behind – a racethat small producers can’t win…”
Strangely Like Gulag: Education and the Industrial
MachineSuprabha Seshan“For many years, I’ve seen more and more of myrural and tribal neighbors pack their children off toschool. Now, every morning between 8:00 and 9:00
am in this upwardly-mobile-yet-backward district,the country roads are full of children commuting toschool, hoisting bags laden with what they believe
is the wisdom and knowhow of modern culture.
Everyone (parents, children, the state and society)deems this to be good and necessary...”Clean Energy Won’t Save Us – Only a New
Economic System Can
Jason Hickel“When it comes to climate change, the problem is notjust the type of energy we are using, it’s what we’re
doing with it. What would we do with 100% clean
energy? Exactly what we are doing with fossil fuels:
raze more forests, build more meat farms, expand
industrial agriculture, produce more cement, andfill more landfill sites, all of which will pump deadly
amounts of greenhouse gas into the air. We will dothese things because our economic system demands
endless compound growth...”Local Futures p. 14

Changing Everything
Steven Gorelick“A scaling-down of the corporate-led global
economy and a strengthening of diverse, localized
economies would simultaneously address all of themost serious problems we face – including climatechange. For this reason, ‘big picture activism’ has
the potential to unite climate change activists, small
farmers, peace advocates, environmentalists, social
justice groups, labor unions, indigenous rights
activists, main street business owners, and many
more under a single banner. And that really couldchange everything...”Other Local Futures activitiesIn addition to our Economics of Happinessgatherings (see pages 3-5), our staff was busy
with numerous other events in 2016. Here aresome of the highlights:
While in South Korea, Local Futures Director
Helena Norberg-Hodge met with political leaders,
including mayors and legislative representatives,at the National Assembly of Korea. She later had
separate meetings with the mayors of Seoul andSiheung, a city noted for its sustainable development
efforts. Helena also gave public talks in Siheung andin Hwaseong City, one of Korea’s fastest growing
cities.
In Japan, Helena met with the mayor of
Naganuma and a number of local organizers working
on creative sustainability projects, and urged them toput “going local” onto the political agenda. She also
spoke on communitybuilding following a
It is rewarding to see
public screening of The
that your pioneering
Economics of Happinesswork in the fieldin Naganuma. At Meiji
is being echoed
Gakuin University inby more and moreorganizations. Let’s
Tokyo, Helena gave ahope the momentum
talk accompanied bykeeps growing.”
Keibo Oiwa – author~ Norton Smith,of Slow is Beautiful andWhole Systems
a speaker at several
Foundationof our Economics ofHappiness conferences.
In Hong Kong, Helena gave a talk at Lingnan
University, followed by a two-day workshop
on Rethinking Globalization and Development,

organized by the local NGO Green Hub.
In October, Helena was invited to Myanmar(Burma) for a public lecture, hosted by the Metta
Development Foundation, a local NGO.
Helena also gave numerous interviews
during the year. In South Korea, she was featured
in Maeil Economy Daily, one of the country’s major
newspapers. In Japan she was interviewed on the
television network NHK, by web magazine Greenz,
and the print magazine Murmur. In the US, Helena
did a major two-part interview for the web-based
news site Truthout.
While in the UK, Helena was particularly
pleased to be involved in Resurgence magazine’s 50th
anniversary celebrations. The centerpiece event wasa conference at Worcester College, Oxford, where
Helena spoke alongside other long-time Resurgencecontributors, including Bill McKibben, Vandana
Shiva, Caroline Lucas (Britain’s first Green Party
MP), and Satish Kumar, the magazine’s editor-inchief. Helena said, “It was delightful to spend
time with Satish, whom I’ve known for almost
four decades. Now in his 80th year, he is more
inspiring than ever — sparkling with energy andgreat Gandhian wisdom.” Helena will be teaching acourse with Satish at Schumacher College next July.
Project Coordinator Alex Jensen spoke at theInternational Degrowth Conference in Budapest,
Hungary. In his talk, titled “Degrowth in the South:
the Case of India”, Alex pointed out that “Growth
critics who shy away from critique of growth in theSouth — or even argue for its continuing necessity
out of a sense of justice – betray a contradictory
belief in ‘trickle-down’ economics that they rightly
denounce in the North.” Alex also visited numerous
localization groups and initiatives in Europe. Look
for them in upcoming Planet Local posts.
Executive Assistant Marjana Kos continued herwork with the Permaculture movement in Slovenia.
She teaches the economics module at Permaculture
Design Courses, using The Economics of Happinessfilm as a tool. Marjana organized the Sloveniantranslation of the film in 2012.
Managing/Programs Director Steven Gorelick
spoke and responded to questions following ascreening of The Economics of Happiness at BALE
(Building a Local Economy) in South Royalton,
Vermont. BALE, which works locally to “build
appropriately-scaled solutions from the bottom up”,
is an active member of the IAL.

Local Futures p. 15

We thought readers might enjoy this witty poem, written by Helena Norberg-Hodge’s husband andLocal Futures’ International Programs Director, for her 70th birthday.
“On Buying a Gift for a Localist Partner”
by John Page
Was it made in a local workshop?
Was it crafted by local hands?
Were any of its component parts
Imported from foreign lands?
Was the energy used to make it
Produced in the local shire?
Or was it brought in from far afieldOn bleak high-tension wire?
Were the rights of the workers respected?
Did they know all their bosses by name?
Or were they treated like modern-day slaves,
As pawns in a zero-sum game?
Was it sold in a local market,
In the neighbourhood where it was made?
Or was it beholden to NAFTA and GATT,
A product of global trade?
And what of the profit it rendered,
Did it stay in the local town?
Or did it all go to a TNC
On the lie it would trickle down?
Did it raise the level of GNH,
Or only of GDP?
Did it help to restore or reignite
A sense of community?
Was it born of the local culture?
Did it celebrate local life?
And more important than all of this,Will it satisfy the wife?
p4 Alex Jensen, Ashish Kothari; p5 Ohmy news;
p8, 9 Anja Lyngbaek

Photos: Cover Samrat Katwal; p3 Yee-Liu Williams,

Local Futures/International Society for Ecology and Culture
www.localfutures.org
USA: PO Box 36, East Hardwick, VT 05836, Tel: 802-472-3505
UK: PO Box 239, Totnes TQ9 9DP, Tel: 01392 581175
info@localfutures.org
Local Futures p. 16