In February 2024, the Territorial Foundations movement of Colombia decided to design and implement a Territorial Regeneration Fund. This fund is part of a collective bet as a movement to generate new paradigms of transformation in the country.
Our geography to organize is “North Andean” in size with a focus on watersheds and ecosystems that exist among the movements of water in holistic hydrological systems. Water connects all living beings, including humanity, in all our territories. All territories have shared issues such as the need to convert industrial agriculture to regenerative models and the same for tourism, food security, wellbeing, and so forth.
Community philanthropy and regeneration have several points of convergence, such as the importance of relationships and patterns in a community, designing place-based solutions, and always seeing the potential of the territory to produce wellbeing and harmony with nature.
Thanks to the initial support of Humanity United and the subsequent catalytic philanthropic contribution of the NoVo Foundation, this fund has been moving forward with important advances for territorial regeneration.
Collective Learning
The movement of foundations has been building knowledge collectively through conversations and virtual workshops that have allowed us to nurture the understanding of the regenerative approach from what to do in each of their territories to a personal field of evolution.
The territories involved in this proposal are those belonging to the Territorial Foundations movement, which today is made up of Paisano (Bogotá), Barichara Regenerativa (Barichara), Putumayo Florece (Putumayo), TAMSA (Guasca), CreAmos (El Tambo), Sembrando Paz (Montes de María), Funimos (Medellín), Florencia, Agua, Vida y Paz (Florencia).
In this sense, five workshops have been held, led by people from the territorial foundations movement itself, which has allowed us to develop a joint learning process in the 8 territories where this initiative is being promoted. We have worked on key issues such as the concept of a bioregion, conceptual definitions of the regenerative approach, the relationship between community philanthropy and this approach, among other related topics.
Mapping Actors and Regenerative Initiatives
Seeking to allocate resources to the actors and initiatives with the greatest potential for the territory, the movement has mapped 113 actors that in one way or another work for the regeneration of their territories. Faithful to the principles of community philanthropy, this has not been just another characterization, but a methodological process of deep knowledge of the actors and assets of the territory, with a vision of abundance and wealth in order to forge better communities.
For example, we focus on processes and not projects; we give preference to the living processes in our landscapes and we are convinced that those who do work on the ground are the experts. In this way, the mapping will allow mobilizing resources for local leadership to continue doing.
Constructing the Path with Others
This project has allowed us to articulate with other actors that are betting on regeneration in Colombia. The process was able to articulate itself in partnership with the fabric of Culturas Regenerativas, with key allies such as Colombia Regenerativa, Opepa, Reconectando, Fundación Mi Sangre, and others.
In this way, we are excited to be a process that adds to the construction of a national ecosystem that promotes regeneration in Colombia. We have clearly seen that community philanthropy and the territorial foundations in our network are a complement to the work of these actors, as we seek to catalyze resources for long-term solutions for the planet and people.
What’s Next?
Following the national mapping of actors and initiatives, the movement will be localizing the funds in these territories, through structured mechanisms of distribution based on trust and flexibility among the participants. This will be done in the 8 territories where the fund is working.
Since its inception, the regenerative fund has three territories where there is a territorial foundation already legally constituted and that is managing financial resources with a network of local regenerative processes. They are Barichara Regenerativa, Putumayo Florece, and Paisano.
With their leadership they have collaborative budgets that are organized in their own territories. The workshops will accelerate the construction of social maps on regenerative initiatives and collaborative budgets in the other territories that are participating in learning exchanges.
We will also be launching a funding campaign that seeks to increase the resources available to further leverage the efforts of other stakeholders in other communities across the country.
We are excited to continue on this path through 2025 and in the years to come. Our vision is to cultivate deeper exchanges in the regeneration of territories and bioregions in Colombia and the northern Andean region.
This article is co-authored by Hugo Felipe Bogota of Territoria and Joe Brewer of Barichara Regenerativa.
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