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Home gardens in refugee camps have been shown to make a huge difference to the local environment and to individual lives. The work of the Lemon Tree Trust (LTT) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has shown how running garden competitions for camp residents encourages people to take innovative approaches to using any available space and water to plant herbs, vegetables and flowers. The first LTT garden competition took place in Domiz 1 camp in 2016. By employing local coordinators to promote the competition within camp neighbourhoods, LTT supported households to create gardens around their tents and shelters, building on initiatives that people were already taking. The competition focussed on encouraging people to grow ornamental plants, not simply growing for food. Households were given advice on safe ways to recycle grey water to irrigate their plants and were encouraged to share ideas on growing vertically or in recycled containers. In three seasons the camp was noticeably transformed from a largely dusty environment to a green and vibrant city. BACKGROUND In 2016, after supporting garden development for refugee communities in the USA, LTT looked at possibilities for greening refugee camps in Iraq. The Syrian crisis had led to the sudden creation of large camps in the north for Syrian Kurds, which to begin with were bleak areas covered in tents. Domiz 1 camp was established in 2011 and LTT first visited the camp in 2015. By offering trees and working with local coordinators, LTT was able to gain official permission for people to plant around their houses. Its activities supported a nursery which had been established in the camp to sell plants to the growing number of gardeners keen to create a home garden. Wastewater in camp conditions is often problematic and by encouraging water recycling and diverting water run off they were able to turn a potential problem into an advantage to the area as a whole. The LTT competition offered plants from a local nursery  to support people to establish their gardens, stimulating the local economy. Seeds were distributed to entrants and cash prizes were offered as further incentive to take part, with categories including: best overall garden, best garden in small space, best community garden, best vegetable garden and best use of recycled materials. "This garden reminds me of my childhood, my land, it also benefits me for food, essentially it connects me to my homeland." WHAT MAKES THIS REGENERATIVE? IMPACT ON PLANET Improvement of local environment with greener spaces and cleaner air Environmental advantage of additional tree planting Reduction in areas of water run-off and water borne diseases Potential to reduce food brought into camp and waste water taken out IMPACT ON PEOPLE Increased sense of individual well-being from green spaces Increased levels of physical activity through gardening Community cohesion through sharing of seeds and plants Home grown food and herbs allow people to cook traditional, local dishes Extends limited space in shelter to outside area in which to socialise REGENERATIVE IMPACT How can home gardens increase wellbeing in refugee settlements? Home gardens improve a camp environment as well as personal and social well-being. Obtaining permission from camp authorities to grow between houses legitimised these activities and opened the door for further gardening projects. The Domiz LTT garden competition has been held annually since 2016 and has led to the development of hundreds of home gardens. The initiative has now spread to seven IDP and refugee camps, with over 1,500 entries. In Domiz 1, a community of gardeners has been established who continue to tend their gardens year-round. This has led to a community garden being established, run and managed by residents. The community garden provides a safe space for women to grow food and flowers, to socialise with their families and to bake traditional bread in the community oven. After nine years, houses have been constructed where tents were sited, with small plots of outside space allocated to each household. What was a temporary settlement is becoming an accidental city, with its own economy as houses are bought and sold and businesses are established to sustain the community's demand for food and goods. "I grow because I love nature, nature is more important than anything, and can solve so many problems." HEALTHY SPACE Planning green spaces at both individual shelter and neighbourhood level from the beginning of a camp's development, would lead to healthier refugee and IDP communities in the longer term. There is some way to go before this is a reality, but in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, LTT is making inroads and is now active in almost half the camps in the region. The Sphere standards recommend: 4.5 square metres for each person in camp-type settlements, including household plots 3 square metres for each person, including household plots, where communal services can be provided outside the planned settlement area Minimum ratio between covered living space and plot size is 1:2; move as soon as possible to 1:3 or more. Upholding these and pressing for the ideal ratio of 1:3 covered living space available per household leaves adequate space for gardens and allows the camp to develop into a liveable long-term environment. SCALABILITY & REPLICABILITY The 2018 garden competitions introduced in Yazidi, Kurdish and Arabic camps, including some where people were still living in benders, are evidence that this approach is scalable and replicable in other areas. Even in new camps people enjoyed setting up gardens in order to enter competitions. ​ In transit camps, usually seen as bleak and uninhabitable, people are growing plants - see these pictures from Moria on Lesvos and this report from the New Yorker.The innovation shown by people to grow in the smallest spaces, is evidence that gardening is ‘wanted’ not just ‘needed’ in communities of refugees.  This cross over, from necessity to pleasure, has the potential to galvanise communities of displaced people the world over. Gardening is well documented to improve mental and physical health and this is as true for people living in situations of forced migration as it is for people in permanent settlements. CONTACT US Re-Alliance can provide support and advice on setting up home gardens in refugee camps and using integrated approaches to improve the environment. ​ The Lemon Tree Trust is open to approaches from other organisations who want to adopt its gardening initiatives in communities of forcibly displaced people across the world.  ​ www.lemontreetrust.org

The International Disaster Response Expo ('Prepare, Respond, Protect, Recover', Olympia, UK 3 – 4th December 2019) should not have been the surprise it was for me when I attended earlier this week. Co-located with the International Security Expo (Employing Security through Innovation) and free to attend, I should, had I thought carefully, have realised it was to be funded through the subs of private sector companies paying to advertise their wares. Nor am I against the involvement of the Private Sector in humanitarian and disaster relief. As the numbers of disasters escalate, climate related or conflict associated, all sectors are desperately needed for any sort of adequate response. The investment of ethical responders, their support to governments and to NGOs are a vital source of funds and of creative intelligence much needed in crises that are now beginning to affect us all. Signing up to a workshop on ‘Eco Supply Chains’ again felt like a useful opportunity to network with those organisations involved in first response work and who were as concerned as we are to recognise the impact of disasters on people and planet. The workshop was organised by the Humanitarian Logistics Association – an independent group advising on and coordinating the interventions of different donors – public, private sector, NGOs, UN and Red Cross. All vital work in ensuring efforts are not duplicated or resources wasted. The workshop facilitator opened with some important remarks: global emissions from transport, if they continue to increase at their current rate, are likely to double by 2050, we need to prioritise local sourcing and local expertise in order to find ‘new ways of delivering assistance in difficult to reach places’. His images of airships (while reminiscent of His Dark Materials) showed that helium assisted vehicles, invented after the second world war, could even now carry with them 20 tons of food, water or equipment, plus 20 passengers using a fraction of the fuel of traditional air freight. Yet, as the workshop and the event progressed I had a rapidly growing awareness of the deep systemic change needed in the whole Humanitarian relief industry. A second speaker involved in moving and supplying equipment to rescue missions told how his company are aiming for a 50% reduction in emissions from air freight by 2050. But this means if transport emissions as a whole are set to double, then in real terms the most we can expect is that they only rise to 1.5% of today’s totals. And this at the end of a week when scientist tell us emissions are currently peaking at seriously dangerous levels. Nor was his aspiration of eventually owning aircraft that run on biofuels any more reassuring. Land is already scarce in much of the world and areas for food growing diminishing. In areas where people are marginalised due to land grabbing for profitable cash crops (and those carbon offsetting projects), they are pushed to eking out a living in ever-more marginal landscapes that are, themselves, exposed to natural disasters. With extensive cultivation of crops for biofuel, the loss of vegetation cover further destabilises soils and landscapes, adding to further displacement as it keeps the aid industry alive. Yet the workshop informed us that there are already far more climate refugees than those displaced by conflict across the world. Could we call this greenwashing while adding to the crisis? The calculations of the emissions needed to transport huge heavy machinery across the globe was sobering but the many, many stands advertising Toyota Landrovers, hippo trucks and lifeboats, ready to be jetted off across the world, even more shocking. The dozen or so people who had signed up to attend ‘Eco-Supply chains’ from the 100 humanitarian exhibitors present showed it was still a minority interest. There were 375 security stands, nearly four times as many as humanitarian. An indication of the importance we give to fighting terrorism and keeping ourselves safe, compared to saving other people’s lives, or the fact that is it a more profitable business at the end of the day??? None the less there were some reputable speakers on leadership, crises and turbulent times and here audiences were much larger. The messages were similar - we are living with uncertainty and we had better get used to how to manage it. The climate is becoming more unpredictable, there will be more climate related disasters, and these will come closer to home for those living in the global north. We need to know how to ‘transform risk into resilience’ and to ‘lead in turbulent times’. These speakers, from Harvard, from Insurance and from Investment, all referred to the need to be ‘environmentally friendly’ in our responses and to find ways to mitigate risk. But I still left feeling almost as if the industry, if not the planet, was almost beyond hope, certainly beyond any offer of ‘friendliness’ and in need of a complete and drastic system overhaul. There was almost no talk of long-term development, of the links between humanitarian response and future planning, of supporting local economies to respond, of providing funds and finance to assist in locally organised responses and solutions. There was a focus on the human cost and the centrality of a human response, but little of the environmental cost or the potential long-term damage of some of the solutions. And there was nothing at all on nature-based solutions, part of this summer’s UN global compact signed at the UN Climate Action Summit. Just one day after Guterras opened Cop 25 in Madrid and said ‘the planet is close to the point of no return’, that this is a ‘critical time’, that ‘We need a rapid and profound change in the way Humanity does business, generates energy, builds cities, moves and feeds itself, eliminating our addiction to carbon’, it was business as usual at the IDR. Build, sell, ship around the world, develop your business, make a profit - and do your damndest to keep it safe. Ultimately the event felt far too transactional, showcasing the widgets we can buy to protect rather than thinking about why we are unsafe in the first place or how we might use people’s own capabilities to support them in reducing the risks that are developing to themselves and to the places in which they live. Juliet Millican is coordinator of Re-Alliance, a coalition of practitioners, policy makers, academics, and donors working to support regenerative solutions to disaster, displacement and development.

IDEP, an NGO in Indonesia, set up and led by Re-Alliance member Petra Schneider, developed comic books, puppetry and films to raise awareness of the early signs of disaster and ways of responding to these. Working with an international theatre company they made films of different disaster scenarios and used them in schools and community meetings. Local people were taught to use the puppets to play out community dialogues, discussing how people might prepare themselves for these. As a result of this work, a large number of casualties have been avoided. BACKGROUND Teaching children about disasters and disaster preparedness can be challenging – and involves capturing their attention without alarming them unnecessarily. After a series of natural disasters within a short period, IDEP developed comic books, games and short films to alert children to early warning signs and explain how they should best react. The children quickly spread these messages among their families and communities. A partnership between Trocaire, JRS, No Strings, Cordaid and IDEP, worked together to develop a series of short films on Flood, Volcanic Eruption, Earthquakes, Tsunami’s and Social Harmony. The films took care to develop characters and scenery that reflected local cultural and environmental contexts and generally included a heroine, often a child with a local name who helped warn or save the community. Facilitators were trained in how to use puppets to stimulate discussion and reinforce the messages shared in the films often using games, songs and puzzles and working with children and adult groups. WHAT MAKES THIS REGENERATIVE? The whole-system thinking of regenerative design includes pre-disaster as a space for intervention. Humanitarian response becomes pro-active and is a more effective use of resources than only intervening after disasters occur. Building up capacity within communities to respond to disaster before it hits reduces reliance on outside intervention, which can often be slow to reach remote areas when the need is greatest.  Communities can respond effectively to disasters using local resources and knowledge, reducing reliance on costly and sometimes inappropriate moving of equipment and expertise around the world. This project brought together the external skills of film-makers with community knowledge, local culture and facilitation. Through a collaborative community driven process, the lasting tools for self-help and resilience are shared to mitigate the effects of repeated disasters. Working through children to spread awareness of early warning signs and effective response strategies can build community and save lives. IMPACT ON PLANET ​Climate change is leading to increased frequency of natural disasters and communities need to build their own plans for responding to these in ways that use local resources and minimise international travel and interference. These plays and films were used to encourage people to look after their environments and help to increase resilience and preparedness to  such disasters. ​ IMPACT ON PEOPLE​ This approach was designed to empower people to build resilience. In doing so it encouraged children to take an active part in their communities and brought local communities together to discuss what disasters they might be facing. One film specifically looked at community relationships and social harmony. SCALABILITY AND REPLICABILITY How can creative arts like puppetry be used as mass educational tools to quickly inform communities about effective disaster risk reduction and response? The films have been screened for over 10,000 school children, and a further 5,000 people during other public showings and are highly effective for school and community education. IDEP, its partner organizations and many others who have used the films have integrated them into broader DRR training and education programs. While puppet shows can be developed locally and facilitators trained, the filming of the short plays and stories makes them easily scalable. However, reflecting local contexts and norms is important and they may need to be remade for other areas. There is a long history of using puppetry to spread messages in development and humanitarian work. Many cultures have a tradition of puppetry and skilled local story tellers and puppeteers. Even in areas where this doesn’t exist adults and children tend to respond well to the representation of familiar situations. Re-Alliance can provide training in how to build puppets from local materials and develop stories and workshops to share key information. CONTACT US IDEP develops and delivers training, community programs and media about sustainable development through Permaculture, and community-based disaster management. If you are interested in similar projects contact us to be connected. MORE MATERIALS Supporting educational materials that can be used in conjunction with the films: IDEP’s Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) manual for disaster preparedness – a comprehensive guide that empower communities to develop their own strategies for disaster management (this manual is endorsed and used by a range of bodies working in disaster management including: UNESCO, USAID, Oxfam, CHF, IOM, Bakornas (Indonesia’s national body for disaster management) and MPBI For more information on IDEP's educational materials, including a series of children's comics and activity books on Community Based Disaster Management, see here or get in touch.

Since January 2019, Almost Heaven Farms, in a cooperative effort with Chris Evans of the Himalayan Permaculture Centre and Juanfran Lopez, has been supporting farmers across the Himalayan bioregion to transition to regenerative agriculture through the development and use of bio-fertilizers. Bio-fertilizers can be made using locally available materials, and increase the health of soil, and nutritional value and productivity of crops. This project focuses on four strategies to accomplish this goal: Research - Three mini production centres and research trials have been set up in the hills and lowlands of Nepal to measure the effectiveness of different bio-fertilizers on different crops grown at varying elevations providing sound scientific proof of the results of bio-fertilizers, which is soon to be published in a peer-reviewed paper. Education - Training programs and materials have been developed to educate farmers, government workers/officials and non-governmental organisation's staff on bio-fertilizers, their production and uses. A bio-fertilizer training manual is being developed in both English and Nepali languages. Production - Production units have been established across the country. 12 bio-fertilizers have been developed using local resources and are currently being trialed. Network - The Nepal Bio-fertilizer Network has been established to connect bio-fertilizer training participants from across Nepal and to share experiences and information related to this field. The network is made up of farmers, academics, governmental and non-governmental officials, both nationally and internationally, dedicated to the promotion of bio-fertilizers and efforts are being made to extend the network to include organizations, government bodies and the business community. Above: Juanfran Lopez delivers training on bio-fertilizers, soil science and plant health BACKGROUND According to the International Labour Organisation, agriculture provides livelihoods for 68% of Nepal's population, accounting for 34% of the GDP. Nevertheless, Nepal struggles to produce an adequate supply of food for its citizens and it is estimated that 36% of Nepali children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. Food security in Nepal depends on land productivity as managed by small land holders who face challenges in both productivity and sustainability. This project provides farmers across this bioregion with the knowledge, tools and local resources to make on-site bio-fertilizers, improve their soil and grow more nutritious food. Adaptation to climate change in the agricultural and allied sectors is a major current and future challenge for Nepal, particularly as Nepal is ranked 4th under the Climate Vulnerability Index. The majority of the population is still dependent on highly climate-sensitive agriculture. In recent years, long drought spells during the monsoon season, increased temperatures and unseasonal heavy rains during winter have caused serious distress to agriculture-dependent communities in many locations. Bio-fertilizers can improve food production in a way which is beneficial for the surrounding environment. A bio-fertilizer is a substance which contains living microorganisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or soil, colonise the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability of nutrients to the host plant thereby restoring the soil's natural nutrient cycle. Through the use of bio-fertilizers, healthy plants can be grown, while enhancing the health of the soil. These drums contain fermented stinging nettle and weeping willow liquid bio-fertilizers. WHAT MAKES THIS REGENERATIVE? IMPACT ON PLANET - improved food production and security - carbon sequestered from the atmosphere and stored in the soil - increased biological diversity in soils - decreased soil erosion - improved water retention in the ground, particularly in higher regions of the Nepalese landscape - decreased production of greenhouse gases - less water pollution from agricultural run-off IMPACT ON PEOPLE - nutrient dense food - healthier rural environments - provides a buffer for farmers, to help protect their production from flooding, drought, pest and disease - increased knowledge of soil science and plant health for farmers - increased production and meaningful livelihoods - reduced costs and improved financial security - lowered levels of stress, depression and suicide COMBINED REGENERATIVE IMPACT Bio-fertilizers are a set of tools that, when combined with agro-ecological management practices, have the potential to empower farmers to regenerate soils and the ecologies around them. While focusing on soil health and growing a diversity of plants, we also start to draw down carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it into the ground. This improves the holding capacity of water in the soil, creates habitats for wildlife, grows more nutrient dense food and increases the value of crops that farmers are growing. The farmers start to see their farm as more than just a place to grow food, but also as a living ecosystem. Farmers become one of the most important segments of society with the potential to help restore the biosphere while also growing nutritious food, improving the health of the communities around them. Farmers from west Nepal collect local native microbes from their local jungle to propagate out and use as an inoculant for their soil. SCALABILITY While still in the preliminary stage of research and development, this project is putting in the foundations needed to scale up across the bioregion, including working with multiple key stakeholders to help develop local and national policy on regenerative agriculture. At the same time concurrent projects are being run across Africa by Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) and Rural Community in Development Uganda (RUCID). The potential for scaling this project is significant. Bio-fertilizers and their inputs are based on the utilisation of local resources. In fact, the best microbes for improving farm production will come from the closest forest or local farm animals. The initial investment needed for starting up local bio-fertilizer production units is cheap and the process is easy. All that is needed is water drums, pipes and few other plumbing materials that can be sourced at any hardware store. REPLICABILITY This project directly applies the principle of valuing local knowledge and resources and implementing programs that are appropriate to communities across the Himalayan region. Several farmers and extension workers have already started to implement their own bio-fertilizer development and research in their working areas. Stories and findings are shared through our Bio-fertilizer Nepal Network hosted on Facebook. We are ready to help communities replicate this project as soon as it is safe to do so. Alisha Devi Magar, a young permaculturist representing the Magar tribe helps teach farmers about soil health and plant needs. WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS PROJECT? Bio-fertilizers are currently being introduced into the agricultural policy of Suryodaya Municipality, Ilam, Nepal with the support of Almost Heaven Farms. Over the coming fiscal year, we will be training more than 100 farmers in these methods and introducing bio-fertilizers in 12 villages. Bio-fertilizers are continually being trialled in 3 villages on a range of different crops. This research is being shared with both local and international academics to document the results to be published in a peer-reviewed paper in the near future. CONTACT ALMOST HEAVEN FARMS Almost Heaven Farms is a permaculture demonstration, training, research and resource centre based out of Ilam, Nepal in the eastern hillside of the Himalayas. AHF supports farming communities transition to regenerative agriculture, restoring local soils, water sources and ecologies. Website | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube CONTACT US If you would like to know more about Bio-fertilizers, or join our network of regenerative practitioners, contact us here.

Could Assisted Self-build Latrines, such as The Treebog, improve toilet provision in Refugee and IDP camps? Image: A Treebog is Self-Built in Senegal by the Jiwnit Community An interesting exchange arose between Re-Alliance members Jay Abrahams, microbiologist and founder of Biologic Design Ltd, a UK permaculture design consultancy which creates regenerative, natural wastewater and water systems, and Richard Luff, an experienced WASH engineer who has worked in refugee camps. When Jay wanted to introduce the Treebog into the humanitarian sector, both he and Richard discovered they had ideas for improving toilets for refugee and IDP camps. Here we use extracts from their exchanges to look at their practice and ideas in more detail. The Problem with the Status Quo Ask anyone with an interest in toilet provision in emergency situations and almost all will agree that the current norm of communal latrines, emptying into underground concrete-lined pits, is problematic. Environmentally, the latrines require large inputs of financial and material resources, as well as labour and energy, to install and maintain. They require ongoing regular pumping with suction tankers, and the removal of ‘wastes’ before eventual treatment and disposal. Although rapid provision of toilets is needed to meet basic human needs and prevent the spread of diseases, the legacy of rapidly installed latrines can create harm for both people and planet for many years. In situations where resources are often scarce, conventional latrines are also extremely wasteful. From a humanitarian perspective, community latrines which are installed without the participation of those using them can create an environment where the abuse of vulnerable groups, including women and girls, is exacerbated. As Richard Luff puts it: “Despite increasing attempts to provide latrines in acute emergencies that meet most girls’, women’s and other vulnerable groups’ needs, the WASH sector modality of building communal latrines consistently fails to do this.” because they cant be built fast enough in the early stages of a rapid onset refugee/IDP crisis“ A Self-Build Solution Both Richard and Jay have innovative ideas to address the problem of communal latrines, through the rapid building of latrines for each household or family group. Richard proposes that humanitarian agencies: “Develop Assisted Self-build Latrine approaches for all emergency response situations in order to phase out communal latrine building and instead focus on latrines for family use” Here the structures would be built primarily by users rather than agencies which could provide more dignity and safety earlier on. Moving to a notion of self-building shelter/housing is becoming more established in disaster response situations: “The shelter sector has for the past few years been focussing on supporting self-recovery, with the aim of enabling households after disaster and refugees to build their own shelter and homes.” Although the benefits of self-building are acknowledged, enabling households in both disaster and refugee situations to be active participants in building back better and safer, not much, if anything, has been done on agency assisted latrine self-build in refugee camps. Richard suggests this is because: “There is one major difference between a shelter and a latrine; an unsafe shelter may harm the family using it, but an unsafe latrine that leaks faecal matter into the environment could contaminate and harm many others.” However, this potential harm should be weighed against the actual danger posed daily to women and girls using communal latrines, and mitigated against through agency supported safe and durable design and implementation. Wider ecological impacts should also be taken into consideration. Treebogs - A regenerative design Treebog at Jiwnit Community Senegal over time Trees planted Oct 2019 May 2020 - rapid growth April 2021 the Papaya is fruiting One such design could be the Treebog. Jay Abrahams developed Treebogs for his own off-grid living situation in the UK over 30 years ago. Today hundreds of Treebogs have been built and function well in the varied climates of Portugal, Greece, Spain, Nepal, Israel, Palestine and Senegal. The Treebog has become a successful ‘technology’ in both rural and peri-urban settings within Europe, often self-built using hand tools, local natural materials and planted with indigenous tree species. Treebogs are a compost toilet with a platform mounted toilet seat or squat, in a cubicle, surrounded by closely planted, economically valuable and useful, trees and shrubs. This arrangement enables the faeces and urine to be deposited on the soil surface, underneath the platform, where the solids are composted into soil, while the liquid soaks into the earth below, feeding the root zone of the planted species surrounding the Treebog. Jay suggests that with self-built Treebogs the maintenance of the structures and their management is the responsibility of the family using the latrines, and so they are more likely to look after the latrine and keep it clean and functional - as well as harvest the yield from the trees. Treebogs are comparable to standard compost toilets in that they compost waste and do not use water for flushing, but are unique in design. They hold wastes on the soil surface (above-ground), within an aerobic chamber beneath the seating/squatting platform, this enables rapid aerobic decomposition so the wastes are composted in-situ and no secondary handling is needed. Fast-growing, useful and economically valuable trees are planted around the structure to enhance liquid take-up and composting of the solids. The plant nutrients within so-called ‘waste materials’ are broken down by soil microbiota (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, beetles and earthworms) and then absorbed through the roots into the growing biomass of the trees. When full, Treebogs are closed and the contents are left to compost or rot, if required they can be safely emptied by hand after about a year to 18 months, once the wastes have been fully composted to soil. Richard suggests the use of a twin Treebog system in refugee camps where loading rates i.e. number of users, are typically much higher, would help where there are space constraints. Jay explains: “A Treebog empowers local people to take control of their own ‘wastes’. It gives them the ability to create soil, begin a home garden, and create resources locally, with very little input from outside actors. Once a Treebog is established and planted with trees which can be coppiced for polewood, it is possible to literally ‘grow' the materials to construct more Treebogs! A Treebog is a tree-growing, soil-creating mechanism and the soil life which inhabits the compost pile - the earthworms and dung beetles in temperate regions and the termites and ants in the tropics - all benefit the web of life that the Treebog creates, so local biodiversity is enhanced.” The Treebog design is simple to implement and has benefits beyond toilet provision: “There is no need to dig deep pits, which actually bring the septic wastes into closer proximity to the groundwater and so can increase the possibility of pollution of this resource. Dozens of trees are grown around the structure when the Treebog is created. Trees provide us with many of the ‘ecosystem services’ we need for life and not to include trees in the overall design of refugee camps – indeed settlements in general – is to miss a trick.” “In places where resources are scarce, a low-tech solution may be more appropriate than high-tech or energy intensive solutions. As a biologist practicing permaculture design, I am able to ‘trust the biology’ to do the job. Because the Treebog concept is so simple it has not yet found support amongst the NGOs responsible for operating these camps who may well be more comfortable providing engineered solutions”. An metal frame Treebog in Senegal - showing the adaptability of design Aid agencies and NGOs may feel that research and development is needed to prove the safety, durability and scalability of Treebogs. If so, Jay hopes to hear from any agency willing to explore the potential for creating and planting Treebogs using local resources, with a view to building a protocol that NGOs can work with, flexible enough to adapt to local situations. Richard suggests the use of an adapted twin pit Treebog system in refugee camps where loading rates i.e. number of users, are typically much higher, would help where there are space constraints and pit closures are often not possible. From Waste to Resource The principle behind the Treebog is a paradigm shift: from seeing human ‘waste’ as a problem to seeing it as a resource. Jay describes: “A Treebog is a biologist’s approach to toilet design, viewing the organic matter and nutrients as a potential resource, because within the cycle of life there is no such thing as a waste. Conventional development systems/solutions use a Newtonian world view, a ‘world as machine’ approach, which views the waste only as a problem to be got rid of rather than as a resource for growing plants and trees.” However, for wastes to become a resource, the risks related to contamination and health need to be acknowledged and any potential harm prevented. Identifying possible limitations of the Treebog design could be key to its successful adaptation to disaster situations. For example, its unique design using above-ground aerobic digestion could make Treebogs vulnerable to landslides or flooding - but current practice is susceptible to these same risks, and have on many occasions failed the populations they are serving. With an initial investment to trial Treebogs in Refugee or IDP camp situations, the design could be modified to adapt to adverse conditions. While Treebogs may not be suited to all conditions, clearly defining and understanding the Treebog’s benefits and limitations mean they could be used as part of a mix of appropriate solutions. The simplicity of the Treebog concept means it could be adapted in partnership with the residents of camps to suit varying cultural and environmental conditions, and also makes it ideally suited to self-build. Jay believes that self-built Treebogs could provide many ‘ecosystem services’ which can benefit the health of the communities living in the camps, as well as surrounding biodiversity and ecological health. This is an approach that Richard believes could support other work he is undertaking to promote biodiversity net gain for healthy settlements, whereby trees, shrubs and other plants can play a significant role to improve residents health in a number of ways, alongside other co-benefits. A regenerative solution is diverse and responsive Interesting sustainable designs are being invested in, for use in camp situations, such Oxfam's Urine Diversion Dry Toilets and Tiger Worm Toilets, but as yet they are all ‘top down’ modifications to agency-installed communal latrines. Until the users of latrines are involved in elements of the design, implementation and maintenance of their latrines, novel solutions can’t be truly considered Regenerative. There are some cultures that maintain deep reservations about handling human “waste”, so bringing them to an understanding and acceptance of the resource aspect is also a prerequisite. To move forward in a regenerative way, a diversity of solutions is needed to adapt to communities’ varying needs and environmental requirements. Assisted Self-Built Latrines and Treebogs could be part of this solution. Re-Alliance calls to Aid Agencies, Humanitarian organisations, and funders to partner with us and our members to trial these innovative solutions. Further reading: R. Luff note on Assisted Self-build Latrines Case study https://www.re-alliance.org/post/integrating-compost-toilets-tree-planting soil-building-in-rural-senegal R. Luff note on Biodiversity net gain for healthy settlements https://www.sustainability-centre.org/tree-bog.html

This open letter was collaboratively written by the Lush Spring Prize community, at the week of events in October 2021. Art © Rosanna Morris, 2021 “Everybody is saying, ‘we'll do this, we'll do that’. But there's nothing, just words floating in the air. We need not just words, but also actions.” Jimmy Yumbo, young forest defender, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador To all those considering our future, at COP26 and beyond, We are writing to you from five different continents as those working to repair the earth’s damaged systems. We ask you - as world leaders, as policy makers, as those concerned for our climate - to take heed of the work of regenerators from so many different movements: Indigenous land defenders, peasant farmers, agroecologists, permaculture practitioners, natural builders, food sovereignty activists, and more. “To take care of our planet, we cannot work in silos, we have to work together.” Aznani, Education for Climate Action for Peace Dominant conversations about climate change have often been reduced to focusing on carbon alone or looking towards high-tech solutions that may not be technologically viable, or may even continue to fuel the crisis further. Yet, the human, ecological and climate crises we face are connected and intersecting - and therefore need holistic solutions. Regeneration invites us to think systemically. It means paradigms and practices that take a whole-systems approach to solving problems; looking at all the intersecting threads of our cultures, and restoring health, wholeness and resilience throughout. As we wait for the COP26 agreements, the rights and wellbeing of all Life, human and non-human, must be at the forefront of our decisions. We ask: what would the future look like if we saw human civilization as part of nature rather than separate from the whole? “It is time to focus on equitable education, sanitation, housing and healthcare in the Global South and the restructuring and redistribution of resources from the Global North based on a national and global economy. One that does not systemically exceed our upper ecological limits nor descend below an unacceptable quality of life.” Guy Ritani, PermaQueer We are asking for a just transition into a world where planetary care, human care, care for wildlife, and equitable distribution and access to resources are central tenets. We know that what this looks like in different contexts will always be unique. Regeneration must therefore also be embedded in the approach, in the process. It must be collaborative, it must come from the voices of people. It must be embedded in the communities from which it emerges. Otherwise, it is colonialism in disguise. “The solutions lie deep in our cultures, in the way we work to connect with our ancestral wisdom.” Simon Mitambo, African Biodiversity Network Practitioners from our intersecting movements have worked on the fringes of society for too long. They’ve been excluded from conversations. They’ve been killed for what we stand up for. We need to give platforms to those who have been historically marginalised or left out of policy conversations. Indigenous and First Nations communities; small holder farmers; communities from the Global South; those affected by climate disaster and conflict; refugees and displaced people; young people. These voices are important to listen to as, in the words of Kenyan Peasants’ League, “no one mourns more than the bereaved;” or of PermaQueer, “The failings of our systems are never more known than by those who they have failed.” Only by listening to such perspectives can true change emerge. There are narratives for a better future, and they’re coming from the margins. When we give space to listen and hear these communities, unique and innovative solutions will emerge. Many of these solutions are already being practiced all around the world. Now is the time to elevate the voices of regenerative practitioners and showcase a better world that is possible. Incredible, innovative solutions already exist, but they need funding, support, and voice. This letter is therefore an invitation to listen to our unique voices and hear what we are saying, the solutions we understand, the strength we are holding - embedded in experience, in culture and in place. Signed by: The Lush Spring Prize Community, including: Re-Alliance Anna Clayton, Ethical Consumer, UK Francesca de la Torre, Ethical Consumer, UK James Atherton, Lush Ltd, UK Maria Anchundia, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador Ahmed Sourani, Gaza Urban & Peri-urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP), Palestine Simon Mitambo, African Biodiversity Network and Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation Eskender Mulugeta, Food Secured Schools Africa, Ethiopia Teodora Borghoff, Timișoara Community Foundation, Romania Lewis Mashingaidze, Fambidzanai, Zimbabwe Norani Abu Bakar, Education for Climate Action for Peace, Malaysia Coral Herencia. Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos. Chile. Guy Ritani & Toad Dell, PermaQueer, Australia Jessie Doyle, Lush Ltd, Ireland, Georgina McAllister, Centre for Agroecology, Water & Resilience, Coventry University. AgroecologyNow! Cidi Otieno David, Kenyan Peasants League Ola Tom Lakere, Youth In Permaculture Prize judge 2021, Permayouth Kitgum, Uganda Jackie Kearney, Re-Alliance Filipa Pimentel, Transition Network Faith Flanigan, Regenerosity & the Buckminster Fuller Institute Anna Andrade, Regenerosity Amanda Joy Ravenhill, Buckminster Fuller Institute Ego Lemos, Permaculture Timor-Leste (Permatil) John Macharia, SCOPE Kenya Monique Wambui, SCOPE Kenya Gideon Mawenge, The Marginalised Mirror, Namibia Kanghi Kayapri, Associação Centro de Cultura Sabuká Kariri Xocó, Brazil Tah Kennette Konsum, Mount Oku Center for Gender and Socioeconomic Empowerment, Cameroon Tomás de Lara, Ciudades+B / Cities Can B, Brazil. Sarah Queblatin, Green Releaf, Philippines Josie Redmonds, Malawi Schools Permaculture Clubs Bianca Elzenbaumer, Comunità Frizzante, Italy Maria Inés Cuj, Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura, Guatemala Anne Rammi, Be The Earth Foundation “It is time to have less talk and have more actions toward biodiversity regeneration. The future of the young people is much more important as that of the current generation.” John Macharia, SCOPE Kenya “Gostariamos de pedir que fizéssemos exercícios de humildade, percebendo que a raiz de nossos problemas é a ambição”. "We would like to ask you to do exercises in humility, realising that the root of our problems is ambition" Kanghi Kayapri, Associação Centro de Cultura Sabuká Kariri Xocó, Brazil “What did Africa get from the aid sector? What did we get from all these things sent to us constantly for the past five or six decades? In my view, we did not get much. Not much has changed.” Eskender Mulugeta, Food Secured Schools Africa “In the Amazon here, we have oil exploitation causing so much harm, deforesting big areas of land. My family members are joining forces to not allow oil companies to come in and deforest.” María Anchundia, young forest defender, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador "Resguardar social, ecológica y legalmente los principales ecosistemas de la Tierra - Biosfera- es fundamental para garantizar la posibilidad de un mundo sano para nuestras generaciones venideras." “Protecting socially, ecologically and legally the main ecosystems of the Earth - Biosphere - is essential to guarantee the possibility of a healthy world for our future generations.” Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos, Chile “En nuestro país el 85% de la tierra está ocupada por grandes fincas de caña de azúcar y palma aceitera y acceder a tierra por parte de familias productoras es muy difícil. Actualmente personas defensoras están siendo criminalizadas por defender el derecho humano y el agua.” “In our country, 85% of the land is occupied by large sugar cane and oil palm farms and access to land by producer families is very difficult. Defenders are currently being criminalized for defending human rights and water.” Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura IMAP - Guatemala “A voice from the global south, I bring along our griefs perpetuated by climate change. I urge you - the leaders gathering at COP26 - to act swiftly...The multiple crises our generation faces today requires understanding from a holistic perspective, that is only if you take us, the victims, seriously!” Ola Tom Lakere, Permayouth Kitgum, Uganda “Indigenous knowledge has been naturally supporting the maintainance of the world climate, in the efforts to roll back the effects through mitigation and in to engage in adaptation, more resources should be allocated to these communities and Indigenous practices at the grassroots level" Tah Kennette Konsum, Mount Oku Center for Gender and Socioeconomic Empowerment ‘We are curing ourselves while curing the earth’ Wafa Hossain The Blue Ribbon Global “When there is no peace among the people, our planet and the environment will be destroyed” Aznani Zakaria, Education for Climate Action for Peace "It is time to honour ancestral and feminine-led knowledge into building resilient solutions based on care, nurturing and community. Women's life experiences in communities all around the globe are intrinsically connected to the environment. They are the ones collecting water, growing food and finding fuel. And also they are the ones whose lives are most impacted when crises arise. It is time that our leaders understand the meaning of environmental justice also from the female perspective." Anne Rammi, Be The Earth Foundation “The global South has been heavily affected by climate change, urgency and innovations are needed in improving adaptability and promoting sustainable use of limited resources by smallholder farmers whilst increasing the carbon sequestration”. Lewis Mashingaidze, Fambidzanai "I ask everyone here today, how would you decorate your home? Would you have your home full of colour, full of life? Or full of darkness? Well, our planet is our home, and we are destroying it. The solutions are there. Sometimes the scale of the crisis can tear you down and leave you feeling helpless. But even the longest essay starts with a single word. There is no moving out of this beautiful home, this perfect home. We've got to bring out the mops, and get this home back in order." Maria Chan - UCSI School (Teens4CAP Participant) "Participar en la regeneración Bio-Cultural de la Tierra es un gran compromiso que debemos asumir con acción prosolutiva, esperanza, convicción y valentía, aplicando Soluciones Basadas en la Naturaleza y recuperando la ciencia y sabiduría antigua." "Participating in the Bio-Cultural regeneration of the Earth is a great commitment that we must assume with prosolutive action, hope, conviction and courage, applying Nature-Based Solutions and recovering ancient science and wisdom." Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos, Chile

The IPCC Report calls for urgent change. What we need is Regenerative transformation. This includes the humanitarian and development sectors. The second week of August 2021 saw the public release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest assessment report. Formed in the late 1980s, the IPCC releases rigorous reports on the state of climate breakdown every eight years. Confirming what perhaps many of us feared to be true, this latest report is by far the most damning, indicating that drastic changes must be made as soon as possible if we are to sustain human life as we know it. Our planet’s climate systems are changing beyond recognition. We will continue to experience the drastic effects of climate breakdown, and the many interrelated ecological crises such as large scale species’ extinction, more and more-so over the next 50 years and beyond. As climate breakdown continues to worsen, we know that people living in the Global South, and volatile or challenging contexts, will be the hardest hit. The UNHCR estimates that around 20 million people are already displaced each year by extreme weather and natural disasters. Many say this is already a conservative figure. With more wildfires, super storms, floods and droughts happening in many regions than ever recorded, the amount of people experiencing displacement will only increase drastically. Global governments must hold the world’s biggest polluting companies accountable, as well as making seismic changes to the systems which have enabled corporations to profit from the violent exploitation of people and planet. We are often told that our individual choices will make a difference to climate change. Re-Alliance does not submit to the narrative that individual choices will create the level of change needed, because this approach is often the veneer that corporations use to pass focus away from their own crimes. But there are also drastic changes that the nonprofit world needs to make. We urge NGOs and aid agencies to look toward their own policies and practices, to see how our own activities are impacting on our world’s climate and living systems. Change needs to happen drastically everywhere. But to start us off, Re-Alliance suggests these three, immediate actions: 1. Let the people experiencing the most drastic change be the ones who help shape your policies and decisions. And pay them to do so. Re-Alliance tries to avoid the term “beneficiaries”, because it is disempowering. It also implies a transactional relationship, with some people ‘benefiting’ from the work, and not contributing. This is a very limiting way of framing complex relationships. There will be people who NGOs work with who experience the harsh effects of climate change, ecological collapse, or other crises, in ways that people in NGO offices (especially in the Global North) do not experience.The people who are experiencing the harshest effects of climate change and other crises also often have the greatest insights into traditional, nature-based solutions that can help us to regenerate social and ecological living systems. Despite this, these people are often left out of the policy meetings, or their voices are only highlighted in a secondary way through reports. Re-Alliance advises that NGOs forefront less-heard and less-visible voices, in a way that is also respectful, always consensual, not tokenistic, and does not bring up trauma for people. Perhaps it should go without saying, though shockingly it is still not always practiced, that people should be paid for their time. How do you start conversations like this? Re-Alliance has a membership of regenerative practitioners from all over the world, many of whom are on the frontlines of devastating ecological breakdown. Our members showcase how regenerative responses can add health to human communities and the environment. You can read about some of our members on our case studies and articles page, and many of our members are available for consultancies. 2. Skill up your organisation’s decision makers in systems thinking and regenerative design. And hold them accountable. The core decision makers in NGOs usually spend the least time on their own learning and development - most probably because they have tight schedules, or they perceive their own continued learning to be a low priority. If organisations have hierarchical structures in place, we must make sure that their leaders have all the tools they need to make policy decisions that create the most health, value and healing for ecological and social systems. Re-Alliance would argue that we need to completely reevaluate our ways of making organisational decisions, using tools and frameworks such as Sociocracy to make decisions more dispersed and efficient. NGO leaders need to become systems thinkers to recognise and unravel the destructive, unintended consequences of our work. Then, NGO leaders must put these regenerative principles into practice, using systemic and nature-inspired solutions to radically update policy. Importantly, we must hold the decision-makers in our organisations accountable. Leaders in aid agencies, for example, might be used to making life or death decisions, but the stakes are only getting higher. Re-Alliance is happy to give your organisation free recommendations of regenerative learning courses that would be right for your needs. We can also create a programme alongside our skilled members at an affordable and scaling fee. Contact us for more information. 3. Don’t be afraid of trying something radically different. In our experience, one large barrier for NGOs uptaking regenerative principles and practices is that they seem very different to embedded and long-used organisational norms. NGOs and aid agencies tend to replicate the same conventional practices again and again, because these practices have board approval, they are seen to be efficient, and they have some level of research showing that they are effective. But often, these conventional approaches are tested in one context and exported around the world, and may not be appropriate or meaningful in other contexts. In many cases, such practices can cause longer term harm in the communities and ecosystems where they are implemented. But what’s the alternative? Regenerative solutions seek to create healthy cycles of abundance using nature-inspired patterns and principles which are tailored, or emerge from, the context where they’re used. This is a new way of thinking to some people, but it’s actually inspired by ancient, tried-and-tested practices. You can see examples of effective regenerative practice on our video page, with many of our members having run long term humanitarian and development interventions in many different contexts. Get in touch with the Re-Alliance team if you would like to discuss how your organisation could transition to becoming more regenerative. If you’re not sure how to start these conversations within your organisation, we will endeavour to help. Our policies and actions must go beyond cutting carbon emissions. Our organisations need to move toward adding social, ecological and economic health and value wherever we operate. It’s what our living planet desperately needs.

Report by Giulia Genna, Alexander Howarth, Yu Rim Kim, Nafisa Shamim Rudmila, and Lara Soliman Article by Giulia Genna Created from a collaboration between five LSE graduate students and Re-Alliance, the aim of this report is to understand regeneration, and highlight some beneficial characteristics when applied within the disaster relief field. The purpose of this report is to produce an evidence-based toolkit that can easily adapt to the flexibility of regenerative approaches. To achieve such a goal, we decided to first analyse the regenerative movement as a whole, underpinning its most salient points. The results of our literature review revealed a lack of a shared language and terminology within the regenerative movement, which undoubtedly hinders the capacity of regeneration to become more well known in the disaster relief community. Secondly, we interviewed fifteen key informants coming from different academic and professional backgrounds, to better understand the nature of regeneration, the common targets and features of regenerative approaches, and the essential aspects of a successful disaster relief project. The findings from the interviews built the foundations for the MET, a monitoring and evaluation toolkit for regenerative approaches. The MET is divided in three distinct, yet ever-developing, phases: planning, implementation, and review. In the planning phase, we highlight the importance of creating a shared regenerative language, promoting regenerative values, and understanding the challenges of regeneration. In the implementation phase, we focus on the different methods of data collection, highlighting SMS integrated databases and online web pages with backend databases as possible solutions, and we stress the importance of evidence of progress to advertise regeneration. In the final phase, the programme review, we emphasize the role of community involvement and accountability, funding and donors’ management, and knowledge sharing. Ultimately, the MET is presented as a set of questions which aims to facilitate practitioners in the process of implementation of regenerative practices. The goal of the toolkit is to give structure to regenerative programmes, in order to help professionals promote regeneration among other organisations and donors. With the hope that our toolkit will be of help to aspiring regeneration practitioners, our wish is to see the MET further developed into a complete guide through additional research and interviews. Once again, we want to stress that creating a shared language, data collection, and community involvement, are crucial for the development of regeneration into a well-established approach to disaster relief. You can find Genna et al.'s report below, including the MET in section 5.