Globalization critics often see economic integration as a locomotive surging forward on a course to crush underdeveloped areas and indigenous cultures in its way.

The threat is real, but profit and preservation need not be mutually exclusive, says Laurence Brahm, an international mediator, lawyer, author and activist.

Mr. Brahm worked with the governments of Vietnam and Laos on economic policy in the early 1990s and later moved to China, where he advised the country's top economic leaders at a critical time for its development as a market economy. He has spent the last two decades in China.

On a trip to remote regions of Tibet and Yunnan province in 2002, Mr. Brahm saw the need for a development strategy in the Himalayas that empowers ethnic groups to launch sustainable enterprises while keeping their religious and cultural traditions intact.

Leaving his career as a consultant behind, Mr. Brahm decided to split time between Beijing and Tibet, working on an experiment in local development he has dubbed the “Himalayan Consensus.”

So far, Mr. Brahm has helped build schools and medical clinics, and his organization is working to launch small businesses using micro financing.

It has established two tourist lodges in Tibet and one at the Great Wall of China near Beijing. All the lodges are run by Tibetans and built with local materials. Profits are invested back in the enterprises themselves or in local schools or architectural preservation projects, said Reiko Feaver, director of fundraising and public awareness for the Himalayan Consensus.

Ms. Feaver spent 12 years in Atlanta practicing law at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Troutman Sanders LLP and Atlanta-based Scientific Games Corp., where she helped the company enter China's lottery market.

She visited Atlanta recently to boost awareness about the Himalayan Consensus and gauge companies' interest in supporting the organization's sustainable economic development model through their corporate social responsibility plans.

After Ms. Feaver's visit, GlobalAtlanta talked with Mr. Brahm by e-mail about the origins and objectives of the Himalayan Consensus, indigenous entrepreneurship, the future of globalization and how Atlanta companies can balance the goal of reaching foreign markets with a consideration for local ways of life.

GlobalAtlanta: How did the idea for the Himalayan Consensus come about, and what distinguishes it from other aid and development organizations in the region? Why focus on the Himalayas?

Mr. Brahm: The Himalayan Consensus originated in 2002 with the experimental documentaries Searching for Shangrila and The Lost Kingdom of Shambhala during expeditions to the Himalayas. Although we didn’t find Shangrila, we found numerous local efforts by different ethnic groups to protect their culture with sustainable economic platforms.

These experiences inspired me in 2005 to begin restoring buildings in Lhasa [the capital of the Chinese province of Tibet] to create geo-tourist lodges focused on employing local people and using local materials. All of this was a way to help protect traditional architecture and artisan culture. We also started micro-financing programs to give the indigenous people the chance to establish their own enterprises and improve their own economic conditions. From these roots, we have now been able to start medical clinics and education and training programs. The approach is being recognized as “Himalayan Consensus.”

GlobalAtlanta: With your sustainable model, you're working to build small-scale business operations. Are entrepreneurial principles something you've had to teach local leaders? What challenges have you faced?

Mr. Brahm: Our approach is to provide the opportunities to local people to develop their own enterprises. We have found that people know what they want to do, but just need the initial tools to get them started. What we have done is to help give them these tools and provide training and assistance.

The local people we have worked with are excited to be given the chance to own their own businesses and to become real stakeholders in their personal future. These projects instill self-confidence and empowerment which leads to even greater success. In a sense, we provide an incubator environment which provides the nurturing for people to take over their own destinies.

GlobalAtlanta: Americans see their “melting pot” status as a source of strength. You seem to disagree, at least insofar as it leads to forcing that ideal upon unwilling or unwitting ethnic groups. How have you seen globalization lead to cultural homogenization, especially in China? Is this dangerous, and is it reversible in areas where it has already taken place?

Mr. Brahm: I believe that one of America’s greatest assets in comparison to other nations is its relatively liberal immigration policy. In this regard we receive the best and brightest from many countries, in recent years South Asia, a factor that will help us lead in technology and smart power. However, it is key that each ethnic group join this larger community while, simultaneously, maintaining its own ethnic, religious and indigenous identity. In diversity we have our human uniqueness. Every country that has multi-ethnic groups – America, Britain, France and China - faces this challenge. It is a challenge of finding balance.

GlobalAtlanta: Though you seem critical of globalization, aren't there plans to use it to your advantage through overseas fundraising efforts or by helping artisans export their crafts, for example?

Mr. Brahm: I have not criticized globalization as such. Globalization has always been with us. It is a question of what kind of globalization we have, and moreover how we manage its impact. In fact, the terms globalization and anti-globalization are often used out of context. The so-called anti-globalization protesters are organizing themselves using the very tools of globalization – Internet and mobile communications. What these groups are protesting against are sets of economic and political policies that further cyclical poverty, income gaps and ignore environmental catastrophe that we now face. An increasing number of NGO and social-action groups globally are calling for alternative paradigms for economic development that protect diversity of both human beings and the environment. In our own small way, we have pioneered one such approach. However, there are many other approaches. In the diversity of these approaches we have strength and, moreover, create unique development paths that can be followed – not just a single approach. It is the one path blinkered approach that many are voicing against.

The criticisms I have expressed are largely against singular module ‘top-down’ solutions for economic development that ignore realities on the ground. Each of our projects builds from the bottom up, using techniques and approaches that work in concert with local conditions. The indigenous people who benefit from the projects are the stakeholders in these projects. Economic sustainability is core to the problem. Donating money to help disadvantaged peoples throughout the world is important but equally important is how such funds are applied. The pitfalls that I have seen come from a failure to see how local conditions will impact the long-term success or failure of an economic development plan. Utilization of the global marketplace is just one more means for indigenous people to advance their own well-being and financial security. By introducing genuine products created locally and managed by local people who directly receive the benefits of sales of their products, individuals are empowered and the global market enhanced.

GlobalAtlanta: Atlanta is home to many Fortune 500 companies. How can these companies, whose future survival depends on expanding into global markets, balance profit with a sensitivity for other cultures and the environment in their overseas ventures? In other words, how can we implement “Himalayan Consensus” principles without crippling economic growth in developed areas?

My central belief is that economic growth and attention to and respect for individual cultures and the environment are not mutually exclusive. In fact, local culture and respect and care for the environment are critical preconditions for long-lasting economic growth. As an example, the Himalayan region provides the water for all of China, India and Southeast Asia. Without an awareness and a concerted effort to change the negative impacts our activities are having on the snowfalls in the Himalayans one-third of the world’s population will soon face catastrophic water shortages. Without water, no economy can survive.

We don’t call for slowing of economic growth, but understanding the factors that make it sustainable. Both corporations and government policymakers must realize that we are on a planet of rapidly diminishing resources, which means that the standards of living that the developed world has enjoyed for so long are no longer sustainable, particularly as income gaps sharpen and extremism rises in response. Addressing these changes mandates adjustments in our values. In this there is also opportunity for corporations to lead new trends rather than follow existing patterns. There is no reason that companies throughout the world cannot adopt innovative approaches as well. In fact, companies are usually the best innovators of all!

GlobalAtlanta: Why should these companies work with your organization and what kinds of partnerships would lead to the best results?

Many corporations have begun to realize the importance of strong corporate social responsibility programs and the need to give back to the world to help those in disadvantaged circumstances. Our projects are excellent candidates for these corporate initiatives. They are not intended to create ‘crutches’ of perpetual aid, but, rather, are intended to give the local population the initial platform on which to build their own enterprises, establish their own schools, and provide their own medical care. We have worked with several embassies in China, as well as individuals and corporations world-wide. Our greatest need is ongoing financial support, both for existing medical programs and for micro-finance projects.

For more on the Himalayan Consensus, click here. To learn more about Mr. Brahm, click here. 

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