Poor and happy: The societies that defy life satisfaction trends

Poor and happy: The societies that defy life satisfaction trends

The Melanesian people living in the Roviana and Gizo regions of the Solomon Islands are some of the poorest in the world. They live a subsistence lifestyle, fulfilling their needs by fishing and farming. Occasionally, they sell their goods at the local marketplace to buy processed foods or pay their children’s school tuition fees. The luxuries of modern life — smartphones, the internet, TV, memory-foam mattresses — are hard to find. But despite …