Current and Recent Projects
Re-Alliance works with partner organisations to implement regenerative projects throughout the world. Our role is usually in research, project design and management, producing educational materials, evaluating and monitoring and disseminating information. See below for more information on our recent and current projects.
Regenerative Camps and Settlements
May 2022- May 2025
Great oaks from little acorns grow: from pilots to system-change.
Over the next three years, Re-Alliance will be working on our ‘Regenerative Camps and Settlements' project. The project will pilot regenerative interventions within formal and informal camps for refugees and IDPs. The learnings from the projects will inform our wider research into regenerative responses to disaster and displacement and create content for further learning materials and knowledge sharing aimed at promoting grass-roots, community led interventions and influencing mainstream INGO activities.
1 st Funding round May 2022
41 applications received
8 projects selected
In May 2022, we held our first round of funding and selected eight projects from the 41 applications received. A second round of funding is planned for 2023. The local partners selected have begun implementing change-making regenerative programmes to trial innovations which benefit local communities and the natural environment. The projects aim to enhance multiple systems, increasing the health of social, ecological and economic systems together. These projects aim to work in an integrated way to break down the traditional silos between sectors.
We will have a second round of funding in 2023 when we intend to fund projects focusing on energy and communication.
The May 2022 projects include:
3 Integrated Sanitation Projects
(Nakivale Uganda, Zahle Lebanon and Kakuma Kenya)
Although the concept of dry and compost toilets is now more understood and has been adopted in some camp settings, widespread uptake is limited because, in part, the benefits of resource creation are not appreciated and therefore systems are not maintained and valued.
We have partnered with local groups with a focus and understanding of soil health, nutrient cycles and food growing. By integrating various designs of composting toilets with amending soils for plant growth we aim to create projects which thrive at the intersection between WASH and Livelihoods creating multiple benefits to both areas.
3 Urban Agriculture Projects
(Bamenda Cameroon, Gaza Palestine and Athens Greece)
Urban agriculture increases access to healthy, affordable, fresh food and gives communities a chance to learn about nutrition and growing food. More than this, it gives people who have been uprooted from their homes purposeful, therapeutic activity. By growing and cooking favourite foods, a taste of home can be created in a new place while tiny green spaces enrich the environment and biodiversity of cities. Reducing the amount of food families have to buy increases resilience and reduces the amount of food that needs to be imported into cities at high carbon costs. The projects supported also integrate the use of up-cycled and recycled materials and seed saving to reduce inputs and create regenerative cycles.
1 Lime Stabilised Soil construction Project
(Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh)
If concrete was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of CO2 in the world. Lime Stabilised soil is a viable alternative to concrete with similar cost, strength and adaptability benefits but with a fraction of the carbon footprint.
Following disasters, huge rebuilding programmes often utilise concrete for rapid rebuilding, but lime stabilised soil has been shown to have greater benefits as it allows for the use of on-site materials (soil) and reduces the need for imported materials. It therefore minimises costs, carbon and resource demands and reduces construction traffic by avoiding transport of excavated and imported materials.
Lime stabilisation is established practice with a proven history of successful use internationally but cement is still the first choice by many engineers in part because of the knowledge gap of use.
Lime Stabilised soil could be particularly useful in projects in Cox’s Bazar, because the use of concrete is often prohibited by the authorities for political reasons. Lime could be a viable alternative to concrete without compromising on strength and safety and help the Rohingya communities build durable paths and settlements,
1 Camp Composting Project
(Nakivale, Uganda)
Closing the nutrient cycle by converting food waste into compost is a fundamental tool in turning human activity from an extractive to regenerative process. This project works at the intersection between waste management, livelihoods and health. Composting schemes such as this reduce waste management costs, enrich soils to enable healthy food to be grown and increase the health and biodiversity of the soil. Healthy soils sequester more carbon, absorb more water during heavy rainfall and facilitate organic food growing due to increased nutrient content.
Members' Film Competition
March - December 2020
With just €5000 we seed-funded the production of 12 short films showcasing inspirational examples of regeneration from 8 different countries. These powerful stories of community-based approaches spread messages of hope around the world.
Winners were awarded up to €3000 to grow their work further. We facilitated mutual collaboration to build evidence, unlock funds and tell their Story. Pioneering work became visible and legitimate, enabling the growth of its influence and impact.
The competition ensured all our members with meaningful stories could take part by asking for films to be recorded on mobile phones and to last just 6 minutes. Films could be recorded in any language with English subtitles. Ten small grants of up to €500 were offered to help make the films, which went towards travel costs, purchase of lapel microphones, editing and subtitling in English. All films were uploaded onto our website and widely shared, tripling visits to our site in a short time as well as giving voice to small marginalised groups. The winning film-maker received €3000 to fund future regenerative
Work.
Produced at the height of worldwide lockdowns, the films told stories of resilience and adaptability and facilitated connections and the growth of inspirational ideas at a time when people could not meet but stories could still be shared. You can watch the winning film here and view others on our video and webinars page.
Radio & non-digital communications promoting food growing in IDP & Refugee Camps
January 2021 - April 2022
This project pilots the use of radio and non-digital forms of communication to promote permaculture and food growing within refugee and IDP camps in the Philippines and Kenya.
Nutritious food, grown locally at minimal cost builds health and resilience and gardens offer additional well being benefits of green space and meaningful occupation. Re-Alliance has previously worked with partners in developing camp gardens and training residents to grow food in small spaces and we were keen to explore how ideas and practices could be amplified and spread beyond the people who came to training events.
In Kenya, we’ve worked with our partners at Kajulu Hills Ecovillages, to design and trial a radio programme with inbuilt good growing messages. They have now broadcast eight episodes of a radio soap using local actors. The soap tells stories about the benefits of growing food with a permaculture approach and advertises a demonstration site in the camp that listeners can visit. Listeners are also invited to join an established indigenous seed sharing programme.
With our partner Green ReLeaf in the Philippines we have been working towards the creation of a game with emergency food growing information which can be shared with people in remote, disaster-prone locations.
Gardens in refugee camps: Regenerative design & water harvesting at home, school & community gardens
January 2020 - December 2021
This capacity strengthening project included the development of vegetable gardens in IDP camps in Northern Syria with partners Syrian Academic Expertise in Northern Turkey.
Working in three IDP camps in A’zaz and Jarablus in Northwest Syria, this pilot project tested the viability of creating vegetable gardens to grow food partially irrigated by harvested rain water and grey water.
The project started with training events including five successful webinars for our INGO sponsors and the production of a grey water booklet by SOILS Permaculture Association Lebanon to supplement their food growing guide for training the camp residents to successfully build gardens and grow food.
Growing plots varied in size from home gardens to community gardens in A’zaz and a school garden in Jarablus. The aims included introducing regenerative strategies to improve food security, mental health and community cohesion.
Working with a large INGO, Re-Alliance acted in an advisory capacity, with our subcontracted partners, Syrian Academic Expertise, providing research, training and mentoring support.
The gardens were successfully established with food grown, harvested and eaten. The gardens were highly popular with camp residents, with many more requests for participation than the pilot could facilitate. Bi weekly mentoring visits were undertaken by our partners while Re-Alliance conducted monitoring and evaluation and the production of learning materials including an NGO guide to using harvested rain and grey water.
