Rifai Sicilia: Regenerating Sicily's Bioregional Economy

Mission

Rifai Sicilia is a cultural association dedicated to regenerating Sicily's ecology by fostering a thriving bioregional economy. We unite regional projects and initiatives, leveraging culture and technology as transformative tools to revalue our territory. As part of the ReFi Italia family and ReFi DAO network we are working to develop best onchain regenerative practices in our local ecological context while learning and sharing with other nodes around the world.

Vision

Our goal is to make Sicily a beacon for the Mediterranean and beyond, showcasing how regenerative bioregional cultures can flourish using blockchain technologies. Through our "rebioregionaling" process, we aim to reforest and rehydrate the landscape while restoring all eight forms of capital and integrating it into a healthy circular regenerative economy.

Key Initiatives

• Syntropic Agroforestry
• Permaculture Education and Training
• Reforestation and Rainwater Retention
• Wildfire Prevention and Trash Cleanup
• River Health Monitoring
• Seed Saving
• Cultural Heritage Preservation
• Agrotourism and Holistic Grazing
• Local Farmers Markets
• Mutual Credit Commitment Pooling
• Web3 Education and Onboarding

Funding Priorities

1. Educational Events: Continued online and in-person training in permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, rainwater harvesting, forest fire prevention, and holistic grazing.
2. Tree and Seed Stock: Acquisition of certified cultivars of fruit and nut trees.
3. Commons Tool Library: Investment in shared equipment (excavator, chipper-mulcher, tractor, greenhouses) to support farms transitioning to regenerative practices.

Impact Assessment

We employ various tools and methods to measure our impact:

• Silvi App: Tracking tree planting and growth across member sites
• Mego Tickets: Monitoring participation in mutual aid and education events
• Grassroots Economics: Developing mutual credit currencies to support regenerative efforts
• Bloom Network: Publishing impact reports linked to Karma Gap
• Soil Science Workshops: Tracking soil quality health on partner farm sites
• Sunflower Ecotech: Design, implementation and deployment of the Adaptive Agroforestry Eco-Credit Methodology on Regen Network
• Atlantis App: Collaborating for river quality monitoring

Recent Achievements (Since Previous Funding Round)

1. Constructed a greenhouse and started 1,200 trees for upcoming planting (€5,000)
2. Installed drip irrigation lines for 3 hectares
3. Hosted 1-year anniversary celebration (€300)
4. Organizing RiFai Week 2 with soil science and holistic grazing consultants (€1,200)
5. Purchased firefighting equipment and conducted community training sessions (€500)
6. Onboarded 4 additional farm sites to Silvi App
7. Sponsored 3 members to attend a Syntropic Agroforestry workshop (€750)
8. Initiated a local farm workshop and fundraiser for Silvi and Grassroots Economics onboarding (€300)
9. Launched a pilot Commitment Pool project using Grassroots Economics to compensate member labor

Total funds utilized: €8,050

Our initiatives demonstrate a clear commitment to ecological regeneration, community empowerment, and sustainable economic practices.

With continued support, we aim to expand our impact and solidify Sicily's position as a model for bioregional regeneration.