Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World
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A gripping portrait of the western Himalayan land sometimes known as “Little Tibet,” Ancient Futures opens with author Helena Norberg-Hodge’s first visit in 1975 to idyllic, preindustrial Ladakh. She then tracks the profound changes that occurred as the region was opened to foreign tourists and Western goods and technologies, and offers a firsthand account of how relentless pressure for economic growth precipitated generational and religious conflict, unemployment, inflation, and environmental damage, threatening to unravel Ladakh’s traditional way of life.Energized by the fate of a people who had captured her heart, Norberg-Hodge helped establish the Ladakh Project (later renamed the International Society for Ecology and Culture) to seek sustainable solutions that preserve cultural integrity and environmental health while addressing the hunger for modernization. Since then, other Ladakh-based projects have proliferated, supporting renewable energy systems, local agricultural methods, and the spiritual foundations of Ladakhi culture. The author’s new afterword brings readers up-to-date on the work of these projects and on her own career over several decades as she traveled widely, observing similar impacts on other cultures. She challenges us to rethink our concepts of “development” and “progress,” stressing above all the need to carry ancient wisdom into our future. Library Journal Norberg-Hodge first went to Ladakh in 1975 and has spent six months there every year since. This slim volume is her soapbox to air her views of how Ladakh should be. Part 1 is the romantic, idealized Shangri-la where everyone is happy and contented. Then she portrays Ladakh after the tourist invasions and economic development. Next is a tirade against multinational corporations that are responsible for all the world's problems (strange, since India banned most international companies 20 years ago). Finally, Norberg-Hodge describes her work in establishing local organizations to introduce local-level, low-capital inputs. A popular and sensitive introduction to Ladakh is needed, but this is not it. Not recommended.-- Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Acknowledgments ivForeword H. H. The Dalai Lama viIntroduction Peter Matthiessen viiiPrologue: Learning from Ladakh 1Part 1 Tradition1 "Little Tibet" 92 Living with the Land 193 Doctors and Shamans 374 We Have to Live Together 455 An Unchoreographed Dance 556 Buddhism-A Way of Life 727 Joie de Vivre 83Part 2 Change8 The Coming of the West 919 People from Mars 9410 Money Makes the World Go Around 10111 From Lama to Engineer 10512 Learning the Western Way 11013 A Pull to the Center 11514 A People Divided 122Part 3 Looking Ahead15 Nothing Is Black, Nothing Is White 13316 The Development Hoax 14117 Counter-Development 15718 The Ladakh Project 167Epilogue: "Ancient Futures" 180Afterword: An Economics of Happiness 193Further Reading 213Index 219About the Author 225
