Local Futures believes that the solution to our current crises requires two different, but related kinds of actions: those that resist corporate globalization and the ‘march of the monoculture’, and those that renew local communities, economies and cultures. Here are some ways to get involved in our work:
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- Donate: Make a tax-deductible donation to support our work.
- Share The Economics of Happiness: This film is a fundamental part of our work. We encourage you to share the film online, host a community screening or organize an Economics of Happiness Workshop using our new DIY toolkit. Contact us if you would like to show the film in a library or classroom or are interested in purchasing an institutional copy.
- Organize a screening of one of our other films in your community. These include Paradise with Side Effects and Ancient Futures.
- Join our email list: Subscribe to receive updates about our events, projects and reports as well as relevant and inspiring news about localization efforts worldwide. We promise to only email you 1-3 times per month.
- Come to an event: Check our calendar or Upcoming Events page for events in your area.
- Volunteer & intern: Our volunteers and interns work from home, so you can take part no matter where you are in the world. Check and see what we need help with.
You can also:
Join the
International Alliance for Localization (IAL)
The IAL is a cross-cultural network of thinkers, activists and NGOs dedicated to exploring radically new visions of development and progress. Currently the IAL membership includes individuals and organizations from 58 different countries.
Join the IAL now
Invite Helena Norberg-Hodge
to speak in your community
Helena Norberg-Hodge is an internationally recognized pioneer in the worldwide localization movement and a leading analyst of the impact of the global economy on culture and agriculture. She was among the first westerners to visit Ladakh when the region was opened to tourism and “development” in 1975. She was able to quickly master the Ladakhi language, giving her a unique insider perspective as Western goods, policies and attitudes impacted the indigenous culture. She founded the Ladakh Project, and since that time, she has spent part of every year in Ladakh, working with the Ladakhi people to protect their culture and environment from the effects of rapid modernization.
For this work, Helena was awarded the 1986 Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. She is the author of Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh and co-author of Bringing the Food Economy Home. Her articles have appeared in numerous volumes and periodicals such as The Ecologist, Resurgence, and YES! Magazine. Helena is also on the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture. She is a member of the editorial board of The Ecologist, and a co-founder of the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network.
Please email [email protected] with speaking enquiries.
Start a Roots of Change Study Circle
Roots of Change is our cutting-edge curriculum and study circle program. The curriculum, comprising voices of leading political, economic and ecological thinkers from around the world, lays out both how we’ve arrived at our present predicament and what we can do about it. The program seeks:
- to encourage a broad analysis of the origins and workings of the global economy;
- to promote discussion about the impact of corporate globalization on our own communities as well as communities around the world;
- to help generate effective strategies for local action and global partnerships.
The second half of the curriculum surveys a range of living examples that represent a powerful emerging movement towards localization. Readers are introduced to a diverse set of proven tools for the renewal of communities and local economies.
Participate in our
Learning from Ladakh program
Across the world, non-Western ways of living are under threat from the consumer monoculture. In both North and South, centuries-old skills and knowledge systems are disappearing and viable rural communities are collapsing. But you can make a difference.
By living and working on a farm in Ladakh, you will have the rare opportunity to understand the pressures facing a traditional land-based culture as it confronts the global economy. Your presence and enthusiasm for the local rural way of life can also strengthen Ladakhis’ sense of cultural self-esteem. The program includes workshops on economic globalization/localization and on rethinking development, designed to help you develop skills for effective activism when you return home. Read more