The event we described in the last issue -- Co-designing Our Regenerative Future: An Unconference on Agriculture & Beyond -- went about as well as we could have hoped. There was a full room of thoughtful, diverse, engaged people willing to sacrifice a lovely Saturday to talk about their work and regeneration. And talk they did, through more than 20 sessions plus lunch!

Participant feedback included these comments:

•  Highly worthwhile day and grateful to the organizers that brought all of us together. The quality of the sessions and learnings were excellent! 
• Having this cross-section at the same table has the potential for huge impact in accelerating change. 
• Hands down, Co-Designing Our Regenerative Future Unconference was the best gathering I attended so far in 2016! And it is Oct, mind you. 

The compilation of notes from the "ecosystem map wall" is a handy way to get a feel for who participated, their focus, and current needs.

From the parochial perspective of RASA, the event helped confirm there is a wide group of people interested in accelerating the sector, who is willing to at least talk with one-another (and perhaps work together), and simple convenings can be well received. These are lessons we plan to build upon.

Thanks to Jessica Wallach and other note takers we have a summary of the event including photos. Even more detail is available in a Google Doc (please add comments if you have questions or improvements.)

Regeneration International and its partners have launched The Regeneration Hub, a tool to aggregate projects and build a "global network of regenerators working locally to solve global challenges through regenerative concepts and practices."

To help jumpstart the Hub, Regeneration International will give US$1000 grants to five innovative, scalable and replicable regeneration projects. Learn more about the grants and how to register your project, from RI.

Jessica selected some examples of specific issues that were focal points during the unconference:

The Farm Bill: Tod Wickersham is planning to take action on the Farm Bill in the near future and looking for help. Some important actors working on reforming the farm bill are the Union of Concerned Scientists, Congressperson Marcy Kaptur of OH and Senator Debbie Stabenow of MI. 

Carbon Sequestration: Sudheer Shukla,Dick Vanden Heuvel and Mike Tidwell discussed carbon sequestration. Michael Locklear is an advocate for farming methods that promote carbon sequestration such as no-till farming. 

Vertical Agriculture: John Gaffigan, Audrey Morris and Bill Brandon  are working on vertical farming initiatives. An excellent resource to learn more or get involved is the Association for Vertical Farming. There will also be a International Symposium for Vertical Farming in DC June 2017.

Eco-Villages: Raines Cohen introduced eco-villages. Check out the Global EcoVillages Network to learn more.

We are very early in the process of defining what it means to build a regenerative economy. While the terminology will continue to evolve, we're convinced the ideas are directionally correct. Now we are studying, testing, plotting, and building interest, support, and resources.

Thus this newsletter, which will come out every few weeks with information about RASA - narrating our work - along with brief observations and links to related materials exploring innovation and the regenerative economy.

With effort, and a bit of luck, we hope support for these concepts becomes a wave sweeping the world! Check out the archive to see if this newsletter is right for you (or a friend).

If you find this email valuable, please share with a friend. If you don't, please unsubscribe (link at the bottom.) We also much appreciate comments, advice, and suggestions for links to highlight.

Thanks.

      Dave 

PS's:
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