Our Initiatives
LIVING FOOD RELEAF
Living Food Releaf’s mission is to bring fresh and healthy relief good options such as sustainably grown produce or crafted products to address basic needs of internally displaced peoples or refugees. In the process, it aims to activate a conscious, collaborative, and compassionate ecosystem by engaging donors to donate by purchasing products from local farmers, and inclusive businesses in the local economy or bioregion.
PARTNER SITEs:
Tala, Caloocan after Typhoon Ketsana 2009, Batug, Dulag, Leyte after Typhoon Haiyan 2013, Iligan City after Marawi Siege, 2017
GARDEN TO GARDEN RELEAF
Garden to Garden Releaf is our initial response after an emergency where food and water security, waste management, and sanitation are most crucial. It offers initial permaculture aid during the relief phase with a design to loop into a garden-based regenerative livelihood project in the rehabilitation phase or as displaced peoples return home or are transferred to resettlements.
Working with gardens have a therapeutic effect and so we also use this to support in emotional recovery and creating safe spaces for healing inside areas of refuge.
CURRENT SITE:
Ma'had Al-Nor Madrasa in Iligan City and Pantar Central National High School for Marawi City IDPs and
WITNESSING TREES
Witnessing Trees tells the story of how grassroots and community leadership are developing resilience in climate and conflict vulnerable areas through regenerative solutions for food security, livelihood, and ecosystem restoration. Our hope is to reclaim spaces as sacred for collective healing through regenerative solutions.
Trees symbolize hope in terms of carbon capture and as source of food, shelter, safety, and even refuge during and after disasters.The term Witnessing Tree was inspired by a tree at the COP21 in Paris bearing witness when the landmark climate agreement to end the fossil fuel era was drafted.
CURRENT SITE:
Balawag, Tabuk City, Kalinga Province, Philippines
Partnership Projects
REGENERATION PHILIPPINES
In partnership with the Global Ecovillage Network, Green Releaf helps implement the Philippine Ecovillage Development Program in collaboration with local governments and communities committed to regenerate social and ecological ecosystems. It aims to a) form a national network of regenerative design and development practitioners and projects; b) activate best practices already being implemented across civil society, governments, and inclusive business; c) set a standard for regenerative development in the country as contribution to the Paris climate agreement and the SDGs.
SOIL.SOUL.STORY.
In partnership with local culture bearers and artists, the Soil, Soul, Story Project is a co-creative and collaborative placemaking initiative that engages people, culture, and habitats woven with the memories they hold and the new narratives that emerge in their interaction. It begins in climate and conflict vulnerable places where the soil, soul, and story of a place are threatened to disappear.
As creative ecovillage design tool, it aims to to document baseline information about the community’s profile. It maps significant themes the community value through their place and the vision they hold in their design for a better future. Though spatial planning and whole systems design thinking, we aim to create the spaces and processes where data and the stories behind it meet.
As a resilience mapping platform, we aim to understand the challenges and opportunities that the community faces in terms of climate change and conflict. We hope to spot areas of disaster risks from ecosystem degeneration and natural disasters. We hope to identify indicators for conflict in terms of resource management to develop ways to prevent them.
As a living library and museum, it hopes to restore a sense of belonging through placemaking. It aims to bring to light the community’s intangible and tangible heritage from the past; the new narratives it is forming in the present, and the expressions of the future they dream of together in one place.
Through community ownership of projects to creating regenerative livelihoods. Designing from existing tangible and intangible resources, we strive to apply principles of fair share, right livelihood, and indicators for happiness and well-being.
Past Initiatives
THE EARTH VILLAGE PROJECT
The Earth Village Project was a response from concerned global and Filipino citizens after typhoon Yolanda. We were a collective of individuals and organsisations working across a broad range of integrative sciences which include the Ecovillage Framework, Permaculture Design, Inner Dance, Yoga, and holistic healing modalities. This network was composed of the following organisations Maia Earth Village, Green Releaf, Permaculture Aid Yolanda, Earthship Biotecture, One Block for Batug, and Greenpath Yoga. We piloted in the village of Bautg, in Dulag, Leyte.
Green Releaf continues this project with Witnessing Trees with the women of Batug together with the Visayas State University and the local government of Dulag.
KITES FOR PEACE
Kites for Peace was born as a response to the violence against the children of Gaza during the Israel - Hamas war in 2014. Inspired the by the 13,000 kites children from Gaza flew in 2011 to break the Guiness World Records, children from around the world flew their kites to make the call to end armed conflict. In 2014 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Day of Prayer and Action for Children, we totalled more than 20,000 kites from different countries. That same year, we received His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet's support.
To continue the awareness with more long term support for children, Green Releaf aims to create child friendly spaces for peace as peace gardens and places as resource for regeneration.
