The Permaculture Film Club June 2023 session screened the iconic and award-winning documentary, The Economics of Happiness.

The film spells out the social, spiritual, and ecological costs of today’s global economy while highlighting the multiple benefits of economic localization. It also showcases the steps people are already taking worldwide to rebuild their local economies and communities. It features Helena Norberg-Hodge, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Samdhong Rinpoche, and other inspiring thinkers and activists.

As part of this screening, I held a discussion with film club guest Helena Norberg-Hodge.

Helena is a pioneer of the new economy movement is the founder and director of the international non-profit organisation, Local Futures, and the convenor of World Localization Day. She is the author of the inspirational classic Ancient Futures, and Local is Our Future and the producer of the award-winning documentary The Economics of Happiness. She is the founder of the International Alliance for Localisation and a co-founder of the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network. Helena is a recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize, the Arthur Morgan Award, and the Goi Peace Prize for contributing to “the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide.

Watch the masterclass:

I hope you enjoy this fascinating discussion.

TO WATCH AND SHARE THE FILM: If you want to share the film with others, here is the link, and we encourage you to organise watch parties and discussion circles. Watch the film here.