A while back I stumbled over this project – Ballons of Bhutan done by Jonahtan Harris. He spent two weeks there exploring what happiness really mean to the people living there and the result is, as the site describes it, “a [wonderful] portrait of happiness in the last Himalayan kingdom”.
In Buthan they use ‘Gross National Happiness’ rather than Gross National Product to measure the socio-economic prosperity in the country. Jonathan spoke to 117 people and asked each one of them 5 questions related to happiness. Based on each person’s stated level of happiness he inflated a certain number of ballons and wrote each person’s wish onto their favourite coloured ballon. All of the ballons where inflated on the final day and strung up at the top of a sacred mountain pass.
Jonathan has documented and captured the story of each of the 117 people he spoke to beautifully. It’s humbling, honest and incredibly fascinating and touching to hear and read the answers of the Bhutan people. Why some only choose one ballon (1 = unhappy) and what their one wish would be and why .
With all that we in digital can do I wish more of us, myself included, would use our skills to explore, document and share stories of the world in this wonderful way.
Website: balloonsofbhutan.org/
More about Jonathan Harris at number27.org
Stories: balloonsofbhutan.org/story.php#/stories/
Wishes: balloonsofbhutan.org/wishes.php
Stats page: balloonsofbhutan.org/statistics.php
