Building Bottom-Up Societies (video)

Sarvodaya and the Ancient Blueprint for Healing Today’s Fractured World

Everywhere we look today, the signs of breakdown are evident: deepening polarization, social fragmentation, and outbreaks of violence. The bonds of trust and belonging seem to be unraveling before our eyes.

In times like these, I return to examples that show us another way is possible. One of the most powerful is Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka—a 65-year-old movement that built a parallel polis, an alternative society from the bottom up.

Instead of waiting for political rescue, villagers came together across political and religious divides to pool resources and practice self-reliance rooted in compassion and shared humanity.

For me, Sarvodaya is not just a local success story; it is a global one.

It is part of the lineage of the Ancient Blueprint—examples across history where communities discovered that the path to renewal runs through cooperation, generosity, and love. It’s the same current that informs my work on Symbiotic Culture today.

At a time when fear and division may feel overwhelming, these stories can anchor us.

Sarvodaya’s five-stage development path—building psychological, social, institutional, economic, and self-governing capacities—shows how renewal scales outward, step by step, beginning small and expanding into something truly civilizational.

After you watch, I’d love to hear: what does this stir in you? How can we begin to weave similar bonds where we live?

BACKGROUND:

Find FAQs, Mini Essays, and More Here:

Building an Alternative Global Civilization from the Bottom Up

Symbiotic Culture Approach

The Ancient Blueprint: Building a Culture of Connection in a Broken World

With gratitude and hope,
Richard