By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 29 Feb 24
Last week, Penny Heiple and I went to Putumayo for a special gathering of territorial foundations from different parts of Colombia. We were among local organizing teams from Barichara, Bogota, El Tambo, Florencia, Medellin, Montes de Maria, and Putumayo — each at different stages in their own process to establish a territorial foundation for their local communities.The event was organized by the territorial foundation Putumayo Florece and the national support organization TerritoriA: Territories in Action. We came as representatives from the team in Barichara that has been working on regeneration at the territorial scale since 2020.Movement Map for Territorial Foundations of ColombiaIt is difficult
Last week, Penny Heiple and I went to Putumayo for a special gathering of territorial foundations from different parts of Colombia. We were among local organizing teams from Barichara, Bogota, El Tambo, Florencia, Medellin, Montes de Maria, and Putumayo — each at different stages in their own process to establish a territorial foundation for their local communities.The event was organized by the
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 20 Feb 24
At the Design School for Regenerating Earth, we are about to embark on a learning journey to birth a planetary network of bioregional learning centers.We have developed a framework for the regeneration of large-scale landscape systems that brings together many tools and approaches from around the world. We call it the Platform for Bioregional Regeneration and it has three foundational pillars:Creation of a learning ecosystem organized around at least one bioregional learning center for every unique landscape on Earth.Weave a tapestry of local projects into holistic, integrated landscapes that are organized as watersheds, coastal estuaries, mountain ranges, and other geophysical features of
At the Design School for Regenerating Earth, we are about to embark on a learning journey to birth a planetary network of bioregional learning centers.We have developed a framework for the regeneration of large-scale landscape systems that brings together many tools and approaches from around the world. We call it the Platform for Bioregional Regeneration and it has three foundational pillars:Creation
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 11 Jan 24
The children are helping regrow the forest next to the Barichara River…With special thanks to Oswaldo Escobar for guiding the kids through a process of making “seed bombs” filled with native seeds. These beautiful balls of soil are thrown into the riparian zone of the river.When the rains come, the seeds will germinate and take root. This is a powerful way to get children involved in critically important reforestation efforts.Here in Barichara, we are creating a regenerative Waldorf school that helps the children grow fully into themselves and also supports the restoration of rivers and forests in our territory.Really feeling
The children are helping regrow the forest next to the Barichara River…With special thanks to Oswaldo Escobar for guiding the kids through a process of making “seed bombs” filled with native seeds. These beautiful balls of soil are thrown into the riparian zone of the river.When the rains come, the seeds will germinate and take root. This is a powerful
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 7 Jan 24
It is the dead rivers that stir something deep within me…This one is the Paramera and it drains into the Barichara River. When I walk to these places, I am pondering how the locals say that water continuously ran in this drainage until about 25–30 years ago.I add to this my knowledge that 95% of the native forest has been cut down in the last eighty years. The entire region is in the process of becoming a desert. It is a human-caused calamity.My imagination stirs at the thoughts of bringing back the forest, connecting the biological corridors, and weaving of human activities
It is the dead rivers that stir something deep within me…This one is the Paramera and it drains into the Barichara River. When I walk to these places, I am pondering how the locals say that water continuously ran in this drainage until about 25–30 years ago.I add to this my knowledge that 95% of the native forest has been cut down
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 5 Jan 24
Yesterday we gathered with teachers, parents, and regenerative practitioners in the community who work with children. It is becoming more clear that we can begin a Waldorf model focused on two levels — children between the age of 4 and 6; and children ages 7 to 8.We are also seeing how the donations raised so far for the school can help support reforestation efforts and restoration of the Barichara watershed. All of this can be done with children at the heart of our work together.The children played amongst us as we talked. Elise keeps telling me how she wants this school to be
Yesterday we gathered with teachers, parents, and regenerative practitioners in the community who work with children. It is becoming more clear that we can begin a Waldorf model focused on two levels — children between the age of 4 and 6; and children ages 7 to 8.We are also seeing how the donations raised so far for the school can help support reforestation
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 2 Dec 23
Birthing of Bioregional Learning Centers :: A Learning JourneyOne of our great challenges in the world today is learning how to live in place as part of the tapestry of living systems. In the midst of accelerating breakdown and collapse, our education systems are grossly inadequate to the context we are in now. It is time to re-imagine human existence as place-based expressions of unique culture and ecology — or said another way, we need to become bioregional.The Design School for Regenerating Earth was created to support learning exchanges within and among landscapes where regenerative work is being done on the ground. We are
Birthing of Bioregional Learning Centers :: A Learning JourneyOne of our great challenges in the world today is learning how to live in place as part of the tapestry of living systems. In the midst of accelerating breakdown and collapse, our education systems are grossly inadequate to the context we are in now. It is time to re-imagine human existence as place-based
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 7 Oct 23
Yesterday we experienced the feeling of Regenerate Cascadia being born as a social movement in the world. In the photo above, you can see me giving a talk at Lost Valley Educational Center just south of Eugene, Oregon to an audience of 50 people.It was incredible to hold a collective dream for the future of humanity and watch it take root in the hearts of many people at the same time. Many had tears in their eyes. The energy was palpable. Some would say afterwards that they had been waiting for this moment all of their lives.This is only our second stop
Yesterday we experienced the feeling of Regenerate Cascadia being born as a social movement in the world. In the photo above, you can see me giving a talk at Lost Valley Educational Center just south of Eugene, Oregon to an audience of 50 people.It was incredible to hold a collective dream for the future of humanity and watch it take root
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 28 Sep 23
Look at how massive the deforestation is in Oregon.This is the Willamette Valley that stretches from Portland to the north (left in this image) to Eugene in the south (on the right).What would it take to regenerate this massive area? How differently must people think about their relationships with land? What kinds of economic activities would make sense if life was treated as sacred?Questions like these will guide our #RegenerateCascadia tour that begins on Sunday. Penny Heiple and I arrive in Seattle tonight and meet with the organizing team tomorrow morning.We will enter the Columbia River Gorge for several days of events starting Sunday,
Look at how massive the deforestation is in Oregon.This is the Willamette Valley that stretches from Portland to the north (left in this image) to Eugene in the south (on the right).What would it take to regenerate this massive area? How differently must people think about their relationships with land? What kinds of economic activities would make sense if life was treated
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 16 Jul 23
Say hello to Manuela. She is one of my dear friends and a powerful leader in Barichara, Colombia. It is largely thanks to her that syntropic agroforestry has arrived in our local community as a powerful way to grow food, restore soils, and bring native forest back to degraded lands.In this brief article, I would like to share how Manuela is applying syntropic agroforestry techniques to restore a dry stream in one of the important drainages of our territory. Yesterday we walked the land with her and were blown away by all that she has set in motion throughout the last
Say hello to Manuela. She is one of my dear friends and a powerful leader in Barichara, Colombia. It is largely thanks to her that syntropic agroforestry has arrived in our local community as a powerful way to grow food, restore soils, and bring native forest back to degraded lands.In this brief article, I would like to share how Manuela is
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 16 Jun 23
We are excited to announce a new community membership that makes it even easier to join the <a href="http://I am excited to share that it is even easier to join the Design School — with a new community membership level that is very affordable. Please join us and help spread the word. All who want to regenerate the Earth can come together around the regeneration of bioregions. Onward, fellow humans. Design School for Regenerating Earth. Now you can access all of our online learning resources and participate in bioregional activations for as little as $5/month.Choose Between Two Levels of MembershipThe
We are excited to announce a new community membership that makes it even easier to join the <a href="http://I am excited to share that it is even easier to join the Design School — with a new community membership level that is very affordable. Please join us and help spread the word. All who want to regenerate the Earth can