Tradition vs. Tourism - Part 2

Leh, Ladakh (Thurs. 6.29.06)

Since we've arrived in Ladakh, the clash between the two has become more apparent than ever! The culture here had changed little over the last 1,000 years before the influx of tourism. I found a great book by a woman that's spent about 30 years in the area (which has only been open for 40 years to tourists) studying the problem, it's causes and possible solutions. She's organized a couple of organizations here in Leh that we've visited who help to promote both ecological and cultural awareness for locals and instill sensitivity in tourists. Her book, "Ancient Futures - Learning from Ladakh" makes several goods points I thought worth passing along...

Though traditional culture is far from ideal and the people DO benefit from modern technologies (i.e. solar power + heating) they do not have the knowledge or experience to question many things presented to them as "progress" (i.e. western medicines, educational models, farming for export vs. subsistence, chemical vs. organic fertilizers). The individual changes that come along usually look like unconditional improvements and there is no way of anticipating their long-term consequences. The people receive almost no information about the impact that development has had in other parts of the World.

Conventional development seems attractive to the people since it appears to offer enormous benefits at no apparent cost. They do not hear what we have learned from experience and take far fewer precautions (i.e. our move away from toxic chemicals and return to organic agriculture, side effects of Western drugs and return to Eastern medicines).

An important factor of cultural breakdown is the sense of inferiority produced by contact with the Modern World. As the desire the appear "modern" grows, people are rejecting their own culture + traditional practices which are seen as "backward".

Development works on the assumption that the introduction of money is an improvement, and the more the better. While this may be true for the mainstream economy, it is not for a traditional subsistence one where there is no exchange of cash, but a bartering system based on local resources. Moving away from this system makes people dependent on the functions of international finance which is beyond their control.

The arguement that Third World countries should follow in our footsteps to be rich + comfortable too is flawed because our 1/3 of the World's population already consumes 2/3 of the World's resources.

Tourism is a double-edged sword. Once it's begun, the people rely on and benefit from our tourist dollars, but the impression we make is often damaging. Since we come here on vacation, it appears that we all have lots of money and don't need to work for it. TV + movies also give a false impression on what western life is like through their glamorized portrayals, and the impressionable younger generations feed off this and try to emulate it.

So what can we do as Westerner's?

Buy products like shade-grown coffee which preserves the environment; Support local economies; Lobby for subsidies for decentralized renewable energy; Encourage a change in western-style education that would give a broader, more contextual + ecological approach; Increase cultural exchange - Tell them how people are willing to pay more for stone-ground, whole-meal bread vs. processed white; That homes built out of natural materials are preferred to concrete; That smoking is not cool and people now realize it's bad for your health; That people in the West have much, but that it doesn't make them happy; That we work many hours too, but suffer from stress; That we've lost our sense of community and rarely speak to our neighbors + sometimes not to our own families. Basically, break the stigma that our way is the "right" way and let them know that they hold much valuable knowledge about a sustainable future for us all.