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< Back Ansiima Casinga Rolande Correspondent and Regenerative Settlements Storyteller Ansiima Casinga Rolande is committed to nurturing a culture that regenerates both people and the planet. With a background in community education, permaculture, and regenerative project design, she works at the intersection of peace, growth, systems change, and cultural transformation. Based in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda, Rolande founded FOLONA (For the Love of Nature), an initiative rooted in ecological learning, intergenerational storytelling, and women’s empowerment. Her work explores how compassionate communication and local knowledge can reconnect communities with the Earth and with each other. At Re-Alliance, she focuses on sharing regenerative stories from throughout the network, and especially the Regenerative Settlement in Nakivale.

< 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.

Re-Alliance Publications WASH academic review community care composting food growing fungi sanitation settlement design urban environments water management Booklet Building a Garden on the Roof This picture-led booklet, made in collaboration with GUPAP and Sporos, explores how to grow Permaculture-inspired gardens on the roof, especially designed for communities with limited access to land. More info and download Booklet Community Composting This illustrated guide explores how to establish composting at community scale, to build soil health, cycle 'waste', and grow community cohesion. More info and download Guideline Community-Based Response to Collective Trauma This guide is for community responders to help them provide initial psychosocial support in times of disaster or emergency. More info and download Guideline Ecological Sanitation with Reuse in Camps and Settlements A guide to closing the sanitation loop in refugee and IDP camps and settlements: How to safely use the products of ecological sanitation for growing crops, ecosystem restoration and ecosystem services. More info and download Booklet 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. More info and download Booklet First Response to Trauma This picture-led booklet, made in collaboration with SACOD, explores how community responders can work with people who have experienced trauma in a safe way. More info and download Guideline Food Growing in Camps and Settlements: Collecting, Storing and using Rainfall and Grey water This practical guide covers approaches to growing food in camps and settlements with limited water. More info and download Booklet Gardening with Grey and Rain Water in Camps An illustrated guide of how to save and use grey water and rain water for food growing in refugee camps and settlements, made in partnership with SOILS Permaculture Association - Lebanon, and Malteser International. More info and download Booklet Growing Mushrooms in Reusable Containers How do you grow nutritious, edible mushrooms in reusable containers? This guide explores one method of using upcycled plastic containers to grow mushrooms for food. More info and download Paper Growing in Crisis: The costs, benefits and transformative potential of food growing in Cox's Bazar A study looking at the impact of new and previously established gardens in Cox's Bazar refugee camps on people's well-being and nutrition, as well as the costs and benefits of the different approaches used. More info and download Review Humanitarian Settlement Planning: A Review Authored by Simon Watkins and Paul Bröker, this review surveys existing guidance and practice relevant to humanitarian settlement planning, with a focus on how far current approaches support regenerative outcomes. It maps key tools and standards, identifies gaps in coverage, and frames critical questions for agencies, practitioners, and communities. More info and download Booklet Seasonal Food Growing in Refugee Settlements This picture-led booklet advises on seasonal food growing in refugee camps, made by Re-Alliance's partner SOILS Permaculture Association - Lebanon, in partnership with German Development Cooperation - GIZ, Mercy Corps, and the World Food Program. Translated from the original Arabic with permission from SOILS Permaculture Association - Lebanon. More info and download

This practical guide covers approaches to growing food in camps and settlements with limited water. < Back Food Growing in Camps and Settlements: Collecting, Storing and using Rainfall and Grey water This practical guide covers approaches to growing food in camps and settlements with limited water. Donate to Re-Alliance Stay updated with our newsletter Download for free: English English (Black & White)

< back Date of completion: 1 Mar 2023 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. A Treebog, designed by Permaculturist Jay Abrahams from Biologic Design, is a raised composting drop toilet which directly feeds into tree roots. It is a regenerative sanitation system that converts human waste (urine, faeces, and wiping paper) into biomass with minimal secondary handling. By using moisture-loving trees, shrubs, and bushes planted around the compost pile, the Treebog system uses natural resources to reduce odours and feed the composting process with necessary carbon-rich material. Re-Alliance’s partner Farming & Health Education implemented this project in Kakuma Refugee Settlement, Kenya. They were concerned that the secondary handling of human waste can be a significant health barrier in camps and settlements. Whereas with Treebogs, toilets are only emptied after the contents have fully decomposed due to the twin-pit system. The core goal of this project was to install a double-unit Treebogs for the community and convert everyday toilet wastes into fertile compost, and measure to see how long it takes to fill the system, and then for the humanure to naturally degrade. The unique aspect to Treebogs is that while the contents are composting, they are feeding the roots of trees, giving the double benefits of tree growth with compost production. The project included teaching communities how to manage the Treebog system. This involved instructing on the daily use of the Treebog toilets, and what to plant around Treebogs. It's important to only plant perennial plants such as trees, and not annual plants, to avoid interacting with the soil around the Treebog. This Treebog project involved 70 participants, whose attitudes toward ecological sanitation shifted from negative (primarily because of a perception that composting toilets would be smelly or dirty) to highly positive after experiencing the Treebog system. This effective implementation created a viable, regenerative WASH system and a valuable biological resource. Ecologically, the system’s soil quality rapidly improved, becoming noticeably darker and richer. Trees around the Treebog grew up to two times faster than those not around the Treebog, as a result of the influx of organic matter and water directly feeding their roots. Existing Treebogs serve as powerful working examples. The Re-Alliance team are eager to further test this concept to see whether it is viable for full-scale use across camps and settlements. You can find out more about Treebogs in this publication .

< Back Gisele Henriques Trustee Gisele is a resilience and livelihoods specialist with 15 years experience directly supporting the work of local organisations, social movements and communities in Brazil, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor Leste. In her current role she has global remit and works across the humanitarian and development spectrum with CRS. In her previous role as Food and Agriculture Policy Officer at CIDSE, the Alliance of Catholic Development Agencies she worked closely with the FAO, supporting civil society organisations in the Committee on World Food Security. Gisele has a Masters in Public Policy from the Goldman School, UC Berkeley as well as an MA in International Area Studies with a focus on small holders and adaptation in Africa.

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

< Back Jackie Kearney Network & Membership Lead Jackie is a researcher, network facilitator, and project coordinator with an MA in Global Development and Humanitarianism, whose work focuses on localised climate resilience, ecosystem restoration and forced migration. Dedicated to supporting grassroots organisations working for a shift towards more equitable approaches to disaster, displacement and development, much of her work involves facilitating the formation of partnerships and amplifying marginalised voices through various forms of storytelling.

< 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.

What does regeneration mean? What are some movements, practices, and knowledge systems that could be described as regenerative? What does this have to do with the humanitarian and development sectors? What do we mean by Regeneration? Donate Contact us Visit us on social media Re-Alliance seeks to showcase regenerative solutions in the humanitarian and development sectors. But what is regeneration? What does it mean to be regenerative? One way of visualising regeneration is on a spectrum or continuum, like that shown below (adapted from Bill Reed's 'Shifting from Sustainability to Regeneration ', 2007) . Sustainability focusses on minimising damage to the environment and human health, and using resources more efficiently to limit the degradation of earth’s natural systems. Regenerative approaches, however, seek to go beyond simply minimising damage, instead reversing the degradation of the planet's living systems and seeking to restore a healthy relationship between humans and other life. Regenerative development encourages us to design human systems that co-evolve with ecological systems to generate mutual benefits and greater expression of life and resilience. There are many terms that you might have noticed when reading about regenerative movements. Regeneration could be seen as a web of many intersecting movements and knowledge bases, each with their own unique framework for engaging with living systems. Image above: just some of the movements and knowledge systems which could be describes as regenerative. Not an exhaustive list. You may have heard of some of the movements in the image above: Permaculture , Agroecology , Biomimicry and more. Each have their own uniquenesses, teachings, methodologies, and have emerged from different contexts. While each of these movements are unique, what are some shared understandings amongst all of them? When exploring the intersections of these movements and knowledge systems, we might see that many of them include an ethical framework , a set of nature-inspired principles , and a unique worldview . These filter into the way practitioners interact and participate with the world around them - holistically designing their own solutions. A common aim of regenerative movements could be to increase health of ecological, social and/or economic systems. • Ethical Frameworks Regenerative movements tend to have ethical codes at their core, to help guide practitioners. For example, Permaculture has three core ethics : Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. Permaculture practitioners must meet these ethics when designing. Some Permaculture practitioners add a fourth ethic: Animal Care. • Underlying Attitudes and Worldviews Regeneration can also challenge dominant worldviews, and offer an alternative. For example, many regenerative practitioners might say that the exploitation of ecological systems can be directly linked to a cultural separation from nature's living systems. Regenerative practitioners might aim to shift these attitudes toward one of collaboration , with an understanding that humans are part of living systems, not separate from them. • Nature-Inspired Principles Principles help to guide regenerative practitioners' actions, giving them a lens from which to view and interact with the world. For example, there are the Ten Elements of Agroecology , or the Principles of Permaculture . • Whole-Systems Design Design could mean the conscious engagement with a system; using a basis of ethics, attitudes and principles to help guide and shape the way we interact. Regenerative practitioners look to create holistic approaches in their interventions. • A Key Goal: Increasing Health A core goal of many regenerative practitioners when they design could be described as increasing the health of the systems they interact with: social systems, ecological systems, even economic systems. A design process Humans are one of the only species on Earth to have drastically changed the shape of the world that we are part of. We may be the only species who has done so in a way that degrades and destroys, that reduces the capacity to sustain a diversity of life. However, humans also have the ability to create immense positive benefits in the ecological and social landscape. Framing regeneration as a design process helps us harness this ability and use it to plan ways of creating positive change. Regenerative design empowers the practitioner to observe and then make change for the benefit of all Life. Design processes also help us acknowledge that it is not always just the outcome of work that is most important. How we do things matters. The way we work and the processes we use can also help us infuse our ethics and values into the work. Watch Re-Alliance's series about regenerative design processes below, where we interview a number of Re-Alliance members to hear their experiences about following these processes. Play Video Play Video 50:55 Play Video Play Video 01:02:00 Play Video Play Video 30:32 Play Video Play Video 38:46 Play Video Play Video 40:54 Play Video Play Video 30:44 A whole-systems, regenerative approach to disaster relief, human settlements and development How could regeneration apply to humanitarian and development contexts? As with many aspects of the dominant culture, humanitarian and development interventions are often designed in a mechanistic or reductionist manner, removing the affected communities from their wider context and systems. Development measures that are not built to withstand crises are the result of short term thinking, as are relief measures that are not connected to improving and developing areas affected by disaster. The recent emergence of the term resilience in the humanitarian world has brought a new perspective to an old idea, and opened space for thinking about a more integrated response. Some of the hurdles lie in the siloed nature of international funding organisations and NGOs and the way they are structured, with different departments and agencies providing external assistance in different ways. How can we shift humanitarian and development interventions away from degrading mindsets of 'aid' and 'security', toward sovereignty? Of course, vulnerable communities subject to conflict or natural disasters may need external assistance during times of crises. The Sphere Guidelines comprise suggested international standards to be used in humanitarian response. They recommend consultation with communities themselves, and consideration of the contexts in which they are living as well as attention to the longer-term environmental impacts and consultation with host communities. A regenerative approach starts with these guidelines but recommends an integrative approach, taking into account all elements of design, environment, shelter solutions, local markets, and a closed loop of reusing resources. Importantly, regenerative solutions must emerge from, and be tailored to, the unique context and culture of the place. When assistance is delivered without proper consultation with communities themselves, consideration of the contexts in which they are living, or acknowledgement and action with the sovereignty and agency of those communities, such assistance can serve to create additional issues. Providing assistance to refugee populations without regard for host communities, bringing in food aid without recognition of local markets and suppliers and providing heavily packaged goods can all lead to additional long term problems on the ground. Recovery from disaster takes time, emergency support often saves time, but both need to be seen as part of a longer term approach that minimises damage to infrastructure and livelihoods and leaves communities more resilient to future shocks. Image above: some nature-inspired principles adapted from multiple regenerative movements. The Sphere Standards, which could be described as 'Sustainable', are in the centre. Regenerative approaches to disaster, displacement and development aim to layer on top of these. Re-Alliance asks the question, how can we use whole-systems design to create long-term resilience and abundance while also responding to immediate humanitarian crises? Alongside our diverse membership , we showcase regenerative designs and solutions in action. Explore some regenerative movements and methodologies using the map below using the zoom in (+) and out (-) buttons on the right. View full screen map Re-Alliance | Why Regenerative Design? Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied See Re-Alliance's Services

< back Date of completion: 1 Oct 2023 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. Implemented by our partners Farms Not Arms in Lebanon, three vermicompost toilets were constructed for refugee families in Bekaa, Lebanon. Two were located in a camp, while the third was situated on a nearby regenerative farm. Vermicomposting toilets are an innovative option for waste management. These toilets work with worms to break down human waste into compost, reducing water use and eliminating the need for chemical treatments. This method lowers water usage and environmental impact and also produces nutrient-rich compost that can be used for gardening. Farms Not Arms hosted three workshops, involving representatives from the camp, to cover topics such as sanitation practices, vermicompost toilet functions, and design. Each vermicompost toilet was designed to accommodate daily usage by six to eight individuals, with each tank having a capacity of 0.9 cubic meters. Considering this usage, each tank can hold waste for approximately six months to a year without the need for emptying. These toilets operated on a semi-flush system, ideal for communities who wash instead of wipe after using the toilet. The water washed away in a soak-away garden. The average cost of constructing each toilet was around GBP £814, with small ongoing maintenance costs. All surveyed participants expressed satisfaction with the placement of the toilets and their overall functionality.

This picture-led booklet, made in collaboration with GUPAP and Sporos, explores how to grow Permaculture-inspired gardens on the roof, especially designed for communities with limited access to land. < Back Building a Garden on the Roof This picture-led booklet, made in collaboration with GUPAP and Sporos, explores how to grow Permaculture-inspired gardens on the roof, especially designed for communities with limited access to land. Donate to Re-Alliance Stay updated with our newsletter Download for free: English Español Português عربي Swahili Français