< back Date of completion: 1 Mar 2023 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. Sporos Regeneration Institute and Konstantinos Tsiompanos have been working with displaced communities to regenerate urban spaces in in Athens and on Lesvos, Greece, with a strong focus on enhancing biodiversity and building climate resilience. Sporos brought together people from 13 different nationalities and regions to co-design and maintain agriculturally productive ecosystems to feed people and nurture biodiversity. The project aimed to empower participants to grow their own resources independently. Through a hands-on learning approach, the initiative supported participants to learn practical regenerative agricultural skills. They learned about soil composition, home composting, water conservation, and seed-saving. Participants also gain experience in compact cultivation methods such as lasagna-bed making, composting and vermicomposting, which supported them to create productive gardens even in limited urban spaces. A key highlight of the project was the creation of a rooftop garden. Using reclaimed wood for raised beds and upcycled pallets for structure, the team demonstrated adaptable, resource-conscious methods perfectly suited to the urban environment. Learn more about Sporos Regeneration Institute at www.sporosinstitute.org .

< Back Ruth Andrade Chair of the Trustee Board Ruth has more than 10 years of experience in environmental project management and development in the business sector and two decades experience in education. In the last 10 years, Ruth has been involved in community development, sustainable livelihoods, collaborative project design and participatory governance processes. Ruth’s focus is in building and energising networks to create a bridge between industrial growth and a new culture that can sustain complex life on the planet. Ruth gives her time to designing, developing, testing and learning strategies, patterns and worldviews that can support this new flourishing culture. She has an MSc in Advanced Environment and Energy Studies.

< back Date of completion: 1 May 2024 First Response to Trauma Psychosocial support and community building for trauma healing. Re-Alliance and SACOD have been working with communities displaced by conflict in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions, exploring several trauma healing approaches and supporting 1,278 individuals (across 210 households). For people forced from their homes, trauma is more than an emotional wound—it reshapes daily life, erodes social ties, and deepens vulnerabilities. SACOD's approach to trauma healing combined traditional healing practices, vocational skills training, and community-led resilience strategies to provide a holistic response to the psychological and practical challenges of displacement. Healing from trauma does not happen in isolation—it is strengthened through connection. Recognising this, 22 first-line psychosocial responders were trained who can now offer Psychosocial First Aid (PFA), group therapy, and emotional support to their communities. The training emphasised the power of collective healing, where peer support and shared experiences can form the foundation for recovery. Through focus group discussions, storytelling, and arts therapy, displaced individuals found ways to express pain, reconnect with cultural identity, and foster hope. Music and dance from their home regions reignited a sense of belonging, while expressive writing and campfire rituals provided a symbolic way to release grief and reclaim strength. Alongside SACOD, we created this short booklet to help guide community first responders .

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This illustrated guide explores how to build and maintain a urine-diversion composting toilet called an Ecosan, which captures nutrient-rich urine for plant fertiliser, and human manure for use in farming. < Back Ecosans: Toilets in a Barrel This illustrated guide explores how to build and maintain a urine-diversion composting toilet called an Ecosan, which captures nutrient-rich urine for plant fertiliser, and human manure for use in farming. Donate to Re-Alliance Stay updated with our newsletter Download for free: English Español Français عربي Swahili

Regenerative Camps and Settlement Projects for Refugees and IDP communities following disaster and Displacement Current Project: Regenerative Camps & Settlements Great oaks from little acorns grow: from pilots to system-change. A £191,000 project over 3 years aiming to increase the impact and influence of regenerative solutions to disaster and displacement. 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. This round of projects include: 3 Integrated Sanitation Projects (Nakivale Uganda, Lebanon and Kakuma Kenya) Although the concept of dry and compost toilets is now understood and has been adopted in some camp settings, widespread uptake is limited because, in part, the benefits of resource creation are not understood 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 (Cameroon, Gaza and Athens) 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 upcycled and recycled materials and seed saving to reduce inputs and create regenerative cycles. Lime Stabilised Soil construction (Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh) If concrete was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of CO2 in the world. Lime Stablised 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 Stablised 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 Rohingha communities build durable paths and settlements, 1 Camp Composting (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. Anchor 1

< back Date of completion: 1 Jun 2023 Regesoil: Community Composting Collective community composting sites in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Unidos Projects, led by Paulinho Muzaliwa, work in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. With Re-Alliance, they established a community composting project aimed at collectively composting food scraps using traditional composting as well as vermicomposting. Collective composting sites mean that communities can come together to cycle their organic waste, turning it into nutrient-rich compost. Not only does this reduce waste, but it also enhances soil quality on Permaculture food growing sites throughout Nakivale. Unidos hosted educational workshops and hands-on training sessions, empowering residents with knowledge on composting techniques and the benefits of organic waste recycling. This work built community involvement and partnership, empowering residents to actively participate in the maintenance and operation of the composting sites.

< back Date of completion: 2 Aug 2024 Growing Mushrooms in Reusable Buckets Minak Projects trialled mushroom growing in reusable, upcycled containers in a refugee settlement. Between October 2023 and August 2024, Minak Projects ran a mushroom cultivation project in Nakivale, Uganda to create better food security, nutrition, and economic resilience. By supporting displaced women with specialised mycology skills, the project offered a pathway to financial independence and a strategy to combat local malnutrition. The project grew food insecurity in a context where food aid was being severely cut, by introducing a high-protein fungal food source. The project's circular design allowed the use of local agricultural waste such as dried legume husks as growing substrate. Once the substrate was used, it was then composted in local Permaculture food gardens, allowing the nutrients to return back to the land. Beyond the food harvest, residents' active participation strengthened community bonds and learning. Mushroom cultivation is a valuable addition in refugee contexts because the mushrooms can be grown in clean, upcycled and reusable containers such as buckets, and grown in small spaces. The crops also have good value-addition potential, with the ability to solar-dry the mushrooms and ground down to a storable and nutrient-rich powder. Re-Alliance worked with Minak Projects and other partners to develop a 'how-to' booklet, which was then translated into multiple languages, so other displaced communities can learn and adapt mushroom growing to their own contexts. Click the image below to download the publication.

< back Date of completion: 1 Apr 2022 Non-Digital Communications for Capacity Building Analogue learning materials for regenerative food growing in refugee camps and settlements. 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. Locally grown, low cost, nutritious food growing builds health and resilience for communities facing crises. Gardens offer additional wellbeing benefits of green space and meaningful occupation. Despite this, there is a barrier to uptake of regenerative food growing practices. Re-Alliance worked with partners to explore how ideas and practices could be amplified and spread beyond people coming to training events. In Kenya, we worked with Kajulu Hills Ecovillages to design and trial a radio programme with inbuilt good growing messages. They broadcasted eight episodes of a radio soap opera using local actors. The program tells stories about the benefits of growing food with a Permaculture approach and advertises a demonstration site in the camp that listeners can visit. Green ReLeaf in the Philippines trialled a gamified approach integrating emergency food growing information with a card game, which can be shared with people in remote, disaster-prone locations.

Join the Re-Alliance membership to access a vibrant network of regenerative thinkers from around the world. As part of our network, whether a grassroots practitioner or a policymaker in a big international NGO, you will have access to dynamic knowledge, a vibrant and active community of experts, and a wealth of opportunities for collaboration. Joining Re-Alliance's Membership Contact us Request to join Re-Alliance is a coalition of field practitioners, policymakers, educators, community leaders, and humanitarian and development workers. Our mission is to advance and showcase regenerative practice across the sectors of humanitarianism and development, particularly in the context of development, disaster and displacement. We work with our members to build an evidence base showcasing regenerative projects, to create mutually beneficial connections, to facilitate peer to peer knowledge sharing as well as influencing larger scale agencies and big, international NGOs (BINGOs). While our website and social media channels share information that is fully open to all, Re-Alliance members have exclusive access to a network of experienced practitioners working on the ground in a variety of capacities, as well as a variety of members-only materials. Become a member of Re-Alliance As part of our network, whether a grassroots practitioner or a policymaker in a BINGO, 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 interest and expertise in regenerative design, experience in the humanitarian and/or development sectors, and a willingness to comply with our code of conduct and policies. Member benefits include: The ability to connect with a global network of regenerative specialists Exclusive access to learning opportunities Inclusion of your organisation’s details on our website Exclusive member communications Access to invite-only meetings and webinars The opportunity to host webinars or propose topics Eligibility for members-only funding opportunities Consultancy and collaboration opportunities Having your work featured in our growing evidence base of regenerative design Please note that we are a networking and learning organisation, not a funding organisation. We cannot accept request for funding. Request to join form View membership request form

Re-Alliance is a global network of regenerative practitioners working in the humanitarian and development sectors. Find out more about us. About Re-Alliance Re-Alliance is a coalition of field practitioners, policymakers, educators, community leaders and humanitarian and development workers, sharing skills and experience to grow the influence and impact of regenerative development in the humanitarian field. Its work focuses on regenerative development and its response to disaster and displacement. We ask the question, how can we create long-term resilience and abundance while responding to immediate humanitarian crises? Profiled work showcases the restoration and revitalisation of social and ecological systems which integrate the needs of society with the integrity of nature. Through the solidarity of valuing and elevating the existing regenerative practices of its membership, the alliance seeks to share and develop knowledge and extend awareness beyond the group to stimulate further practice. It aims to increase the expertise of the independent members by sharing learning between researchers and practitioners, and to build a collective voice for cross-sector influence and impact. Re-Alliance was registered with the UK Charity Commission as a charity in April 2020 and its charity number is 1188936. History During the 2018 Lush Spring Prize , a group of judges and practitioners facilitating innovative projects identified a desire to unite practitioners across the field of regenerative development and integrated humanitarian response. Talking and researching further, gaps were identified for making this work more effective. The gaps concerned the collection of evidence for this pioneering work; the possibility to influence and give legitimacy to this approach with funders and policy makers and; the capacity for transformation at scale. There are many good examples of effective methods being applied across the globe, which use regenerative approaches to humanitarian and development work but, to date, these have not entered the mainstream. We are committed to taking a coordinated and systematic approach to recording evidence and influencing funders and policy makers that impact large scale humanitarian and development interventions. Groundbreaking practitioners are successfully working in the application of regenerative development in the humanitarian and development fields. As pioneers, they often have limited time to record evidence; have limited resources to scale; and a limited platform to share their innovations. To address these limitations, there is a need for mutual support, learning and collaboration, as well as a need to build the evidence base, unlock funds, and communicate powerful stories of regenerative change. This pioneering work then becomes visible and legitimate both at the grassroots level and within the establishment, which enables the growth of its influence and impact. Our Mission Our mission is to strengthen a coalition of field practitioners, policy makers, educators, community leaders, and development and humanitarian workers, sharing skills and experiences to grow the influence and impact of regenerative development in the humanitarian field. We do this by: - Providing an environment for mutual learning and support amongst those active on the field, - Building a body of evidence and stories to communicate the effectiveness, authenticity and value of regenerative work, - Leveraging support and funding from large relief organisations toward regenerative groups and practices, and, - Focussing on the intersections between disaster and displacement, sustainable and innovative community-led regeneration. Our working principles include: Affected communities first Ensuring that profiled work is of benefit to people experiencing disaster and displacement, the surrounding communities and the natural environment in which the work is being undertaken. We have a small team with lean administration costs, aiming to direct any funds we accumulate toward maximum effectiveness. Integrity Ensuring integrity through use of sociocratric principles which enable robust, defensible and inclusive decision making. Openness, transparency and sharing All of the work we do is promoted openly, in order to grow the legitimacy of regenerative practices. Support Embodying care and support for all those in contact with Re-Alliance.