After centuries of relative isolation Ladakh was suddenly thrown open to “development” and tourism in the mid-1970s. This “development” brought many changes to the previously peaceful, prosperous and largely self-reliant culture of Ladakh. Junk food, plastic consumer goods, pollution, and toxics including DDT and asbestos came to the region as part of this process. Equally, Western-style education, television and advertising – glamorizing an urban consumer life-style – have had a dramatic psychological effects, giving the impression that life in the West is one of limitless wealth and leisure and, in turn, that rural life and traditional culture are primitive and inferior. The influx of tourists has added to the impression that life in the West is infinitely better than in Ladakh. Tourists will often spend the same amount in a day that a whole family in a Ladakhi village might spend in a year. As a consequence, Ladakhis, particularly the young people, feel that their lifestyle seems poor and backward. Tourists, in turn, often unwittingly reinforce these feelings and insecurities. Having no way of knowing the degree to which Ladakhis have traditionally been self-reliant, they are often horrified to hear of daily wages as low as five dollars, or of an absence of electricity. Generally, neither tourists nor Ladakhis reflect on the fact that money plays a completely different role in the West, where it’s needed for basic survival.

These misunderstandings are born of a lack of complete information and real communication between tourists and Ladakhis. We have found that greater knowledge about what is happening around the world, not isolationism, is the surest way for Ladakhis to take control over their own future. Recognizing that tourism is a powerful agent of change, we make great efforts to reach out to visitors to invite them to participate in solutions at every level: from cultural awareness, to ecologically sensitive behavior, to supporting alternatives both in Ladakh and in their own home communities.

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Tourist Education Program

Local Futures’ Mindful Travel and Tourist Education Program seeks to address this knowledge gap and foster greater understanding about the root causes of cultural breakdown and about strategic solutions. In order to help visitors to Ladakh minimize their impact on the local environment and adopt culturally sensitive practices, Mindful Travel and Tourist Education Program strives to:

Introduce tourists to Ladakh’s past and present.
Sensitize tourists to the impact of their stay in Ladakh and give them guidelines for culturally, economically and ecologically responsible behavior.
Encourage tourists to make the links between changes in Ladakh and parallel issues in their home countries.

Daily Screenings

From mid-June through early September, Local Futures screens two documentary films about Ladakh, globalization and development, Ancient Futures and The Economics of Happiness. These screenings take place in Leh, Monday through Saturday at 14:00 at the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh, about a five to ten minute walk north of the main bazaar. The films are followed by wide-ranging discussions facilitated by Local Futures staff and volunteers.

We also offer private workshops and film screenings for tourist groups by arrangement. To request a workshop or film screening for a tourist group, contact [email protected]

The following articles provide more information about the negative impacts of development in Ladakh, as well as our work to counter them: