Do join us for a sociable evening of festivities – bring a friend or two – All Welcome!
Our next Green Drinks evening will take place upstairs at the Great Haywood Sports & Social Club from 7.30 to 9.00 pm
In 1975, linguist Helena Norberg-Hodge went to Ladakh to help make a film. The experience changed her worldview, her values and the direction of her life.
In Ladakh, or ‘Little Tibet’, a region of Kashmir in the Western Himalayas, she encountered a landscape more beautiful than any she had ever seen and a people happier and more peaceful than any she had ever met. This area of few resources and an extreme climate had been home to a thriving, rich culture for more than a 1,000 years.
Then came “development”, with pollution, divisiveness, inflation, unemployment, intolerance and greed in its wake. Centuries of ecological balance and social harmony were under threat. Helen wrote the book ‘Ancient Futures’ in 1991 contrasting the harmonious relationship of Ladakhis to each other and to their environment with the effects of “western notions of progress” on the region. The film of the same name came two years later.
What can we learn from this way of thinking? “Progress” has brought many advantages but at what cost to ourselves, the planet’s climate and its ecosystems? Do all of our material comforts really make us happy? Can we be fulfilled without being constant “consumers”? How can we live more sustainably and learn to live within the Earth’s limits? How can we as a community respond to these challenges?’
A good film and forward-looking discussion await on 7th Feb. All Welcome!
To find out more about Helena, the book and film here.
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