NEWS

What is happening with permaculture and refugees? There are so many stories of regeneration and resilience, that inspires and connects us to a better future. Its an important time to cross-pollinate and keep spreading these seeds of hope.

  • TPT4R connection inspires international cooperation campaign
    In a world where we can sometimes feel powerless, there are things you can do to really make a difference. In the words of Paulinho, a permaculturalist and founder of UNIDOS: “at least there are still people who believe in co-creating a new civilization, decentralized where people value humanity and again build … Read more
  • In the spirit of fair share
    By Felix Leibelt  Donations gifted to the Permafund are distributed to organisations with projects in Australia and overseas through a carefully assessed grant application process.Whether a single contribution, a regular tithe, a fundraising Open Garden on International Permaculture Day or the proceeds of a permaculture group’s guest speaker event, the combined efforts … Read more
  • Bicycles for Refugees
    By Benedetta Martin At one of the many community gardens in central Adelaide, Australia I discovered an organisation called Bikes for Refugees (B4R). It is based at The Joinery, home of The SA Conservation Council and community groups who share a love for nature and sustainable living. B4R is part of the … Read more
  • Developing guidelines for regenerative response
    By Juliet Millican Re-alliance is a coalition of field practitioners, researchers, educators, community leaders and humanitarian and development workers, sharing skills and experience to grow the influence and impact of regenerative development in the humanitarian field. As levels of disaster and migration intensify, it is becoming ever more important to work in … Read more
  • Sporos Regeneration Institute
    By Konstantinos Tsiompanos Sporos Regeneration Institute is located in Lesvos, Greece, one of the main gateways of refugees into Europe, due to its close proximity to the Turkish shores. Its mission is the regeneration of the environment, culture and human relations. Through its plethora of educational tools it aims to teach people … Read more
  • Training of permaculture Teachers with focus on Refugees
    By Habiba Youssef From the 26 th of May till the 3 rd of June 2023, the second edition of TPT4R was realized in Vidalia, Cataluña, Spain. The Training of Permaculture Teachers is a course based on the curriculum developed by Rosemary Morrow and collaborators to enhance permaculturists desiring to teach and … Read more
  • Sharing knowledge and skills in Turkey
    By Rafif Jijeh – Translations by Sundus Alsaqqaf In this report, Rafif, a Syrian refugee who participated in the first series of permaculture trainings held in refugee camps in Turkey, shares with us her enthusiasm about the latest course she attended in Izmir as a followup to that original series. Together with … Read more
  • EARTHQUAKE ZONE UPDATE // July 4th
    By Emre Rona Almost five months have passed since the devastating earthquakes, which hit eleven provinces of Türkiye, causing tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the south-southwest region of the country, as well as Northern Syria. I like to give a brief update on how … Read more
  • Permaculture for Refugees is now an official organization!
    By Evan Welkin We are pleased to share that Permaculture for Refugees is now an official organization, incorporated with a governing Council and a bank account! As a grassroots network founded with a mission to bring permaculture education to refugees and migrants, this is a big step for us. Over the last … Read more
  • Turkish Permaculturalist reports from earthquake epicenter
    Report by Emre Rona In early February 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes devastated a large region straddling the border of Syria and Turkey (now officially known by its Turkish name, Türkiye). Tens of thousands of people were killed, and the massive destruction will take years to rebuild in a region already … Read more
  • Bangladesh Association for Sustainable Development (BASD)
    By Greta Carroll In early December 2022, P4R members headed from Australia to Bangladesh to support the trainers from Bangladesh Association for Sustainable Development (BASD) in building their confidence and capacity to offer future PDC trainings for NGO workers. This visit was a stop on a timeline of ongoing collaboration between P4R … Read more
  • P4R’s visual identity: unpacking the history, meaning, and participatory approach
    By Marguerite Kahrl In 2018, Permaculture for Refugees (P4R) created a visual identity with the graphic interaction designer, Yuluck. I facilitated the participatory design process to reach a consensus for our visual identity and objective with Yuluck and the other P4R founding members. Navigating the logo development was a rich and complex … Read more
  • New refugee-led permaculture network launches in Nakivale, Uganda
    By Sonny Bireke Edited by Jessica Perini My name is Sonny Bireke, a Congolese-born refugee, living in Uganda since 2017. I first learned about permaculture design solutions in 2021, and in 2022 I was introduced to a permaculture centre in Butambala (Permaculture Initiative Uganda) where I trained and was certified as a … Read more
  • Permaculture for kids by kids
    By Nataliia Boyko My name is Nataliia Boyko. I am a Permaculture teacher and Montessori teacher from Ukraine.Because of the war I moved to the Netherlands and since March 2022 I’ve been working in Amsterdam in primary schools with Ukrainian refugee children. After a short while working with young Ukrainian refugees, I … Read more
  • Shegenerative movement: spreading hope to refugees and host communities from Kenya to Uganda
    By Carolyn Olang Edited by Jessica Perini The Shegenerative movement in Kenya was born when human rights activist, Carolyn Olang, attended a PDC at the behest of her friend Helen Stokes. Carolyn noticed that few women were attending PDCs and she felt that “this gospel of permaculture needs to be preached to … Read more
  • Permaculture in Ukraine 
    By Iryna Kazakova Permaculture in Ukraine has been working since 2011. During all these years we have made dozens of events. There are annual PDCs, an annual Permaculture Convergence, international conferences, seminars, tours, and workshops. Every year we have tried to involve our nearest neighbors in different kinds of activities. Together with … Read more
  • The Blue Ribbon Global World Soil Day contest 2022
    By Norani Abubakar The Blue Ribbon (TBR) Global, a peace education program, has been aligning its practices with Permaculture concepts after its founder, Norani Abu Bakar, attended and co-organized a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) in Kuala Lumpur together with Permaculture for Refugees and UCSI in 2019. The alumni then collaborated in running … Read more
  • The Global Garden: an example of the positive impact gardens can have on people’s sense of belonging
    By Benedetta Martin Recently I caught up with Emma Lewellyn to hear about her exciting work with migrants and refugees within the Adelaide community in South Australia.Emma is a horticulturalist and natural therapies practitioner by trade and she has a background in design and education. Her practice is firmly planted in the … Read more
  • Permaculture training in West Africa
    By Andrea Minchio and Pietro Venezia  In November 2018, we carried out an exploratory visit to Gambia with CIM Onlus, a cooperative we’re a part of that founded “CIM Gambia” in February 2018 together with an association of Gambians returning from Libya and the National Youth and Associates for Food Security. On … Read more
  • Seeds of a Common Future: a regenerative process for promoting integration and income opportunities 
    By Fotini Georgousi ‘Seeds of a Common Future’ is an urban Permaculture project designed to bring together refugees, development workers and locals into a shared learning experience that provides them with a thorough understanding of the value of heirloom seeds and their use in promoting food security and supporting the development of … Read more
  • Training for Permaculture Teachers with a Focus on Refugees
    By Sylvia Avontuur Factory chimney or Baobab tree? Joshua Konkankoh, an elder from Cameroon, opened the Training Permaculture Teachers with Focus on Refugees (TPT4R) with a ritual to ground the group — imagining that the chimney in the distance was a sacred Baobab tree. I was standing in a circle surrounded by … Read more