"the more local you can be,
the better the world is globally"
Omah Sinau Gesang, translating to "A Home of Life Learning", is a center focused on educating Indonesia about the impacts of globalization from food sourcing, over consumption, cost efficiencies, and connective communities. The solution is simple; a deep focus on local practices, for the betterment of the world as a whole.
the sugar man
coconut sugar cups, sold every Friday
To encourage tourism to the area, the government instructed locals to learn how to make international foods like donuts and spaghetti.
"But we have our foods that we know how to make well, and want to share with the world".
For them it starts with education and self appreciation.
Many of the youth who are now growing up with social media, primarily a reflection of western culture, are seeing the way others online live and seek that out. And so new desires are growing in the community: trendy cafes, volume of products, and chain stores.
Many of the people growing up now fail to realize that what they have is incredibly valuable, and needs to be protected. The valley still operates on natural production and local exchange, a rarity that once left is difficult to return back to.
products of the self named "banana valley"
a slow, natural process
My next global stop into the heart of something local is in Vietnam, where I stayed in a village on the edges of tourism and development.
The homes dotted across the valley below were recently bought up by a development company hoping to build hotels and other tourism related infrastructure.
It will be the first time people other than the traditional caretakers of the land are stewards of this mountain valley.
The people, although excited about the money made from having sold their house to move further up the mountain, are cautious of the future. Can an outside developer still care about the land and the people, more than they care about their money and bottom lines?
Music exchange, talk of dreams, and what money does to a person.
"My biggest dream now is that the water stays clear and mountain stays green".
The many waterfalls are important to the village. It's a source of power for the homes and play for the people.
"I lived in the city before, but it was so chaotic so I came back. Sometimes it's like, what are we all even doing?"
fishing by hand from an intentionally drained pond a few hours before dinner.
pre-dawn gardening
How might the people back home use this land?
How might local land use here inform the way I use land back home?
Can we through tourism and exploration, instead of flattening culture and exacerbating economic disparities, transcend viral media aesthetics to reorient the world back to more local, healthier, cost effective practices?
Back near the city, even monks now walk past corporate retention ponds on the way home to suburbia.
miscellaneous frames in transit
