The Informal Aid Sector in the Philippines

There is a lot to learn from countries who are already on the frontlines of climate change and dealing with disaster preparedness and response. The Philippines continues to face more and more climate emergencies and communities and organisations on the ground have learned they can’t be everywhere at once. Being able to mobilse their networks quickly has proven effective in filling gaps where government agencies and humanitarian interventions have been slow or not being able to respond, especially in remote communities. 

Sarah Queblatin, the Founding Executive Director of Green Releaf Initiative in the Philippines has been working in disasters, displacement, and development since 2009.

Sarah shares about regenerative aid in this article (click on the link below to read):

The Power of Community: Scaling the Potential of Regenerative Aid in Times of Climate Emergencies and other Vulnerabilities

Sarah holds a merit diploma in permaculture from the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute where she also studied Permaculture in Development particularly in precarious places. She finished her Advanced Certificate Course in Permaculture at Aranya Agriculture Alternatives with Guilda Permaculture. She completed her PDC from Green Warrior Permaculture and the Philippine Permaculture Association. Apart from Permaculture, Sarah completed her Ecosystem Restoration course and Ecovillage Design Education with Gaia Education. 

In 2021, Sarah drafted the beginnings of a proposal for Permaculture Principle 0, to honor the local wisdom and traditional ecological knowledge and stewardship of a place before the first principle of “observing and interacting.” She is currently drafting Principle 13 to integrate practices for designing for resilience and regeneration in times of increasing vulnerability from climate emergencies, war, and other hazards. 

Sarah is a founding member of Permaculture for Refugees, a Global Ecovillage Network Ambassador, and member of Re-Alliance.