About The Barichara Regeneration Fund (BRF) supports the wholesale restoration of a 500,000-hectare territory in the Northern Andes of Colombia by developing and weaving together a network of individuals and organizations pursuing regenerative work on the individual, social, and ecological scale. Money received will be utilized to continue the ongoing work of the BRF to catalyze on-the-ground regenerative work in Barichara in service to the creation of a prototype of a bioregional regenerative economy that can be utilized worldwide.

Introduction The town of Barichara, Colombia is uniquely positioned to cultivate large-scale regenerative work. Situated on a plateau, Barichara is at the center of a 500,000 hectare territory defined by its own regional climate system. The region possesses an incredibly unique ecosystem, the High-Andes tropical dry forest, that exists nowhere else on Earth with eighty percent of the species here being endemic, only existing in this territory. Unfortunately, the region has also seen intense monocrop agriculture, leaving only ten percent of the native forests intact. This, in turn, has led to soil degradation and erosion, the drying up of rivers, and the loss of the unique biodiversity of the territory.

What Has Been Accomplished We successfully raised $21,000 in the previous gitcoin round (GR15), $14,000 in the alpha round, and $8,000 in the beta round. With these funds we have made considerable progress in setting up a territorial foundation capable to oversee this territorial-scale regenerative work while supporting all of the projects listed above.

Projects we are supporting include:

1. The Center for Syntropic Agroforestry to establish demonstration sites, train local farmers, and share technical knowledge about this powerful approach to reforestation and economic development.

2. A community kitchen and store called Casa Comun that prototypes alternative economic models and hosts local exchanges among more than 80 local producers in the community.

3. A community reforestation project called Bioparque Móncora that is a highly visible symbol of peace, reforestation, and ecological education that works with area schools and national universities.

4. The construction of a community theater called Caney Colibri where children learn the art of storytelling, filmmaking, and the performing arts – all in service to regeneration of the territory.

5. The Origen del Agua Nature Reserve that is reforesting 3.2 hectares of heavily degraded land with native plant species while working with a local school to bring campesino children into the learning process.

With funds that we raise during this gitcoin round, we will continue weaving this tapestry of local projects and sharing what we learn with the rest of the world through the Design School for Regenerating Earth and a variety of social media channels.

Vision All the activities of the BRF are in service to the creation of a real-world prototype of a regenerative bioregional economy. By weaving those that are on the ground, purchasing strategic pieces of land, integrating Web3 tools to monitor change in ecological health, and being continually open to new collaborative relationships as they arrive, the BRF intends to lay the groundwork for others to follow in their own territories. We hope that with the success of this model in Barichara, it can be used as a prototype worldwide and help regenerate the planet through regenerating local communities.

Learn More BRF community council member Joe Brewer has made the effort to document its progress to English speaking audiences. He has formulated his thoughts on the process in his book, The Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth, and founded the Earth Regenerators network, a diverse platform with over 4,000 participants dedicated to restoring planetary health, to spread the model developed here, while learning from others’ experiences. He is also co-founder alongside Penny Heiple and Benji Ross of the Design School for Regenerating Earth.

To learn more about regenerative work in Barichara visit: https://www.regeneratebarichara.org

To learn more about Earth Regenerators visit: https://earth-regenerators.mn.co/

To learn more about the Design School for Regenerating Earth visit: https://design-school-for-regenerating-earth.mn.co/