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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 Date of completion: 1 Jul 2025 Creating Arborloo Composting Toilets Building eight Arborloo compost toilets in Nakivale, Uganda. From April to July 2025, eight arborloo toilets were built for new arrivals in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda, by refugee-led UNIDOS Social Innovation Center in partnership with Re-Alliance. This four-month initiative focused on training eight newly arrived refugee households to construct these low-cost systems using recycled and locally available materials. Arborloos are a composting toilet model which use a movable upper structure on top of a pit which, once full, can be topped with soil and planted with a tree or perennial plant guild. The upper structure is then moved on to a newly dug pit, and the cycle continues. See the reference illustration below as an example, and read more in this case study here (including full costings) . The urgent need for this intervention stemmed from a large increase of people fleeing intense conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and arriving to Uganda. This rapid displacement had caused a severe shortage of proper sanitation facilities across Nakivale. Before the project, it was common for five households to share a single, poorly maintained pit latrine. This crisis has driven open defecation and contaminated local water sources, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks. The Arborloo addressed this environmental and public health crisis by providing an ecologically-friendly, cost-effective and easily-built alternative. An Arborloo is a simple, low-cost toilet designed to couple daily human sanitation with ecological restoration. It utilises a shallow pit dug to a depth of 1 to 1.5 metres to optimise organic composting conditions. Once the pit is filled, the lightweight toilet structure is moved to a new location. A tree, or perennial plant guild, is then planted directly into the nutrient-rich humanure left behind. Because of this shallow design, the Arboloo is uniquely suited for household or shared-family use rather than crowded communal areas. Arborloos transform human 'waste' into valuable soil nutrients that accelerate tree growth and deliver multiple compounding benefits. On a human level, it provides immediate, safe sanitation. On an ecological level, the emerging trees stabilise fragile soils, provide vital cooling, sequester carbon, and boost biodiversity. Furthermore, as these trees mature, they become a direct resource for families. For example, the trees can provide agricultural mulch, coppice materials, small twigs for rocket stoves, and even foods from trees ( not annual crops , which in some rare situations may be able to absorb pathogens from the humanure). Solutions designed with and by the community are far more likely to be maintained and scaled effectively. By choosing low-tech, locally adapted solutions, the community created a resilient sanitation system that will continue to protect public health and restore the local environment.

Discover the partnerships and programmes which are showcasing regeneration in action alongside communities. Projects & Partnerships Re-Alliance works alongside trusted partner organisations to co-create and implement regenerative projects throughout the world. Re-Alliance's role is usually in strategic design, project co-design and management, research, as well as producing educational materials, M&E, and disseminating information. See below for more information on some of our recent and current projects and collaborations. Special thanks to our generous funding partners from the public as well as Trusts and Foundations, including but not limited to Treebeard Trust , the JAC Trust and Lush Cosmetics. Regenerative Refugee Settlement in Nakivale Uganda Co-designing and building a Regenerative Settlement with 20 households in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. + In partnership with: YICE Uganda, Arup, Re-Alliance Integrated Water Management Plan Designing & Implementing an Integrated Water Management plan in Nakivale Refugee camp, Uganda. + In partnership with: YICE Uganda and Fluxus Design Rubondo Integrated Settlement Masterplan Design A participatory master plan design process for a refugee settlement of 20 households. + In partnership with: Yice Uganda and Arup Creating Arborloo Composting Toilets Building eight Arborloo compost toilets in Nakivale, Uganda. + In partnership with: Unidos Social Innovation Centre Regenerative Camps and Settlements: Piloting Interventions Partnering with Re-Alliance members to showcase regenerative interventions in displacement contexts. + In partnership with: Re-Alliance Members Gardening in Small Spaces in Cox's Bazar Evaluating the impacts of home gardening in small refugee dwellings in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. + In partnership with: BASD; Asian University for Women Mobile Wind Power Community designed micro-wind turbines for camps and settlements. + In partnership with: School Of The Earth Growing Mushrooms in Reusable Buckets Minak Projects trialled mushroom growing in reusable, upcycled containers in a refugee settlement. + In partnership with: Minak Projects First Response to Trauma Psychosocial support and community building for trauma healing. + In partnership with: SACOD Building Wicking Beds in Tongogara Building water-saving growing beds in a water-scarce refugee settlement. + In partnership with: Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre Vermicomposting Toilets In Bekaa, Lebanon, Farms Not Arms built three vermicompost toilets for refugee families. These innovative toilets use worms to convert human waste into compost. + In partnership with: Farms Not Arms Urban rooftop garden in Al-Buriej Refugee Camp Growing food gardens on rooftops in Gaza, showcasing urban growing in places with limited access to land. + In partnership with: Gaza Urban & Peri-Urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP) Regenerative Urban Agriculture MOCGSE led a project focussed on supporting conflict-affected areas with regenerative urban agriculture demonstration and education. + In partnership with: Mount Oku Center for Gender and Socioeconomic Empowerment (MOCGSE) Regesoil: Community Composting Collective community composting sites in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. + In partnership with: Unidos Social Innovation Centre Ecosan Composting Toilets Urine diversion, dry composting toilets in a barrel, enriching soils for more nutrient-rich crops and healthier people. + In partnership with: YICE Uganda Reimagining Urban Ecosystems in Greece, with Sporos A community-led initiative transforming urban spaces in Greece into resilient, biodiverse ecosystems through regenerative design and education. + In partnership with: Sporos Regeneration Institute Building Treebogs in Kakuma Refugee Settlement FHE built several twin Treebog composting toilets in Kakuma Refugee Settlement. These are raised composting toilets which feed 'humanure' directly to perennial plant roots. + In partnership with: Farming & Health Education (FHE) Lime-Stabilised Soil Building in Cox's Bazar Disaster resistant eco-buildings made from locally sourced materials in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. + In partnership with: Bee Rowan & International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Non-Digital Communications for Capacity Building Analogue learning materials for regenerative food growing in refugee camps and settlements. + In partnership with: Kajulu Hills Ecovillages, Green Releaf Grey Water and Rain Water Harvesting for Food Growing in Syria Piloting Grey water and Rain water harvesting and irrigation for food growing in Syria. + In partnership with: Syrian Academic Expertise, Malteser International Re-Alliance Members' Film Collaboration Participatory filmmaking to share stories of regeneration in action. + In partnership with: Re-Alliance Members

< back Date of completion: 1 Jan 2027 Integrated Water Management Plan Designing & Implementing an Integrated Water Management plan in Nakivale Refugee camp, Uganda. As part of the larger ‘ Regenerative Settlement Project ’ in Rubondo, Nakivale, 5 workshops were undertaken to better understand the land and the daily lives of the people who will live in the settlement and collaboratively create a masterplan for the site. Despite an abundance of seasonal rain water, a major theme coming again and again from the participants was the daily struggle to access water. There are limited sources of all types of water - for drinking , cooking , washing and irrigating crops. To respond to the challenge, this project, led by local regenerative organisation YICE and Fluxus Ecological design, will design and implement a Water Sensitive Design and Integrated Water Management plan. The plan will cover: Demand reduction: minimising water consumption to essential levels Source diversification: combining multiple water sources of varying quality and seasonal availability Rainwater management: promoting infiltration and retention to enhance groundwater recharge and reduce runoff and erosion Wastewater as a resource: recovering water, nutrients and energy whenever possible In practice, on this site, this means harvesting and filtering rainwater from roofs for immediate access to water and digging earthworks to retain rain water in the soil to rehydrate the land and humidify the environment over time. Initial planning has identified the following approaches as appropriate for this site: Ensuring dry sanitation systems are used, such as UDDTs, to reduce consumption of water Rain water harvesting , filtering and storage from roofs of the 20 houses that will be built on site, for household and communal access. Water retention to channel water from rain , run-off and grey water into the soil on the site using banana circles, rain gardens , swales , bunds and ponds . Digging a shallow well at the source of a seasonal spring for community access An initial visit and workshop has been undertaken to research the approach further and trial rainwater harvesting on a building on the site and an action plan produced to guide the project. See a video about the first workshop here: