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The climate and nature crises and rising displacement are no longer "future risks". With reducing aid budgets and increasing conflicts and displacement, we have to shift our practices now to become resilient to oncoming shocks. In these tables, you can see the increasing global temperature over time (in °C since 1850), stacked with figures showing increasing numbers of displaced people. These figures are from Our World In Data and UNHCR. But as the humanitarian sector, how do we move from crisis management to resilience building, Regenerative response? Re-Alliance has launched a new, free online learning course on the Humanitarian Leadership Academy’s Kaya Connect platform. The course takes two hours, and you’ll begin your learning journey on how to work with nature to build genuine climate adaptation and stronger communities. Why sign up? Get certified: Earn a certificate to showcase your expertise to your network! Grow your understanding: Explore core regenerative concepts in one sitting. Know where to find more information: This is the first step in your learning journey, and find some options for your deeper learning. Ready to start your learning journey? Take the course now! ➡️ bit.ly/regencoursekaya

Photo above: Evambe Thompson at his tree nursery in Vasingi Village, Cameroon. Photo by Boris-Karloff Batata Vasingi Village in Buea, Cameroon, sits near the biodiverse but ecologically threatened Mount Cameroon National Park. Farmer and apiculturist Evambe Thompson leads an ambitious project called “Green Village” aimed at reforesting Mount Cameroon by planting over 1,000 trees. Thompson has a nursery where he is nursing both fruit trees and ‘non-timber forest product’ species for distribution and planting. Within the space of one year, Thompson has already planted 200 trees and distributed 600 to neighbouring communities around Mount Cameroon. In order to generate nature-based livelihoods, Thompson integrates bee keeping into the programme. He trains local people on safe and bee-friendly apiculture, as opposed to wild honey harvesting which sometimes can threaten the biodiversity on Mount Cameron. According to Thompson, some people who harvest wild honey use fire to flush out the bees, which has led to wildfires spreading. Mount Cameroon National Park Forest Guard Ikome Nelson adds, “Every year, you see fire on the mountain. From investigation, it shows people have been collecting wild honey … and in the course of collecting this honey they abandon their fire in the forest and the fire goes wild.” Mount Cameroon is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Cameroon, including  endangered forest elephants, chimpanzees, and the elusive primates called Drills. Thompson believes that nature-based livelihoods are essential for supporting forest-edge and forest dwelling communities. While not all beekeeping can be considered nature-friendly, Thompson believes that with good practice, apiculture can go hand-in-hand with reforestation efforts. Bees can thrive in a forested area, so alongside his 48 hives and 28 colonies, Thompson plants fruit trees and other trees, helping to buffer the edge of the forest and keep tree cover.  Thompson has seen how climate change is negatively affecting bee keeping activities. “During this era of climate change, there are seasons when before the bees [are able to] harvest enough nectar, the rains already come and knock the blossoms off the trees.” He goes further to explain that sometimes, due to the changing climate, the trees do not bloom at all. According to Ikome Nelson, since 2021, the Mount Cameroon National Park has supported 114 bee keepers with 1,000 bee hives. Within this time, the farmers have harvested more than 1,000 litters of honey, amounting to a profit of more than FCFA 5,000,000 (~ USD $9,000). As the climate keeps changing, communities must find ways to build resilience through mitigation and adaptation practices like Thompson’s Green Village project. With the necessary support, these projects can support communities to thrive while standing against the negative effects of climate change.

In refugee and IDP settlements across the world, a mobile phone can be a lifeline for the people who live there. But keeping phones charged in these contexts can be costly, unreliable, or even unsafe. That’s where the Wind Mobile project steps in, blending local ingenuity and resources, renewable wind power, and global collaboration to create real-world solutions that work where they’re needed most. An exploded diagram of a design using timber blades that can be built using recycled components Launched by School of the Earth  and supported by Re-Alliance , Wind Mobile set out to tackle a deceptively simple challenge: how can communities in refugee camps charge phones and power small devices using locally made, low-tech wind turbines ? Rather than developing a one-size-fits-all product, the project adopted a phased, community-driven design approach , working with four different networks across Africa and Europe: Wind Empowerment  (West Africa) – For early technical R&D using salvaged hoverboard magnets. Africa Maker-space Network  (East Africa) – To adapt and prototype turbines using recycled loudspeaker magnets. Habibi.Works  (Greece) – For hands-on, refugee-led manufacturing workshops. Re-Alliance Network  – To extend and test designs for diverse humanitarian contexts. One of Wind Mobile’s most inspiring aspects is its commitment to appropriate technology by building what’s needed, using what’s available. Whether it was hoverboard magnets in Côte d'Ivoire or speaker magnets in Uganda and Kenya, each turbine design was shaped by what local communities could find and fabricate themselves . E-waste proved a reliable source of magnets while the skills of simple carpentry and car mechanics could be transferred to manufacturing the turbines. Upcycled speaker magnets were used in the East African designs in Kenya and Uganda Designs were carefully tested, including in university labs and international competitions, proving that hand-crafted turbines made with salvaged parts  can deliver meaningful energy outputs, up to 500 watts in some cases! In October 2024, the Wind Mobile vision came to life in a makerspace near the Katsikas refugee camp  in Greece. Participants from Kenya , Uganda , and Ghana  joined local and refugee makers for a week-long workshop at Habibi.Works . They built turbines, exchanged skills, overcame language barriers, and left with the tools and confidence to replicate the work in their home communities. The event became a melting pot of ideas, cultures, and practical know-how - exactly what the project hoped to achieve. Read the full end-of-project report below.

< Back Margaret Wightman Finance & Operations Manager Margaret has worked with a wide variety of charities, voluntary and community groups and social enterprises across the UK, and for the past eighteen years has been providing freelance support with financial management, business planning and organisational development. She has a degree in economics, post-graduate qualifications in psychology, criminal psychology, and coaching, and trained as a chartered accountant.

From Permaculture in refugee settlements, to eco-building in disaster prone regions, to water harvesting in areas severely affected by worsening climate change, Re-Alliance and our members showcase how we can create stability, resilience and abundance, even in times of crisis. What could a regenerative humanitarian response look like? Increasing the impact and influence of regenerative responses to disaster, displacement and development Re-Alliance promotes a regenerative vision, beyond sustainability, for the humanitarian and development sectors . From Permaculture gardens in refugee camps, to eco-building in disaster prone regions; eco WASH interventions, to integrated Nature-based Solutions for settlement designing: Re-Alliance members are showcasing how we can create stability, resilience and abundance, even in times of crisis . Join our membership As part of our network, whether a grassroots practitioner or a member of an international NGO or Aid organisation, you will have access to dynamic knowledge, a vibrant and active community of experts, and a wealth of opportunities for collaboration. Our membership is open to all. The only requirements are an interest, understanding or expertise in regenerative design, experience in the humanitarian or development sectors, and a willingness to comply with our code of conduct and policies. Find out more Watch Videos Play Video Play Video 03:35 Water Resilience Design at the Rubondo Regenerative Settlement, Uganda The community involved in co-creating the Regenerative Settlement in Rubondo, Uganda, came together to create a Water resilience design. This included water for instant use (rainwater harvesting and slow sand filtration) and water retention landscapes (through rain gardens and swales). This project is supported by YICE Uganda, Arup, and Re-Alliance. Guilherme (Gui) Castagna from @fluxusecobr is an Engineer, Permaculture Teacher, and Hydrology Designer. He visited Nakivale Refugee Settlement in May 2026 to support with workshops alongside a community of refugees who are co-designing a Regenerative Settlement for 20 families. Naswirah Nalukwago is the Project Building Manager and also the founder of Bassattu Innovations. Winnie Tushabe is the co-founder of YICE Uganda, the project host organisation. Water resilience is important in any context, and especially in Ugandan refugee camps where water can be scarce and inaccessible. Alongside water for daily use like drinking and sanitation, the community are thinking about longer-term solutions by storing as much water in the soil, and restoring aquifers. Find out more about the Regenerative Settlements partnership here: https://www.re-alliance.org/projects/nakivale-settlement Play Video Play Video 07:14 Beejvan | Restoring and regenerating sacred food forests in India Beejvan began in 2022 to revive local understandings of tree-based farming. In this film, Founding Director Sanjana Krishnan explores the joys and the challenges of land-based work. The project has become more than a farming practice, but a healing and community-building activity. 🎥 Film by Pankaj Rishi Kumar Play Video Play Video 04:41 YAKUM | Protecting and restoring the bio-cultural abundance of the Amazon YAKUM partners with three indigenous nations in Ecuador to turn degraded land into cultural food landscapes. In this film by Remi Bumstead, Re-Alliance member YAKUM explores the importance of Indigenous wisdom in forest protection and restoration, and the abundance that healthy forests can offer in terms of culture, food, and climate resilience. Arley Paraguaje and Nick Ovenden explain why YAKUM rediscover and replant diverse cultural foods, and safely harvest food from standing forests. Find out more about YAKUM's work at https://yakum.org/ 🎥 https://remibumstead.com/ Play Video Play Video 07:21 Minak | Growing nutritious mushrooms in a refugee settlement Mariam Antoine from Minak Women-led Organisation helped co-create a programme of training women in Nakivale Refugee Settlement to grow nutritious Oyster mushrooms in reusable buckets. In this video, trainees from Minak organisation explain how mushroom cultivation is such a powerful way to grow the health and income of people living in refugee settlements. Re-Alliance worked with Minak to create a how-to booklet for growing mushrooms. Read more about the project here and download the booklet: https://www.re-alliance.org/post/cultivating-mushrooms-in-buckets Minak is bringing to life real examples of #Permaculture in #Refugee settlements. Play Video Play Video 06:08 YICE Uganda | Urine Diversion Dry Toilets (UDDT) - a type of Compost Toilet Join Winnie Tushabe, co-founder of YICE Uganda, and Ecosan user Uwizeye Salima, in exploring Urine Diversion Dry Toilets (UDDT) a type of Ecological Sanitation (EcoSan) Composting toilet. In the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, refugees are given a small plot of land to build a dwelling and farm food on. Re-Alliance's partner organisation YICE Uganda (Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment) is working with families to create kitchen gardens but yields are limited because the soil is poor. Re-Alliance and YICE collaborated to build eight urine diverting dry toilets (or ‘Ecosan’ toilets) for families. By separating the urine and faeces, the volume of composting waste is reduced, extending the capacity of the compost chamber and giving an immediate source of fertiliser in the form of urine, which, when diluted 1:10 - 1:20 with water, is an excellent fertiliser rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Diverting the urine away stops the compost chamber from becoming anaerobic and smelly and the addition of wood ash or saw dust, after using the toilet, acts as a dehydrating cover material. This design used recycled plastic barrels as containers for the faeces, which ensures no ground pollution. Once nearly full, the barrel is moved aside and replaced with a fresh barrel. With the hot composting achieved inside the barrels, compost can be created in under 12 months in the Ugandan climate. The compost is used to enrich the soil around fruiting trees and bushes. Find out more about this design and create your own with our free guides on www.re-alliance.org/publications . Play Video Play Video 07:35 Unidos Social Innovation Centre | Eco-social regeneration in Nakivale Refugee Settlement What could it look like if Refugee Settlements were thriving ecological and social spaces? Unidos Social Innovation Centre is a refugee-led, community-based organisation that engages with young people located in the Nakivale Refugee settlement, South West Uganda. In this video, Unidos founder Paulinho Muzaliwa explains how they support the communities to create abundant Permaculture gardens, grow biodiverse food forests, and build healthy soils. Find out more about Unidos at https://unidosprojects.org/ Donate to Unidos' work here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/water-4-thriving-african-permaculture-group 🎥 7Times Film Production Play Video Play Video 04:36 Ecopoblaciones | Ecopoblaciones Ecuador Ecopoblaciones Ecuador create eco-social regeneration programs that promote the participatory design and implementation of sustainable and resilient populations. Their work integrates ecology, social, economic and cultural aspects, using tools and processes of eco-neighborhoods, eco-social movements, permaculture, ecotourism, bio-construction, participatory leadership, emotional management, well-being, among others. Find out more about Ecopoblaciones Ecuador here: https://ecopoblaciones.github.io/ Find out more about joining Re-Alliance's thriving community of members here: https://www.re-alliance.org/members Play Video Play Video 11:32 Green Releaf | Designing for resilience in disaster and conflict prone regions in the Philippines Green Releaf Initiative prototyped two projects that aimed to respond to and prevent disasters, in contexts of climate and conflict vulnerability in the Philippines. Green Releaf worked with Permaculture as an approach to address food security, regenerative livelihood, and ecosystem restoration. They had a community-led approach, working with early adapters as grassroots permaculture leaders to train as multipliers. They aimed to highlight the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) from the community, honouring their earth wisdom as key to the community's resilience. Featuring grassroots community leaders from areas affected by disasters and displacement where Green Releaf worked, this film begins to document the knowledge learned and practices implemented over time. Read Articles A new, free online learning course exploring Regenerative approaches to disasters and displacement The climate and nature crises and rising displacement are no longer "future risks". With reducing aid budgets and increasing conflicts and displacement, we have to shift our practices now to become resilient to oncoming shocks. This new course offers an introduction to what a Regenerative Response could look like. Re-Alliance The Farmers and Beekeepers who are reforesting Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Cameroon, including endangered forest elephants, chimpanzees, and the elusive primates called Drills. Farmer and apiculturist Evambe Thompson helps to nurture the biodiversity of this critical ecosystem by replanting trees, and encouraging nature-friendly livelihoods. Batata Boris-Karloff The Peacebuilding and Environment Nexus: healing land, systems and communities How do climate change, land conflict, and ecological loss shape violence, and how can environmental cooperation support peace? A regenerative lens on trauma healing, agency, and systems change. Juliet Millican We can support you Re-Alliance and our members have hosted several training programmes for humanitarian and development organisations and agencies. We can help you and your organisation to integrate regenerative paradigms and practices into your operation, interventions, and policy. Contact us to arrange a meeting and find out more. Contact us

Re-Alliance Members & Partners Contact us Visit us on social media Our diverse membership, spanning every continent around the globe, has organically formed with representatives from over 300 organisations, united by a shared commitment to integrated regenerative responses to development, disaster and displacement. Our membership includes experts from regenerative design fields working within INGOs, Universities, Businesses, small and medium NGOs and self-employed practitioners. Our members include founders, and CEOs of permaculture organisations and green foundations; directors of some of the larger aid or humanitarian NGOs; grassroots organisers; academics and researchers who have spent a lifetime building evidence of alternative, earth responsive solutions in areas of the world most affected by environmental disasters, and displacement. Connect with our members' expertise What would it look like to have regenerative principles embedded in your organisation's work? Our members are available to be hired as consultants, supporting you and your organisation to design and deliver regenerative responses in a wide variety of humanitarian and development contexts. Located on every continent around the globe, our members can support you in implementing locally-led and embedded practice, both minimising the carbon footprint of international travel while also honouring local, more culturally appropriate solutions. Each Re-Alliance member brings unique talents, years of experience, and a connection to a pool of shared expertise in different cultures, continents and contexts, through the Re-Alliance network. Contact us to hear more about how our talented members can support your work. Become a member Re-Alliance members benefit from a shared learning and collaboration space, connecting to a global network of other regenerative practitioners from the humanitarian and development sectors. Re-Alliance host monthly members meetings or invite-only webinars. We showcase and promote members' excellence through case studies and articles, and by brokering connections between our network of practitioners and organisations interested in regenerative design. Are you a regenerative design practitioner, or from a regenerative project, working in humanitarian or development spaces? We'd love to be in touch. Membership to Re-Alliance is free of charge. Contact us Find out more and request to join Below: Re-Alliance member Bee Rowan, teaching about ecological strawbale building practices in Nepal. Partner Organisations Would you like to join our membership, or would you like to find out more about how our members can support your organisation with regenerative design? Find out more below, or contact us here . Find out more and request to join Partner Members