ISEC Online Shop
To pay by credit card, use the 'Add to Cart' buttons below. To order by check or money order, select one of the following order forms:
The Economics of Happiness
"A must-see film for the future of the planet." Zac Goldsmith, Member of UK Parliament
ISEC's new documentary film about economic localization, a powerful strategy that can help heal our fractured world – our ecosystems, our societies, and our selves.
67 minutes DVD.
- Individuals US$25.00 (Individual copies are for private use only. Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you don't know which to buy)
- Institutions US$150.00 (please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it regarding institutional streaming rights)
- To sponsor a community screening, please visit our community screenings page.
- For discounts on multiple copies, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Use this link to purchase the film with Dutch subtitles, or German, French, Spanish and English subtitles (currently only available in PAL format for use in Europe and Asia).
You can purchase the DVD here by credit/debit card.
Click here to order the DVD in Japanese
Click here to order the DVD in Italian
Click here to read more reviews
Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh
“An extraordinary film.......compelling viewing.” - Times Educational Supplement
An award-winning film based on Helena Norberg-Hodge's book, with footage from Ladakh.
60 minutes DVD.
US$20.00
Paradise with Side Effects
A documentary following two Ladakhi women on a trip to England as part of an ISEC “reality tour.” ISEC's reality tours introduce Ladakhi participants to everyday life in the West as it really is, thereby helping to balance some of the glamorised images of the modern world that are generated by tourism, advertising and the media. Directed and produced by Claus Schenk originally for German and French television.
40 minutes DVD.
US$15.00
Combined DVD - Ancient Futures and Paradise with Side Effects
This DVD contains both full-length films, the award-winning Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh, and Paradise with Side Effects. Descriptions for each are written above.
100 minutes DVD.
US$30.00
Local Futures: Beyond the Global Economy
A sequel to the Ancient Futures video, giving examples of ISEC's systemic approach to the problems of the global economy. Challenges the commonly-held belief that globalisation is inevitable or "evolutionary" and argues that we need to reduce the distance between consumers and producers to strengthen local economies and communities.
30 minutes DVD.
US$10.00
The Future of Progress
A 30-minute video compilation of interviews with Edward Goldsmith, Martin Khor, Vandana Shiva, and Helena Norberg-Hodge. A concise and powerful challenge to the prevailing theories of development.
30 minutes DVD.
US$10.00
*To pay by credit card, use the 'Add to Cart' buttons below. To order by check or money order, select one of the following order forms:
Purchases from North or South America
ISEC films are available in VHS format for half price. For further information, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Songs from Ladakh
Traditional and modern Ladakhi folksongs, recorded in Ladakh.
One 60-minute audio cassette.
US$8.00
Click here to order the cassette.
Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh
Helena Norberg-Hodge was among first westerners to visit Ladakh when it was opened to “development” in 1975, and one of very few outsiders to master the Ladakhi language. This book provides not only a richly intimate look at Ladakh’s traditional culture, but also an unflinching description of the psychological, social, and environmental costs of modernisation. Profound insights into what the modern world can learn from traditional cultures make Ancient Futures an inspiration for all who seek a better world. Together with a film of the same title, Ancient Futures has been translated into almost 40 languages.
“An entrancing book…. Everyone who cares about the future of this planet should read it.” - The Guardian
“A book that must be heeded.” - The Nation
“Some books provide insights into our problems; others offer guidelines for a different future. Ancient Futures does both, brilliantly. A true classic.” - Bill McKibben
“A sensitive, thought-provoking account.” - New York Review of Books
“This passionate book is a gift to us all . . . an experience-based manifesto for change.” - Alice Waters
Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh
Rider Books (UK), revised 2000; paperback, b&w photos
£11.99 Order this book
Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World
Sierra Club Books (US), revised 2009, including new Afterword; paperback, b&w photos (Note: this book is not available in the UK)
US$16.95 Order this book
Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness
The costs of the global food system are enormous and growing larger every day. Based on industrial monocultures and long-distance transport and trade, it is erasing the rich diversity of food systems worldwide. This book illustrates the bleak realities of ‘global food’ and outlines how we can shift direction – towards local food systems that meet real human and ecological needs.
“Want to know what’s wrong with globalisation? Read this book. Want to know what to do about it? Read this book.” - David Suzuki
By Helena Norberg-Hodge, Todd Merrified and Steven Gorelick.
Zed Books (UK) and Kumarian Press (US), 2002; 150 pages, paperback, b&w photos, index.
US$18.00 Order this book
Ripe for Change: Rethinking California's Food Economy
This ISEC report details the global economic underpinnings of California’s deteriorating food system. Through this big picture analysis, it unifies the various local food movements in California and points the way toward systemic localization.
By Katy Mamen, Steven Gorelick, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and Diana Deumling ISEC, 2004; 130 pages paperbound report, b&w illustrations.
US$12. Order a hard copy of this report or download a free pdf
Ripe for Change: Summary Report
11 page booklet.
US$2.00 Order a hard copy of this report or download a free pdf
From the Ground Up: Rethinking Industrial Agriculture
An analysis of the roots of the environmental, social and economic crises facing modern industrial agriculture, and a review of more sustainable options.
By Helena Norberg-Hodge, Peter Goering and John Page.
ISEC & Zed Books, 2000; 120 pages, paperback.
US$13.00 Order this book
Shifting Direction: From Global Dependence to Local Interdependence
This report summarizes the many negative impacts of globalisation, followed by a detailed listing of concrete steps—in both personal and political domains—that can be taken to shift towards the local.
By Helena Norberg-Hodge
ISEC. 2000; 16 pages, paperbound.
US$5.00 Order this book
Small is Beautiful, Big is Subsidised
This report shows how taxpayers' money is used to promote business on an ever larger-scale. Using many examples and statistics, it reveals how the global economy and its huge transnational corporations are being heavily subsidised at the expense of small, local producers.
By Steven Gorelick, with a foreword by Helena Norberg-Hodge.
ISEC, 1998; 56 pages, paperbound, b&w illustrations.
US$6.00 Order a copy of this report
The Future of Progress: Reflections on Environment and Development
A collection of essays challenging the Western notions of progress that dominate the current debate on environment and development. Contributors include Edward Goldsmith, Vandana Shiva, Sigmund Kvaloy, Martin Khor, Nicholas Hildyard, Gary Snyder and Helena Norberg-Hodge.
Edited by ISEC
Green Books, revised edition 1995; 254 pages, paperback.
US$14.50 Order this book
A Journey to New York
ISEC's "counter-development" comic book for use in the South, which sets out to balance the overly glamorous image of modern urban life. Through creative use of story and illustrations, it helps to support more rural, community-based ways of living and to restore respect for non-Western cultures around the world.
By ISEC, 1994;
32 pages, full colour.
US$5.00 Order this comic book
Wisdom for a Livable Planet
ISEC Director Helena Norberg-Hodge is one of eight thinkers and activists whose lives and work are examined in this inspiring volume. Among the other visionaries profiled are David Orr, Wes Jackson, Dave Foreman, and Herman Daly.
By Carl N. McDaniel
"A kind of primer for twenty-first century citizenship, and well worth the reading." - Bill McKibben
Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2005;
277 pages, paperbound, index.
US$17.95
Out of stock - check back soon!
Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economies for Security in an Unstable World
In the context of an increasingly unstable global economy, Short Circuit provides a much-needed study into how communities can build an independent local economy. It details the financial structures necessary for self-reliance, and describes the techniques already in use in pioneering communities across the industrialised world.
By Richard Douthwaite, with a foreword by Ed Mayo and Helena Norberg- Hodge.
Green Books, 1996; 386 pages, paperback.
Currently out of print. Full text and further information is available from Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (Feasta).
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