Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh
How we can learn about ecological solutions from an ancient culture? Ladakh, or Little Tibet, is a wildly beautiful desert land high in the western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources and an extreme climate. Yet, for more than a thousand years, it has been home to a thriving culture.
Then came development. Centuries of ecological balance and social harmony are under threat from modernization. The breakdown of Ladakh's culture and environment forces us to re-examine what we really mean by progress.
With Helena Norberg-Hodge.
Watch bonus material by clicking here.
Running Time
61 mins
Year
1993
Kanopy ID
1100452
Filmmakers
Features
Languages
Subjects
Show More
Related videos
A Convenient Truth - Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil
The original "green" city. A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil is an informative, inspirational documentary aimed at sharing ideas to provoke environment-friendly and cost-effective changes in cities worldwide.
The documentary focuses on innovations in transportation, recycling, social benefits including affordable housing, seasonal parks, and the processes that transformed…
Resorting To Madness
The film addresses the impacts of the modern ski resort industry on mountain communities and environments. Including footage and interviews from dozens of ski areas, experts and concerned community members throughout North America, Resorting to Madness reveals the negative side of an otherwise glamorous sport and offers up suggestions to…
Ancient Futures: 20 Years Later 2014 Postscript
2014 Bonus material:
An 11 minute postscript which describes some of the changes that have occurred in the 20 years since the film was made, including new interviews with several of the Ladakhis who were in the original film.
Watch the main feature by clicking here.
Returning Souls - Connection with Ancestors in Taiwan
The carved pillars of the matrilineal Amis tribe's famed ancestral house recount tribal legends such as The Great Flood and The Glowing Girl, and are home to the ancestral spirits of the Amis. The pillars, however, were removed from the village for exhibition in Taiwan's Institute of Ethnology Museum after…
Running Out of Time
In many ways the heart of indigenous India, mineral-rich Jharkhand is and has been at the core of India's industrial development after independence. There, the indigenous Adivasi people have borne the brunt of what is arguably India's most fundamental developmental conflict, which has pushed them to the verge of extinction…
Aamakaar - The Turtle People
Aamakaar tells the story of preservation.
This film depicts the struggles of a small fisihing village in North Kerala that is fighting the assault on its estuary by sand mining. The villagers are also engaged in the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles that have come to their beach to nest.…
Dream People Of The Amazon
The Achuar people live in a part of the Amazon rain forest as pristine today as it was a thousand years ago. Their dreams are keeping it that way. The Achuar had no contact with the outside world until the early 1970's. We learn how their dreams have protected their…
Houses Of Straw
This film shows the recent development of strawbale building in Germany. In interviews with owners, builders, architects and experts many relevant green building topics are discussed. Straw is an annually renewable crop, available wherever grain crops are grown. It is indeed a waste product, much of which is currently burnt…
Drying For Freedom
Drying For Freedom travels from America's clothesline-free yards to India's open-air laundromats to explore how the electric dream was marketed, without regard for its environmental and other impacts.
In post-war America, the push to "Live Better Electrically", with Ronald Reagan as spokesman, was symbolized by the selling of energy hungry…
Around Tasmania - Sea Kayaking Australia
Drawn by its mysterious history and wild and rugged shores, the remote and little-known Australian island of Tasmania proved to be perfect coastline for us to explore by kayak, stopping along the 600-mile route to visit with fishermen and historians, sailors and aboriginals.
Tierra de Patagones
A 6 month trip by Gauchos del Mar brothers Joaquin and Julian Azulay as they cross the Patagonia Region of Argentina. New waves discovered, new friends met, Patagonic culture explored, unique animals seen, and a sailboat journey to the uninhabited "Isla de los Estados". Will they achieve their dream of…
Remains Of A River - From Source To Sea Down The Colorado
Two friends. 113 days. 1,700 miles. One endangered river. From October 2011 to January 2012, Will Stauffer-Norris and Zak Podmore hiked and paddled from Wyoming's Wind River Mountains to Mexico following the Colorado River system from its farthest inland source to the sea, filming and narrating on the fly. The…