About Us

The Barichara Regeneration Fund (BRF) is five years into the process of regenerating a holistic landscape system at the scale of 500,000 hectares. This includes restoring dead rivers, reforestation of the unique High Andes Tropical Dry Forest that exists nowhere else on Earth, and the creation of transition pathways from extractive to regenerative economics at the bioregional scale.

The regeneration of a bioregion is a process of integration and cooperation at holistic landscape scales. In Barichara, Colombia we are applying the model developed by the Design School for Regenerating Earth to manifest a pathway toward regenerative development at the scale of our regional climate system.

The three pillars of strategic action are to cultivate a learning ecosystem in the form of a bioregional learning center; to weave a tapestry of local projects that each carries forth at least one territorial regeneration process; and to mobilize resources in service to this work with a collaborative funding and governance ecosystem in the form of a territorial foundation.

Barichara has already become the primary inspiration for a regional network of ten Colombian territories that are organizing around the regeneration of their own landscapes. It is also demonstration site for bioregional scale regeneration that works with the planetary network associated with the Design School for Regenerating Earth.

Holistic Approaches, Tending to Origen del Agua

We engage in holistic approaches to landscape regeneration that includes syntropic agroforestry and other reforestation techniques, experimentation with real-world regenerative economic and education models, watershed restoration, preservation of local and indigenous cultural practices, and mapping of landscape systems to create models of bioregional governance.

The funding we receive from this round will help us organize the learning exchanges across specific site-based ecosystem restoration work that includes the community forest of Bioparque Móncora, a healing and learning center called Totumo, a reforestation and watershed restoration project called Origen del Agua, and the future home of our Waldorf school Sueños del Bosque at a site called Casa Vieja.

Assessing Impact

We will measure our impacts in terms of synergies across site-based projects in the territory, This is built upon frameworks of evaluation for using GIS to track ecological corridors for increased connectivity, vegetative cover, and learning interactions. We also track the number and diversity of youth and adult learners who participate in our various activities. And we track the number and diversity of initiatives that collaborate in different watersheds throughout the territory.

Funding from our previous round with Ma Earth was applied to the nature reserve Origen del Agua. It is a 3.2 hectare piece of community land that was purchased with crowdfunding money raised in 2020. The funding was allocated to syntropic agroforestry for reforestation on the land together with curriculum development for bringing children from rural schools throughout the territory to learn as the land is being restored.

Our Team

Our local team in Barichara has diverse expertise in many interrelated areas. For example, Natalia Ortiz worked for 25 years in community economic development, management of nature reserves, and conservation of biodiversity at global NGO's; Cecy Restrepo hosted sustainability education programs in schools and on television as an environmental communicator. Emilce Gonzales leads watershed restoration and reforestation efforts in our territory; and Camila Encinales has led the reforestation of Bioparque Móncora for 15 years.

There are many more community leaders in the Barichara network with similar depths of expertise and experience.