“Everybody is saying, ‘we'll do this, we'll do that’. But there's nothing, justwords floating in the air. We need not just words, but also actions.”-Jimmy Yumbo, young forest defender, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador

To all those considering our future, at COP26 and beyond,
We are writing to you from five different continents as those working to repair the earth’s
damaged systems. We ask you - as world leaders, as policy makers, as those concerned forour climate - to take heed of the work of regenerators from so many different movements:
Indigenous land defenders, peasant farmers, agroecologists, permaculture practitioners,
natural builders, food sovereignty activists, and more.

“To take care of our planet, we cannot work in silos, we have to work together.”- Aznani, Education for Climate Action for Peace

Dominant conversations about climate change have often been reduced to focusing oncarbon alone or looking towards high-tech solutions that may not be technologically viable,or may even continue to fuel the crisis further.
Yet, the human, ecological and climate crises we face are connected and intersecting - andtherefore need holistic solutions.
Regeneration invites us to think systemically. It means paradigms and practices that take awhole-systems approach to solving problems; looking at all the intersecting threads of ourcultures, and restoring health, wholeness and resilience throughout.
As we wait for the COP26 agreements, the rights and wellbeing of all Life, human andnon-human, must be at the forefront of our decisions. We ask: what would the future look
like if we saw human civilization as part of nature rather than separate from the whole?

“It is time to focus on equitable education, sanitation, housing and healthcare in theGlobal South and the restructuring and redistribution of resources from the Global
North based on a national and global economy. One that does not systemicallyexceed our upper ecological limits nor descend below an unacceptable quality oflife.”- Guy Ritani, PermaQueer

We are asking for a just transition into a world where planetary care, human care, care forwildlife, and equitable distribution and access to resources are central tenets.
We know that what this looks like in different contexts will always be unique. Regenerationmust therefore also be embedded in the approach, in the process. It must be collaborative, it
must come from the voices of people. It must be embedded in the communities from which itemerges. Otherwise, it is colonialism in disguise.

“The solutions lie deep in our cultures, in the way we work to connect with ourancestral wisdom.”-Simon Mitambo, African Biodiversity Network

Practitioners from our intersecting movements have worked on the fringes of society for toolong. They’ve been excluded from conversations. They’ve been killed for what we stand upfor.
We need to give platforms to those who have been historically marginalised or left out ofpolicy conversations. Indigenous and First Nations communities; small holder farmers;
communities from the Global South; those affected by climate disaster and conflict; refugees
and displaced people; young people.
These voices are important to listen to as, in the words of Kenyan Peasants’ League, “noone mourns more than the bereaved;” or of PermaQueer, “The failings of our systems arenever more known than by those who they have failed.” Only by listening to such
perspectives can true change emerge.
There are narratives for a better future, and they’re coming from the margins.
When we give space to listen and hear these communities, unique and innovative solutions
will emerge. Many of these solutions are already being practiced all around the world.
Now is the time to elevate the voices of regenerative practitioners and showcase a betterworld that is possible. Incredible, innovative solutions already exist, but they need funding,support, and voice.
This letter is therefore an invitation to listen to our unique voices and hear what we aresaying, the solutions we understand, the strength we are holding - embedded in experience,in culture and in place.

Signed by:
The Lush Spring Prize Community, including:Anna Clayton, Ethical Consumer, UK
Francesca de la Torre, Ethical Consumer, UK
James Atherton, Lush Ltd, UK
Maria Anchundia, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador
Ahmed Sourani, Gaza Urban & Peri-urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP), Palestine
Simon Mitambo, African Biodiversity Network and Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation
Eskender Mulugeta, Food Secured Schools Africa, Ethiopia
Teodora Borghoff, Timișoara Community Foundation, Romania
Lewis Mashingaidze, Fambidzanai, Zimbabwe
Norani Abu Bakar, Education for Climate Action for Peace, Malaysia
Coral Herencia. Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos. Chile.
Guy Ritani & Toad Dell, PermaQueer, Australia
Jessie Doyle, Lush Ltd, Ireland,
Georgina McAllister, Centre for Agroecology, Water & Resilience, Coventry University. AgroecologyNow!
Cidi Otieno David, Kenyan Peasants League
Ola Tom Lakere, Youth In Permaculture Prize judge 2021, Permayouth Kitgum, Uganda
Jackie Kearney, Re-Alliance
Filipa Pimentel, Transition Network
Faith Flanigan, Regenerosity & the Buckminster Fuller InstituteAnna Andrade, Regenerosity
Amanda Joy Ravenhill, Buckminster Fuller Institute
Ego Lemos, Permaculture Timor-Leste (Permatil)
John Macharia, SCOPE Kenya
Monique Wambui, SCOPE Kenya
Gideon Mawenge, The Marginalised Mirror, Namibia
Kanghi Kayapri, Associação Centro de Cultura Sabuká Kariri Xocó, Brazil
Tah Kennette Konsum, Mount Oku Center for Gender and Socioeconomic Empowerment, Cameroon
Tomás de Lara, Ciudades+B / Cities Can B, Brazil.
Sarah Queblatin, Green Releaf, Philippines
Josie Redmonds, Malawi Schools Permaculture Clubs
Bianca Elzenbaumer, Comunità Frizzante, Italy“It is time to have less talk and have more actions toward biodiversity regeneration.
The future of the young people is much more important as that of the currentgeneration.”-John Macharia, SCOPE Kenya“Gostariamos de pedir que fizéssemos exercícios de humildade, percebendo que araiz de nossos problemas é a ambição”.
"We would like to ask you to do exercises in humility, realising that the root of our problems isambition"- Kanghi Kayapri, Associação Centro de Cultura Sabuká Kariri Xocó, Brazil

“What did Africa get from the aid sector? What did we get from all these things sent
to us constantly for the past five or six decades? In my view, we did not get much.
Not much has changed.”-Eskender Mulugeta, Food Secured Schools Africa“In the Amazon here, we have oil exploitation causing so much harm, deforesting big
areas of land. My family members are joining forces to not allow oil companies tocome in and deforest.”-María Anchundia, young forest defender, Sacha Kuyrana, Ecuador"Resguardar social, ecológica y legalmente los principales ecosistemas de la Tierra Biosfera- es fundamental para garantizar la posibilidad de un mundo sano para
nuestras generaciones venideras."“Protecting socially, ecologically and legally the main ecosystems of the Earth - Biosphere - isessential to guarantee the possibility of a healthy world for our future generations.”- Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos, Chile“En nuestro país el 85% de la tierra está ocupada por grandes fincas de caña deazúcar y palma aceitera y acceder a tierra por parte de familias productoras es muydifícil. Actualmente personas defensoras están siendo criminalizadas por defender elderecho humano y el agua.”“In our country, 85% of the land is occupied by large sugar cane and oil palm farms and access toland by producer families is very difficult. Defenders are currently being criminalized for defending
human rights and water.”- Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura IMAP - Guatemala“A voice from the global south, I bring along our griefs perpetuated by climatechange. I urge you - the leaders gathering at COP26 - to act swiftly...The multiple
crises our generation faces today requires understanding from a holistic perspective,that is only if you take us, the victims, seriously!”-Ola Tom Lakere, Permayouth Kitgum, Uganda“Indigenous knowledge has been naturally supporting the maintainance of the world

climate, in the efforts to roll back the effects through mitigation and in to engage inadaptation, more resources should be allocated to these communities andIndigenous practices at the grassroots level"- Tah Kennette Konsum, Mount Oku Center for Gender and Socioeconomic Empowerment‘We are curing ourselves while curing the earth’-Wafa Hossain The Blue Ribbon Global

“The global South has been heavily affected by climate change, urgency andinnovations are needed in improving adaptability and promoting sustainable use oflimited resources by smallholder farmers whilst increasing the carbon sequestration”.
-Lewis Mashingaidze, Fambidzanai“When there is no peace among the people, our planet and the environment will bedestroyed”-Aznani Zakaria, Education for Climate Action for Peace"I ask everyone here today, how would you decorate your home? Would you haveyour home full of colour, full of life? Or full of darkness? Well, our planet is our home,
and we are destroying it. The solutions are there. Sometimes the scale of the crisis
can tear you down and leave you feeling helpless. But even the longest essay starts
with a single word. There is no moving out of this beautiful home, this perfect home.
We've got to bring out the mops, and get this home back in order."-Maria Chan - UCSI School (Teens4CAP Participant)"Participar en la regeneración Bio-Cultural de la Tierra es un gran compromiso que
debemos asumir con acción prosolutiva, esperanza, convicción y valentía, aplicando
Soluciones Basadas en la Naturaleza y recuperando la ciencia y sabiduría antigua.""Participating in the Bio-Cultural regeneration of the Earth is a great commitment that we must
assume with prosolutive action, hope, conviction and courage, applying Nature-Based Solutions andrecovering ancient science and wisdom."- Fundación Cuidemos Paraísos, ChileArt © by Rosanna Morris