Helena Norberg-Hodge | Reclaiming the Local

Support the Campfire Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattiasolsson What if many of the problems we face today – from ecological breakdown and economic inequality to loneliness and the loss of meaning – have more in common than we think? Helena Norberg-Hodge has spent decades exploring these connections. As the founder of Local Futures and a pioneer of the localisation movement, she has worked to strengthen local economies and communities around the world. Her understanding of these issues grew out of her experiences in Ladakh, in the Himalayas, where she witnessed a way of life that challenged many of the assumptions we take for granted in the modern West. In this conversation, we explore how the global economy has reshaped our lives, from the food we eat and the work we do to the time we have for one another. Helena argues that the relentless pursuit of growth and efficiency has enriched giant corporations while undermining local businesses, communities and ecosystems. We talk about free trade, technology, time poverty and the growing sense that we must run faster and faster just to break even. But this isn't simply a conversation about what has gone wrong. Helena describes the many people already moving in another direction: rebuilding local economies, reconnecting with nature, and finding ways to live and work together. We discuss the importance of slowing down, making time to care, and shifting from individual responsibility towards collective action. What can we learn from cultures that have not followed the same path of development? And how might we begin to reclaim the time, connection and sense of belonging that make life meaningful? **IN THIS EPISODE** • Helena’s life-changing experiences in Ladakh • Globalisation, free trade and the power of giant corporations • The hidden costs of economic growth and technological progress • Time poverty, loneliness and the loss of community • Localisation, food systems and resilient local economies • Climate change, war and the wider roots of our multiple crises • The role of artists and filmmakers in a time of trouble • Moving from individual action towards collective efforts • Five words for a different direction: reconnect, rethink, resist, renew and rejoice **LINKS** Support the Campfire Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattiasolsson Explore Helena’s work and writing: https://www.helenanorberghodge.com/ Discover Local Futures and its work on localisation: https://www.localfutures.org/ Watch *Trade Gone Mad*, the short film recommended in our conversation, along with *The Economics of Happiness* and *The Real Economy*: https://www.localfutures.org/films/ Watch *A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity*, the Happen Films documentary featuring Helena: https://www.happenfilms.com/films/a-simpler-way Listen to Helena Norberg-Hodge on Charles Eisenstein’s podcast, *A New and Ancient Story*: https://soundcloud.com/charleseisenstein/helena-norberg-hodge-local-is-the-future-e36 Watch all the films at Campfire Stories: https://www.campfire-stories.org/ The Campfire Podcast is hosted by documentary filmmaker Mattias Olsson and is part of Campfire Stories, an independent film platform exploring the roots of our ecological and social troubles — and the beginnings of a different direction. These films and conversations are freely available. Campfire Stories is sustained by people who believe this work matters. * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.