Reflections on well-being: from GDP to local communities and their landscapes

This chapter gives a brief introduction to the expanding practices of assessing well-being. A seed-blessing ceremony of indigenous Quechua communities in southern Peru is described as an example of communities searching for well-being and as an example of a different paradigm or worldview. Subsequently, different measures of developmental progress are presented as well as the quest for a broader understanding of well-being in the context of current crises. Surveybased and participatory approaches for assessing well-being are discussed and the conclusion of the chapter argues for assessment of community well-being at landscape level.