Closer to Home - Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis

This 35-minute film is a united call for a new economy, delivered by those who have committed their lives to working for systemic change.
A film by Local Futures and Cyrus Sutton.
Produced and directed by Helena Norberg-Hodge and Anja Lyngbaek.
Narrated by Nathalie Kelley.
We live in a time of multiple crises, from climate chaos, poverty, and war to skyrocketing costs of living. It can seem overwhelming - until we realise that we have the power to change things.
‘Closer to Home’ brings together an extraordinary array of thinkers, writers, and activists from every continent to make a simple but revolutionary argument: by reducing the scale of the economy, we can not only stop the rush towards social and ecological breakdown, but restore damaged ecosystems and increase our own personal well-being.
It’s a message of hope that the world cannot afford to ignore.
Watch and share the trailer here: • Closer to Home Trailer
For more information about the film, visit: www.localfutures.org/films/cl...
Local Futures is an international non-profit organization, dedicated to renewing ecological and social well-being by strengthening communities and local economies. To learn more about our work, visit: www.localfutures.org/
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[@slothanja]

So much hope! Thank you for showing us a path out of this mess🙏

[@samlinton8686]

Congratulations on a wonderful film. It does a great job explaining some of the complex issues we face while at the same time touching how many of us are feeling.

[@ISECeconofhappiness]

Much appreciated, we're happy to hear you like our new film.

[@_suse_]

"Explainer" up the top of this video to help prevent "misinformation", like the ones listed every time anyone wanted to talk about how trustworthy those things forced in our arms were ... suggests to me this is a video everyone should watch :)

[@user-gs8jn4eg1d]

Excellent film, really well made and clearly explains the complex issues we face. Gives us powerful examples of how to do something practical too.

[@ChrisMichael]

INCREDIBLE guest list. My jaw kept hitting the floor.

[@sharadabharaty4370]

Clear, transparent, story telling of a significant topic ...kudos! Very enlightening..

[@cleonawallace376]

Wonderful, I couldn't love this film more! Exactly what we need to be talking about... I am sharing widely.

[@ISECeconofhappiness]

Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.

[@mortonvrose]

Clearly a wonderful film, thanks, exactly what we should focus on.... our own place, where we can live and thrive in community, togetherness and harmony. There is much for us to learn, like sharing, compassion and lovingly working and learning together ❤❤❤ to create a life that's good for all of us and our mother earth❤

[@jeanetteschulthe1andOnly]

This is important, localization. Not only opening pathways for small, as in "card table" businesses, but also small urban farms and community gardens, etc. can sell their produce and value added farm products thereby encouraging urban farms and ensuring our prosperity and feeding ourselves should things fall to absolute crumbs. Some malls either holding govt offices or empty, near empty can do the same as a mall I know of...every second Saturday of each month, they have a LOCAL "Arts & Crafters Fair". Perhaps checking out the activity at your local mall and suggesting the same, if not conflicting with mall merchants. Local made items, source local materials, made locally and sold locally. Excellent!

[@saranbhatia8809]

Great message, meaningful, purposeful and positive!

[@Kiyarose3999]

Re ‘’War’’, ‘’As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will always be Battlefields’’ ( Leo Tolstoy)

[@AngloSaks666]

15:15 What Mr. Akomolafe says here is very important, and kind of telling of how things work, and also why we don't really notice. It doesn't just happen to the people's of these colonized countries, but to all of us.

[@ideasparaelgrangiro]

Beautiful, full of wisdom and so many wonderful people. A true gem, a mass scale must see, I´ll do my best to spread. And BTW this chanel is largely about Localization too and has an interview with Vandana Shiva. Localization is the way I love the nonlocal part of the Internet though ;-)

[@bernadineseven]

Thank you for this - I have been part of the Transition movement for decades and now live in a very small community on the far south coast of Australia. As much as l appreciate this, I kind of think this seems very much framed and, ’preaches to the converted’. Could you recommend another presentation / short movie that might be more engaging for regular folk who have not come across any options for ways of being within our communities? Many thanks 🙏 PS I guess I am looking for real examples, featuring local people, regular people in ordinary communities and examples of what is happening within their communities. Rather than listening to experts (granted, you ARE all wonderful human beings , knowledgeable in your fields and I admire you all greatly) Again, as wonderful as this presentation is, do you think that this speaks to the ordinary person? Would love some guidance as to where I could find something that speaks to this need.

[@slothanja]

Yes! It’s coming - I believe local future is now working on a video of practical examples. Thank you for living the solution 🙏

[@rttptt3710]

Top notch film, thank you 🙏

[@sunnivarojahnvigeland8695]

❤

[@AngloSaks666]

15:55 "The white teacher who brought the pencil also brought the eraser"

[@DrDanWeaver]

great stuff, thanks.

[@henrikravnjakobsen5951]

Thank you for putting this out there. It must have been a lot of work? I think if we want people to take on a new path, different from money / materialism, we need to get very clear on what that money is ACTUALLY a substitude for: Safety. As long a FEAR is the (subconscious) ruler behind our actions, we might not be able to address the problem correctly, finding the right solutions or offer a way forward that (subconsciously) speaks to those parts of us that hold us back from taking a first step (fear). So when we communicate, consider for a ,moment what it is that we communicate, and how it will be percieved by those that live in fear?

[@Homegrown4091]

I remember now who I am. ❤

[@guillemferrer2439]

BRAVISIMO documental lleno de sabiduría paz y espíritu. Con nuestras acciones personales, comunitarias y el plan del Universo el paraíso está a la vuelta de la esquina. La LOCALIZACION es la respuesta ¿ cual es tu pregunta ?.

[@WildAimee]

❤❤❤

[@gabriellacordova6099]

This is so great. Where can we find information about joining up and step-by-step models for creating these local economies and systems?

[@ISECeconofhappiness]

Hi Gabriella, Local Futures has produced a Localization Action Guide, which could be useful for creating local economies and systems. The link is here: actionguide.localfutures.org You can also find more information on our website: www.localfutures.org for podcast episodes, host a screening, etc

[@truepatriot6388]

There is a dualistic yet important distinction between syntropic and entropic flow - the former being the coming together of matter, energy and information into more meaningful, cooperative and complex forms (aka living things and the biosphere at large), and the latter being the breaking apart or degradation of those forms through wielding power and control (aka most of humanity's technology and consumption). This distinction is key to answering "What is progress?" because the type of progress matters. Syntropic progress is seen in individual growth and development, and in the ecosystem regeneration with succession starting from pioneer stage and ending in climax stage (the overall system develops to be more resilient, intelligent and beautiful). Advances in technology, weaponry and consumption are forms of Entropic progress (more degradation of the overall system). Economic "growth" is growth in consumption, which actually results in a decline of natural capital (forms of syntropy). Likewise, increased economic "production" is actually increase in the destruction/degradation of resources. In other words, industrial production is production of entropy and economic growth is growth of entropy. Now, it is important to recognise that our planet does need entropic processes to a degree needed to recycle carbon and other nutrients. When photosynthetic algae and plants (primary producers) dominated the planet, before the Cambrian explosion in animals (who are consumers with entropic drives), CO2 in the atmosphere was depleted, repeatedly plunging the planet into catacysmic "snowball Earth" states lasting many milions of years. The planetary role of animals ("beasts") is to consume plant matter, excrete those nutrients back into the soil, and exhale CO2 back into the air, which helps stabilize the planet's atmosphere, temperature and climate. But before humanity, animals only consumed in order to stay alive, and populations were kept in check by availability of food and other feedbacks. With gradual development of our capacity for dexterity, communication and intelligence, humans gradually broke free from these limits, and into a new realm of learning, cooperation, power, control, and technology. Unfortunately, we brought the basic drives and mindset of the other animals with us, and have become consumers with no natural limits ("The Beast"). Consumption by our species has become exponential, and nearly all of it is unnecessary, excessive, and with far more entropic impacts than other animals. Not only have we doubled atmospheric CO2, warming the planet and creating a climate catastrophe, but our clever industrialists have been poisoning water toxic minerals and with novel molecules that disrupt the basic functions of living things. Some of these are called "forever chemicals" because they can't be metabolized. This unrestrained animalistic consumption (entropic progress) is at the root of the climate crisis, and any "solution" will require broadly cooperative human advancement in the direction of Syntropic progress. To a large extent, this will mean learning to restrain our capacity for entropic power and control. There will be a circumscribed role for entropic power and control, as there is in all healthy living systems. As we learn to support greater Syntropic flows, the elimination of unecessary entropic flows (gluttony, greed, waste, power-seeking) will be required, and for these, most will occur "naturally". Syntropic advance entails material, cognitive-perceptual and spiritual shift away from industrialized civilization based on power, control, precision and consumption. There are numerous examples of individual people and whole cultures based syntropic values and awareness. As many point out, most of these are cultures who have learned how to live sustainably and "harmoniously" with the syntropic flows of Nature in various regions around the planet. Generally, they have done so with remarkable degrees of liberty, health, happiness, and ethical conduct, and with little need for coercive power and control. For animals, the various flows of power and control are addictive, and are at the root of our "bestial dopamine economy", meaning the release of dopamine in response to certain instinctive mamalian triggers, such as competition, social dominance, consumption and excessive comfort. But there are cognitive and social ways we can modify this by expanding our awareness of, and loving connection to, all the many beautiful inhabitants of our living planet. Little of this entails trying to change what is outside of us, rather it requires learning to stop doing things and opening our awareness to all those who are already flowing around us, and choosing to relate to them with love and respect. Knowing what we know about the nature of reality on our miraculous and beautiful planet, and our place in it, the only dignified path ahead of us is to to deeply savour the joy and the pride in being true human beings for as long as we are able.

[@leon_appnot]

🌱❤

[@MegaSnail1]

I believe worker co-ops are the answer. You can't get more democratic than that.

[@TheDomVerde]

Trade guilds that enable more people to have market access. Distribution of ownership far and wide focused on sustainable, self sufficient communities.

[@dharmaslack7382]

Spot on, localisation Is thé way, also what our bodies beef to heal

[@TheDomVerde]

It is remarkable that a deeply Catholic concept, subsidiarity, localism, is now being adopted by so many. This is GK Chesterton, Fr. Vincent McNabb, CS Lewis, Hillaire Belloc, Ivan Illich, and finally Pope Leo XIII's vision...the Catholic land Movement...Distributism!!! I am so moved and massively edified for this!

[@Kiyarose3999]

We currently grow enough food to feed a population of 10 Billion people but 80% of world grain & legumes is fed to the 80 Billion animals in animal ag. So world hunger is caused by our unnatural use of animals and their secretions as food! 🌻🌎✊🏽

[@geistacwm]

Absolutely. It’s our inability to pace ourselves that will do us in.

[@stevecampkin8613]

… and most of that food is imported to the West where 35% is wasted anyway. The insane thing is the amount of land we have in England that we walk past on our way to work to earn money to buy imported food, when we could just grow our own. We need #SolarPunk and #GuerrillaGardening and we need to #votegreen at every opportunity.

[@Kiyarose3999]

@@geistacwm it’s not about ‘’pacing’’ ourselves, but feeding 80 Billion animals for eating every year, that are responsible for the use and clearance of 1/3 of the Earths( ice free) Land Mass, without which we could reforest 78% of agricultural land while still feeding everyone. But on top of that the current highly centralised food growing and distribution systems are massively inefficient, so if we stopped this unnatural use of animals and their secretions as food AND Decentralised food production we would have max food efficiency, locally produced that would do away with the need for the current massive transport infrastructure.

[@Kiyarose3999]

@@stevecampkin8613 ‘’SolarPunk’’?

[@Kiyarose3999]

@@stevecampkin8613 But the Greens don’t prioritise animal ag and barely even mention it re the climate crisis, let alone state the actual facts that without animal ag there would be no climate crisis even at current CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. 🌻🌎✊🏽

[@Be1More]

Well done

[@davidmiles-hanschell]

Brilliant succinct analysis of the problem; can the juggernaut of global capitalism be slowed down sufficiently enough to allow the remaining Natural World and diversity of Cultures and alternative life, environmental enhancing solutions to flourish before it is, too late?I grew up in the Fifties and became aware of the destruction of my local tropical environment being destroyed in the name of progress and 'growth'. Central Experimental Station ,Centeno, Trinidad ,W.I ;thousand of acres of Tropical Rainforest bulldozed to create an experimental station to trial and promote the monoculture of certain tropical crops at the behest of Her Majesty's Colonial United Kingdom Government.

[@Kiyarose3999]

But while we need to get back to the Land and live self reliantly etc, obviously the biggest problem we face is the Mass Extinction event that we are in the midst of- Verifiable mathematical proof that the unfolding biosphere collapse is the result of Mass Global Deforestation(MGD) of 1/3rd of the Earths(Ice free) Land Mass, for the 70 Billion animals bred for eating every year. Without which we could reforest 78% of agricultural land which would be enough of a Carbon Sink to sequester more CO2 than is currently emitted ( while also ending the biggest Methane emitter and biggest cause of Ocean Dead Zones). Non Industry funded study by Systems Analysist Dr Sailesh Rao explained in simple terms how animal ag is responsible for 87% of CO2 emissions!. -kzbin.info/www/bejne/qITGkGhnrbdrqbMsi=3JKvhDKbAFQ0T9J8

[@ghislaincormier3095]

Choosing biological food is the first thing we all can do…

[@Xy0zK]

Its ok but I think zeitgeist all ready solve the problem by when you create a city in consonance with the resources around it, they think that maintaining the monetary system to a local level will solve the problem, the problem is -I think- money it’s self. Right there is the problem: how money works and what is it for. It’s like the capitalistic version of zeitgeist 😅 with the same focus that’s is human being and nature. And it’s ok. 👌 at least is a focus on the same direction with the same intention but in a different way to do it. We can work it out together 👍🏼

[@uranixcz]

Show solutions, no more pointless talk.

[@ISECeconofhappiness]

Thank you for your comment, we released today, on World Localization Day, another short-film 'The Power of Local'. It features 30 examples from across the world. We hope you will find it interesting: www.localfutures.org/films/the-power-of-local/ Watch for free here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4Kagqeoo8mZpc0

[@gyorgyangelkottbocz9766]

Nicely done film but a bit too much diagnostics and too little practical solutions... Another issue is this infatuation with sime kind of newly dressed up in green "eco socialism" as the ultimate solution. All these people stand way out to the left for me. Socialism never worked and never will. IIt's against human nature... Yes they are right about wild mega capitalism as a major drive in causing these probvlems but they are mixing up small scale capitalism (which they want to also eradicate in this process of saving the Earth) with corporatism. Read Saul's books for better understanding... Good try though, will keep on listening in, hopefully we can find an actually working middle-road solution e.g. somewhere in between the eco-collectivistic socialist community based "kumbaya" systems and the A-merkin or A-rab type mega bullshit fossil fuel fired techno derams like NEOM and Las-unsustainable-Gomorra-Vegas 🙂One more thing!!! Almost forgot! Ca 50% of the people have no interest in actually doing anything along these lines of ecological living, specially no working oin to live sustainably. They just wanna shop till they drop on Temu and eat and driunk shit. Educate the plebs! When 10b peopl,e stand up against coprporatism things will happen, as long as people live for shopping on TEMU and listen to buy-crazy unsocial media influencers: we are DOOMED! That's the key to making a sustaiable revolution!

[@ISECeconofhappiness]

Hi, thank you for your comment on the film 'Closer to Home'. Good news, we released today, on World Localization Day, another short-film 'The Power of Local'. It features 30 examples from across the world. We hope you will find it interesting: www.localfutures.org/films/the-power-of-local/ Watch for free here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4Kagqeoo8mZpc0

[@gyorgyangelkottbocz9766]

@@ISECeconofhappiness thanks for the response! will check it out! keep up the good work, I will use your material in my teaching (I am a farming/rural architecture adjunct at SLU in SWEDEN).

[@az55544]

25:23 doom words gloom words victim words I was hoping for a more solutions-based message from all of these people. Are they just talking heads or are any of them out there walking their talk. They just drone on and on. Time for a new message. We now know that the doom message hasn’t worked.

[@andywistreich]

The positive alternative proposed by the film is localisation. Sorry you missed that. I'm guessing you didn't watch towards the end. In the last [part, lots of positive pointers towards a positi ve future are shared.

[@alejandrolopezmusalem6685]

Wait for the next film: The Power of Local.. Will be released here tomorrow 😊

[@kosmickreation]

Perhaps give it a rewind to better understand the solution.

[@ianonley65]

The only person you can change is yourself. So be the change you want to see.

[@az55544]

@@ianonley65 silly fool. i have a tree nursery. i harvest my own seed and grow and sell thousands of native trees each year.

[@user-cs8tl4pe7z]

Iam not interested just clea😅will save your life's from microbes..

[@andrewfarrell6120]

I really would like to believe in this but it smacks the "new optimist" movement, talking about rewiring the existing economic system. I dunno how many times this mentioned "business." Nowhere in this "decentralized" model was there a mention of healthcare. Certain parts of our society require large governmental infrastructures and will not function in what is essentially a libertarian experiment. The kind of revolution this espouses is performative and, in the end, it will only support a small number of communities leaving large swaths of urban populations to fend for themselves in a world of hunger games. When pollyanna man says "This is a great time to be alive, " at best he's lying to himself, at worst gaslighting us to make us think these changes are just going to happen if we try ... as individuals and if you don't try then you are the problem. Wouldn't it be beautiful if we all lived in collectives, grew our own food, thatched our own roofs? Of course. It is however unrealistic, selfish, and unsustainable on a global scale.