Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh

Helena Norberg-Hodge was one of the first westerners to visit Ladakh when it was opened to “development” in 1975, and one of the only outsiders to master the Ladakhi language. This beautiful book provides not only an intimate look at Ladakh’s traditional culture, but also an unflinching description of the psychological, social, and environmental costs of modernisation. Profound insights into what the modern world can learn from traditional cultures make Ancient Futures an inspiration for all who seek a better world. Together with a film of the same title, Ancient Futures has been translated into almost 40 languages. (Please contact us about non-English editions.)

“An entrancing book…. Everyone who cares about the future of this planet should read it.”
The Guardian

“A book that must be heeded.”
The Nation

Rider Books (UK), revised 2000; paperback, b&w photos.

£9.99

Sierra Club Books (US), revised 2002; 204 pages; paperback, b&w photos.

$16.50

Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness

The global food system, based on industrial agriculture and long-distance transport and trade, is erasing the rich diversity of food systems worldwide. The costs of this transformation are enormous, and growing larger every day. This book describes those many costs, and points out how we can shift direction – towards local food systems that meet real human and ecological needs.

By Helena Norberg-Hodge, Todd Merrified and Steven Gorelick.

“Want to know what’s wrong with globalisation? Read this book. Want to know what to do about it? Read this book.”
David Suzuki

Zed Books (UK) and Kumarian Press (US), 2002; 150 pages, paperback, b&w photos, index.

£9.99: US$18.00

Ripe for Change: Rethinking California's Food Economy

An ISEC report detailing the need for a shift from global to local in
California's food system.

By Katy Mamen, Steven Gorelick, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and Diana Deumling

ISEC, 2004; 130 pages paperbound report, b&w illustrations.

£7.50; US$12.

Ripe for Change:
Report Summary

11 page booklet.

US$2.00

More info and downloadable pdf files here...

From the Ground Up: Rethinking Industrial Agriculture

An analysis of the roots of the environmental, social and economic crises facing modern industrial agriculture, and a review of more sustainable options.

By Helena Norberg-Hodge, Peter Goering and John Page.

ISEC & Zed Books, 2000; 120 pages, paperback.

£7.95; US$13.00

Shifting Direction: From Global Dependence to Local Interdependence

An accounting of the costs of globalisation, and a description of concrete steps that can be taken to shift towards the local.By Helena Norberg-HodgeISEC. 2000; 16 pages, paperbound.

£3.00; US$5.00

Small is Beautiful, Big is Subsidised

An ISEC study showing how taxpayers' money is used to promote ever larger scale. Using numerous examples and statistics, the report demonstrates that the global economy and its huge transnational corporations are being heavily subsidised at the expense of small, local producers.

By Steven Gorelick, with a foreword by Helena Norberg-Hodge.ISEC, 1998; 56 pages, paperbound, b&w illustrations.

£3.50; US$6.00

The Future of Progress: Reflections on Environment and Development

A collection of essays that challenge the Western notions of progress that dominate the current debate on environment and development.Contributors include Edward Goldsmith, Vandana Shiva, Sigmund Kvaloy, Martin Khor, Nicholas Hildyard, Gary Snyder and Helena Norberg-Hodge.Green Books, revised edition 1995; 254 pages, paperback.

£8.95; US$14.50

A Journey to New York

ISEC's "counter-development" comic book for use in the South, which sets out to balance the overly glamorous image of modern urban life. In so doing, it helps to support more rural, community-based ways of living and to restore respect for non-Western cultures around the world.ISEC, 1994; 32 pages, full colour.

£3.00; US$5.00

Wisdom for a Livable Planet

ISEC Director Helena Norberg-Hodge is one of eight thinkers and activists whose lives and work are examined in this inspiring volume. Among the other visionaries profiled are David Orr, Wes Jackson, Dave Foreman, and Herman Daly.

By Carl N. McDaniel

"A kind of primer for twenty-first century citizenship, and well worth the reading."
Bill McKibben

Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2005; 277 pages, paperbound, index. US$17.95

Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economies for Security in an Unstable World

In the context of an increasingly unstable global economy, Short Circuit provides a much-needed study into how communities can build an independent local economy. It details the financial structures necessary for self-reliance, and describes the techniques already in use in pioneering communities across the industrialised world.By Richard Douthwaite, with a foreword by Ed Mayo and Helena Norberg-Hodge.

Green Books, 1996; 386 pages, paperback.

Currently out of print. Full text and further information is available from Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (Feasta).