Regeneration

For me, regeneration is 

• creating the conditions conducive to the thriving of life
• about generosity (talk by Ellen, Janine and Kate)
  
• place-based: Finding our place & ecosystem where we plant ourselves and can contribute
  
• building on all layers of knowing. It is about deep sensing the (local) ecosystem beyond the intellectual and cerebral. It is about depth, embodiment and quality (e.g. Theory U) rather than jumping quickly to solutionism and reactivity (the ‘solutions’ of today might be the problems of tomorrow)
• starting with me and you
• different for everyone: What does it mean for you?

Key principles of regeneration¹: 

• Interconnectedness
• Place-based. Ortsspezifische Verwurzelung
• Co-evolution. (Ko-)Evolution
• Salutogenese. Förderung von Gesundheit
• Circularity. Zirkularität

Regenerative organisations

• Purpose-led
  
• Leadership/governance: People on all levels show leadership and see themselves as stewards
  
• Financial structure: Free from growth and extractive mindset. Financial abundance from providing a valuable and ‘compatible’ service to the ecosystem ​(rather than income from possession of land, organisations, etc.)
  
• ‘Self-moderation’: Finding an appropriate role and size in the ecosystem ​(no cancer-like growth, ambition to do/have it all or single-mindedness on ‘taking’)
  
• Material/physical dimension: Embracing circular principles. Emphasis on the bio-cycle and a small range of monomaterials that are compatible with the local ‘ecosystem/infrastructure’
  
• Culture: Life-friendliness, care, focus on the needs of the team, the customer and the ecosystem
  
• Strategy: Collaborative strategy (with the wisdom in finding other symbiotic actors and testing motives of other actors through low-commitment experiments), thinking in systems
  
• Energy: Soulful. Authentic. Unleashing life force. Contributing to aliveness and joy in the team, the customers and the surrounding ecosystem
  

Inspiring resources

• Designing Regenerative Cultures, a book by Daniel Christian Wahl
  
• Sustainability is not enough: We need regenerative cultures, an article by Daniel Christian Wahl
  
• Regenerative Futures - from sustaining to thriving together, a report by Josie Warden and the RSA
  
• Shifting from sustainability to regeneration, an article by Bill Reed
  
• Flourish, a book by Sarah Ichioka and Michael Pawlyn
  
• Leading by Nature, a book by Giles Hutchins
  
• Regenerative Development and Design: A Framework for Evolving Sustainability, a book by Regenesis Group, Pamela Mang, Ben Haggard
  
• 8 Principles of a Regenerative Economy, a book by John Fullerton
• Towards a Regenerative Civilization: Reconnecting our Economics with Harmony Principles Capital Institute, a book by John Fullerton
  
• The Regenerative Business, a book by Carol Sanford
• Der Stellar Approach, a book by Simon Berkler and Ella Lagé
• Your2040: A blog post and the 2023 gathering report about regeneration
  
• Braiding Sweetgrass, a book by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  

Regeneration and qualitative growth

• “Regenerative thinking requires a very radical shift when it comes to growth, moving away from thinking about quantitative growth to thinking about qualitative growth”
• “What’s qualitative Growth? In their 2008 piece Outside insights — qualitative growth Fritjof Capra and Hazel Henderson explain that “qualitative economic growth, by contrast, can be sustainable if it involves a dynamic balance between growth, decline, and recycling, and if it also includes development in terms of learning and maturing.”
• “all of us should be buying less but buying better”
• “Having a regenerative mindset means seeing the world as a living system, built around reciprocal and co-evolutionary relationships and wholes, where humans, other living beings and ecosystems rely on one another for health”, building on the RSA’s report by Josie Warden
• “First, let’s clarify what degenerative stands for. Ethan Soloviev suggests that these are “processes, practices and protocols that decrease the health and wellbeing of a place, person or entity.” “Ecological and social degradation results from fragmentation, over-simplification, homogeneity, and destructive reactivity. There is a loss of possibility, opportunity, and individual agency,” he writes. Similarly, Lüdeke-Freund points out that degenerative business behavior concerns “decreasing values of economic, social and natural capital stocks.”
  

Honorable harvest in the book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

‘Plant Path Initiation‘ and indigenous cosmovision 

1. Restoration and Renewal: Emphasizes the restoration of ecosystems, social structures, or economies, aiming to bring them back to a healthier and more vibrant state. It involves actively repairing and replenishing rather than simply conserving.
2. Holistic Thinking: Takes a comprehensive and interconnected approach, considering the relationships and interdependencies within systems. It recognizes that different elements within a system are interlinked, and changes in one area can have ripple effects throughout the entire system.
3. Biomimicry: Draws inspiration from nature and natural processes, seeking to emulate the efficiency, resilience, and regenerative capacity found in ecosystems. Biomimicry principles guide the design of human systems to align with the patterns and strategies observed in the natural world.
4. Positive Impact: Focuses on generating positive outcomes and contributions rather than just minimizing negative impacts. The regenerative paradigm seeks to create value, improve well-being, and enhance the overall health and vitality of systems.
5. Adaptability and Resilience: Values systems that are adaptable to change and resilient in the face of disturbances. It recognizes that change is inevitable and seeks to design systems that can evolve and thrive in dynamic environments.
6. Community and Collaboration: Often involves a community-based approach, emphasizing collaboration and engagement among stakeholders. The regenerative paradigm recognizes the importance of collective action in achieving sustainable and regenerative outcomes.
7. Circular Economy Principles: Aligns with the principles of the circular economy, emphasizing the reduction of waste, the continuous use of resources, and the regeneration of materials in economic and industrial systems.