ANCIENT FUTURES Learning from Ladakh
All Films in the Collection • 59m
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.
Traditions of frugality and cooperation, coupled with an intimate and location-specific knowledge of the environment, enabled the Ladakhis not only to survive, but to prosper. Then came development. Now in Leh, the capital, one finds pollution and divisiveness, inflation and unemployment, intolerance and greed. 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 – not only in the developing parts of the world, but in the industrialized world as well. The story of Ladakh teaches us about the root causes of environmental, social and psychological problems, and provides valuable guidelines for our own future.
Credits:
Produced by John Page
Associate Producers: Chris Beeman, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Eric Walton
Film Release Date: 1993, Remastered 2014
60 mins
Up Next in All Films in the Collection
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ANCIENT FUTURES 20 YEARS LATER
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.
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The Salton Sea: A Desert Saga
This is the story of the Salton Sea, its rich history and the challenges it faces. As the need for water in the American southwest becomes critical the decisions we make now will impact people, animals and the environment for generations to come. There will be no turning back from the pathway we ...
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The Krill Is Gone
THE KRILL IS GONE: shows us how burning fossil fuels is impacting the world’s fragile underwater ecosystems. 3 mins.
DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Bost
VOICEOVER TALENT: SpongeBob’s Tom Kenny and Jill Taley
Producer: Matt Briggs
Writer: Clark Taylor
