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Meet the team who support and facilitate the thriving Re-Alliance network of Regenerative practitioners. Meet the team Core Facilitation Team Correspondents Trustees Volunteers Directorship Ruth Andrade Chair of the Trustee Board Read More → Communications Team Ansiima Casinga Rolande Correspondent and Regenerative Settlements Storyteller Read More → Core Facilitation Team James Atherton Permaculture Lead, Communication & Storytelling Lead Read More → Communications Team Batata Boris-Kaloff Correspondent Read More → Directorship Gisele Henriques Trustee Read More → Core Facilitation Team Jackie Kearney Network & Membership Lead Read More → Directorship George McAllister Trustee and Safeguarding Focal Point Read More → Core Facilitation Team Mary Mellett Research, Content & Compliance Lead Read More → Directorship Peter Mellett Trustee Read More → Core Facilitation Team Juliet Millican Coordinator Read More → Directorship Geoff O'Donoghue Trustee and Finance Circle Read More → Communications Team Sunjae Yun Research & Communications support Read More →

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

From Permaculture in refugee settlements, to eco-building in disaster prone regions, to water harvesting in areas severely affected by worsening climate change, Re-Alliance and our members showcase how we can create stability, resilience and abundance, even in times of crisis. What could a regenerative humanitarian response look like? Increasing the impact and influence of regenerative responses to disaster, displacement and development Explore Re-Alliance free guides Re-Alliance promotes a regenerative vision, beyond sustainability, for the humanitarian and development sectors. From Permaculture gardens in refugee camps, to eco-building in disaster prone regions; eco WASH interventions, to integrated nature-based solutions for settlement designing: Re-Alliance members are showcasing how we can create stability, resilience and abundance, even in times of crisis. Watch Videos Play Video Play Video 07:14 Beejvan | Restoring and regenerating sacred food forests in India Beejvan began in 2022 to revive local understandings of tree-based farming. In this film, Founding Director Sanjana Krishnan explores the joys and the challenges of land-based work. The project has become more than a farming practice, but a healing and community-building activity. 🎥 Film by Pankaj Rishi Kumar Play Video Play Video 04:41 YAKUM | Protecting and restoring the bio-cultural abundance of the Amazon YAKUM partners with three indigenous nations in Ecuador to turn degraded land into cultural food landscapes. In this film by Remi Bumstead, Re-Alliance member YAKUM explores the importance of Indigenous wisdom in forest protection and restoration, and the abundance that healthy forests can offer in terms of culture, food, and climate resilience. Arley Paraguaje and Nick Ovenden explain why YAKUM rediscover and replant diverse cultural foods, and safely harvest food from standing forests. Find out more about YAKUM's work at https://yakum.org/ 🎥 https://remibumstead.com/ Play Video Play Video 07:21 Minak | Growing nutritious mushrooms in a refugee settlement Mariam Antoine from Minak Women-led Organisation helped co-create a programme of training women in Nakivale Refugee Settlement to grow nutritious Oyster mushrooms in reusable buckets. In this video, trainees from Minak organisation explain how mushroom cultivation is such a powerful way to grow the health and income of people living in refugee settlements. Re-Alliance worked with Minak to create a how-to booklet for growing mushrooms. Read more about the project here and download the booklet: https://www.re-alliance.org/post/cultivating-mushrooms-in-buckets Minak is bringing to life real examples of #Permaculture in #Refugee settlements. Play Video Play Video 06:08 YICE Uganda | Urine-diversion dry composting toilets Join Winnie Tushabe, co-founder of YICE Uganda, and Ecosan user Uwizeye Salima, in exploring Ecosans. In the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, refugees are given a small plot of land to build a dwelling and farm food on. Re-Alliance's partner organisation YICE Uganda (Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment) is working with families to create kitchen gardens but yields are limited because the soil is poor. Re-Alliance and YICE collaborated to build eight urine diverting dry toilets (or ‘Ecosan’ toilets) for families. By separating the urine and faeces, the volume of composting waste is reduced, extending the capacity of the compost chamber and giving an immediate source of fertiliser in the form of urine, which, when diluted 1:10 - 1:20 with water, is an excellent fertiliser rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Diverting the urine away stops the compost chamber from becoming anaerobic and smelly and the addition of wood ash or saw dust, after using the toilet, acts as a dehydrating cover material. This design used recycled plastic barrels as containers for the faeces, which ensures no ground pollution. Once nearly full, the barrel is moved aside and replaced with a fresh barrel. With the hot composting achieved inside the barrels, compost can be created in under 12 months in the Ugandan climate. The compost is used to enrich the soil around fruiting trees and bushes. Find out more about this design and create your own with our free guides on www.re-alliance.org/publications . Play Video Play Video 07:35 Unidos Social Innovation Centre | Eco-social regeneration in Nakivale Refugee Settlement What could it look like if Refugee Settlements were thriving ecological and social spaces? Unidos Social Innovation Centre is a refugee-led, community-based organisation that engages with young people located in the Nakivale Refugee settlement, South West Uganda. In this video, Unidos founder Paulinho Muzaliwa explains how they support the communities to create abundant Permaculture gardens, grow biodiverse food forests, and build healthy soils. Find out more about Unidos at https://unidosprojects.org/ Donate to Unidos' work here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/water-4-thriving-african-permaculture-group 🎥 7Times Film Production Play Video Play Video 04:36 Ecopoblaciones | Ecopoblaciones Ecuador Ecopoblaciones Ecuador create eco-social regeneration programs that promote the participatory design and implementation of sustainable and resilient populations. Their work integrates ecology, social, economic and cultural aspects, using tools and processes of eco-neighborhoods, eco-social movements, permaculture, ecotourism, bio-construction, participatory leadership, emotional management, well-being, among others. Find out more about Ecopoblaciones Ecuador here: https://ecopoblaciones.github.io/ Find out more about joining Re-Alliance's thriving community of members here: https://www.re-alliance.org/members Play Video Play Video 11:32 Green Releaf | Designing for resilience in disaster and conflict prone regions in the Philippines Green Releaf Initiative prototyped two projects that aimed to respond to and prevent disasters, in contexts of climate and conflict vulnerability in the Philippines. Green Releaf worked with Permaculture as an approach to address food security, regenerative livelihood, and ecosystem restoration. They had a community-led approach, working with early adapters as grassroots permaculture leaders to train as multipliers. They aimed to highlight the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) from the community, honouring their earth wisdom as key to the community's resilience. Featuring grassroots community leaders from areas affected by disasters and displacement where Green Releaf worked, this film begins to document the knowledge learned and practices implemented over time. Play Video Play Video 02:32 What is Re-Alliance? What is Re-Alliance? What do we hope to achieve? These questions and more are explored by some of of the founding members of the Re-Alliance network. Join our membership As part of our network, whether a grassroots practitioner or a member of an international NGO or Aid organisation, you will have access to dynamic knowledge, a vibrant and active community of experts, and a wealth of opportunities for collaboration. Our membership is open to all. The only requirements are an interest, understanding or expertise in regenerative design, experience in the humanitarian or development sectors, and a willingness to comply with our code of conduct and policies. Find out more Read Articles The Farmers and Beekeepers who are reforesting Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Cameroon, including endangered forest elephants, chimpanzees, and the elusive primates called Drills. Farmer and apiculturist Evambe Thompson helps to nurture the biodiversity of this critical ecosystem by replanting trees, and encouraging nature-friendly livelihoods. Batata Boris-Karloff The Peacebuilding and Environment Nexus: healing land, systems and communities How do climate change, land conflict, and ecological loss shape violence, and how can environmental cooperation support peace? A regenerative lens on trauma healing, agency, and systems change. Juliet Millican Nakivale Arboloo Toilets: Growing Trees from waste Arborloo compost toilets are movable structures which, when the compost pit is full, can be covered and planted with a tree. The top structure can then be moved to a new location. Mary Mellett Sign up for our newsletters For inspiring stories from our network of practitioners around the globe, to learning about how to integrate regenerative design into humanitarian and development contexts, sign up to our newsletter below. Sign up We can support you Re-Alliance and our members have hosted several training programmes for humanitarian and development organisations and agencies. We can help you and your organisation to integrate regenerative paradigms and practices into your operation, interventions, and policy. Contact us to arrange a meeting and find out more. Contact us

This illustrated guide explores how to establish composting at community scale, to build soil health, cycle 'waste', and grow community cohesion. < Back Community Composting This illustrated guide explores how to establish composting at community scale, to build soil health, cycle 'waste', and grow community cohesion. Donate to Re-Alliance Stay updated with our newsletter Download for free: English Español Português عربي Swahili Français

< back Date of completion: 1 Dec 2020 Re-Alliance Members' Film Collaboration Participatory filmmaking to share stories of regeneration in action. With a generous grant of €5000 from Lush Deutschland, we seed-funded the production of 12 short films showcasing inspirational examples of regeneration in action, from Re-Alliance members 8 different countries. These powerful stories of community-based approaches spread messages of hope around the world. An advisory panel helped us decide who to award further grant funding to, and the recipients were awarded up to €3000 to grow their work further. This collaboration welcomed meaningful stories from across the world, giving platform for Re-Alliance members to share their work. For accessibility, we asked that films to be recorded on mobile phones and to last under 6 minutes. Films could be recorded in any language with English subtitles. Small grants of up to €500 were offered to help make the films, which went towards travel costs, purchase of lapel microphones, editing and subtitling in English. All films were uploaded onto our YouTube page and widely shared, tripling visits to our site in a short time as well as giving voice to small marginalised groups. Produced at the height of worldwide lockdowns, the films told stories of resilience and adaptability and facilitated connections and the growth of inspirational ideas at a time when people could not meet but stories could still be shared. You can watch the films here .

< Back George McAllister Trustee and Safeguarding Focal Point With an NGO background since the early 1990s, George’s experience spans humanitarian and development sectors in Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa. This first hand engagement with the realities of people affected by political instability, social division and shattered infrastructure drew George to agroecology, which combines biophysical and social and political regeneration. George is interested in inclusive processes that invite people into decision-making, to link relief to development more coherently and to stimulate new ways of thinking and acting together. George has experience in directing the NGO Garden Africa, which she co-founded in 2001 and currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (Coventry), where she completed her PhD in Stabilisation Agriculture.

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

Support Re-Alliance Help Re-Alliance to showcase a new, regenerative vision for the Humanitarian and Development sectors Donate Contact us Thank you very much for your interest in supporting Re-Alliance. With your donation, we can continue our integral work of convening, supporting and showcasing innovative regenerative solutions to humanitarian challenges and development interventions. We work through four interconnected core areas: The Learning work-stream supports the creation and sharing of practical, accessible learning resources. These materials are made in partnership with our members with lived experience of the issues, and are designed to serve both community-based practitioners and humanitarian organisations. Through guides, courses and peer learning learning spaces, we help regenerative approaches become more widely understood, trusted and applied in crisis and recovery contexts. 📖 Support the Learning Fund, here . The Innovation work-stream enables practitioners and communities to trial, research and refine regenerative practices in humanitarian contexts. Working alongside our partners, we support the experimentation and reflection from implementing small or larger scale innovations, always with in integrated regenerative perspective. Through the Innovation work-stream, we showcase how locally-rooted solutions can inform wider systems and policies. 🌀 Support the Innovation Fund, here . The Storytelling work-stream supports grassroots practitioners to share their stories in participatory and meaningful ways. Through our network of community correspondents and media spaces, we help ensure that the voices, experiences and wisdom of those most affected by crisis are heard, valued and able to help influence change. 🎥 Support the Storytelling Fund, here . Alongside these core areas of work, we have a support and facilitation circle which focuses on nurturing the movement. This includes supporting peer connection, growing partnerships, and holding the facilitation of Re-Alliance. We see this as tending to the soil of Re-Alliance, which allows our programmes and partnerships to grow. It's essential work, but often underfunded. If you would like to support us in a flexible and unrestricted way, please contact us or donate through our flexible fund here. 🤝 Support the whole of Re-Alliance's work, here . Feel free to contact us if you would like to transfer directly into our bank account, or for larger donations. Re-Alliance is an international network, and is registered as a UK charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number: 1188936) . Donate Contact us Organisational Sponsorship Are you part of an ecologically minded for-profit organisation? We would love to discuss sponsorship and partnership opportunities with you. We offer training and webinars on Permaculture, regenerative design and other topics for staff of organisations who sponsor Re-Alliance. Sponsors will also receive invitations to our invite-only bi-monthly webinars. We are also grateful to organisations who choose to recommend Re-Alliance on a staff Payroll Giving or pay-as-you-earn donation scheme. Please contact us for more information. Other ways of supporting Re-Alliance Re-Alliance and our members gratefully welcomes other support and volunteering. Re-Alliance works with writers, researchers, film-makers, artists and many others to collate and present high quality information about regenerative design in the humanitarian and development fields. We would be happy to work with you. Re-Alliance is also able to work with Masters and PhD researchers, and many of our members are happy to accommodate with research work. Thank you again, and we look forward to partnering with you. Donate Contact us

Re-Alliance Members & Partners Contact us Visit us on social media Our diverse membership, spanning every continent around the globe, has organically formed with representatives from over 150 organisations, united by a shared commitment to integrated regenerative responses to development, disaster and displacement. Our membership includes experts from regenerative design fields working within INGOs, Universities, Businesses, small and medium NGOs and self-employed practitioners. Our members include founders, and CEOs of permaculture organisations and green foundations; directors of some of the larger aid or humanitarian NGOs; grassroots organisers; academics and researchers who have spent a lifetime building evidence of alternative, earth responsive solutions in areas of the world most affected by environmental disasters, and displacement. Connect with our members' expertise What would it look like to have regenerative principles embedded in your organisation's work? Our members are available to be hired as consultants, supporting you and your organisation to design and deliver regenerative responses in a wide variety of humanitarian and development contexts. Located on every continent around the globe, our members can support you in implementing locally-led and embedded practice, both minimising the carbon footprint of international travel while also honouring local, more culturally appropriate solutions. Each Re-Alliance member brings unique talents, years of experience, and a connection to a pool of shared expertise in different cultures, continents and contexts, through the Re-Alliance network. Contact us to hear more about how our talented members can support your work. Become a member Re-Alliance members benefit from a shared learning and collaboration space, connecting to a global network of other regenerative practitioners from the humanitarian and development sectors. Re-Alliance host monthly members meetings or invite-only webinars. We showcase and promote members' excellence through case studies and articles, and by brokering connections between our network of practitioners and organisations interested in regenerative design. Are you a regenerative design practitioner, or from a regenerative project, working in humanitarian or development spaces? We'd love to be in touch. Membership to Re-Alliance is free of charge. Contact us Find out more and request to join Below: Re-Alliance member Bee Rowan, teaching about ecological strawbale building practices in Nepal. Partner Organisations Would you like to join our membership, or would you like to find out more about how our members can support your organisation with regenerative design? Find out more below, or contact us here . Find out more and request to join Partner Members

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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