• Author: Helena Norberg-Hodge
• Narrators: Roxi Davis, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Tsewang Namgyal
• Publisher: Local Futures
• With newly written and narrated Introduction and Afterword by Helena Norberg-Hodge
• Audible sample: listen here
• Format available to download: mp3 (621MB), mp3 compressed (311MB), and m4a (357MB)
• The files can be downloaded once the order has been accepted
• Also available in paperback and E-book
  

Let yourself be swept away to Ladakh, a region nestled high in the Himalayan plateau. It is a place like no other. The brightest sky makes snow-covered mountain peaks sparkle for miles. Below, scree tumbles down the mountain sides, infinite shades of ocher, into winding glacier-fed streams. The streams support a surrounding tapestry of vibrant green fields interspersed with stone houses, while on a nearby outcropping, a whitewashed monastery sits, overseeing the village, linking together land, people, mountains, and sky.

'Ancient Futures' is a lyrical and moving portrait of tradition and change in Ladakh, or “Little Tibet", as it was once known. The book is also an engaging critique of the global economy and a call for economic localization. When author, Helena Norberg-Hodge, first arrived in Ladakh in the 1970s, she found a pristine environment and a people who exhibited remarkable vitality and joy. Not long after, came economic growth and development and Norberg-Hodge watched how a whole range of problems—from polluted air and water to unemployment, religious conflict, eating disorders and youth suicide—began to appear for the first time.

Yet this is far from a story of despair. Social and environmental breakdown, Norberg-Hodge argues, is neither inevitable nor evolutionary, but the product of political and economic decisions—and those decisions can be changed. In a new Afterword for this audiobook, she contextualizes the current big-picture crises we face and the solutions each of us can be a part of. Norberg-Hodge also introduces us to a multitude of grassroots initiatives—a manifestation of a rapidly growing localization movement. She shows it is possible to reweave the local, the human-scale, and the place-based back into our lives, without terrible sacrifice, but rather to the benefit of all humans and nature. The story of Ladakh continues to serve as a source of inspiration to anyone interested in creating a better future.

'Ancient Futures' challenges us to redefine what a healthy society means and to find ways to carry centuries-old wisdom into our future. Along with a film of the same title, it has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Originally published in 1991 and second edition in 2016, this audiobook edition contains a newly written and narrated Introduction and Afterword by Helena Norberg-Hodge.

Endorsements:

“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 social, spiritual and ecological costs of exporting ‘Western’ lifestyles to every corner of the globe.” - Naomi Klein

“Ancient Futures was a formative influence on my worldview. That it is still so relevant today 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. It shows us that another, better world is possible!” - Frances Moore Lappé

Acknowledgements:

Production: Kristen Steele
Post-production: Samantha Salmon
Text and audio editing: Anja Light, Carly Gayle, Henry Coleman, Kristen Steele, Marjana Kos, Samantha Salmon
Ladakhi vocabulary assistance: Alex Jensen, Chozin Palmo, Henry Coleman, Kristen Steele
Design: Cathy Martin, Kamya O'Keefe, Jonathan Tomlinson, Samantha Salmon, Kristen Steele
Distributor: Findaway Voices and Local Futures

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