Regenar Development Initiative

Regenar Development Initiative emerged from a visioning session during a Regenerative Development & Design course.

The founders were invited to imagine a place in a regenerative future-state. Kiwaatule was envisioned as a lush green urban-corridor with the presence of humans enhancing the wetland and the presence of the wetland enhancing humans. Regenar Development Initiative emerged to offer an alternative to the currently fragmented land-use that has nearly decimated 30+ wetlands in Kampala, Uganda.

Since inception, it has:

  • Conducted 11 neighborhood kinship dialogues engaging +300 residents
  • Held one-on-one conversations with 17 landowners, with 15 expressing willingness to combine land for collective stewardship
  • Generated initial Story-of-Place revealing Kiwaatule’s essence and potential as the “Obuntu Living Drum” reverberating a narrative of bioregional ecosystem restoration and renewal, offering the world a blueprint for regenerative urban futures, spiritual guardianship of place, and community-led ecosystem stewardship.

Key learnings show that while landowners are excited about increased regenerative potential value of land through consolidation, they need assurance about secure ownership and transparent governance. The organisation has also discovered that centering its Indigenous Obuntu philosophy resonates deeply with residents’ aspirations for community reconnection.

Regenar Development Initiative’s plans for the future involve:

  • Workshops aligning willing landowners to align to a shared purpose and co-create governance frameworks
  • Engagement sessions with Ministry of Lands, Environment Management Authority, and Kampala City Authority to integrate the vision with policy frameworks
  • Lay foundation for developing a land-use game exciting and committing landowners, government agencies, academics, and impact investors towards regenerating 230 acres of Kiwaatule before expanding across the ~1000 acres of Nalubaaga Bioregion and eventually across Kampala’s wetland bioregions.
  • Community, Food, Landscapes
  • 2025
  • Intentional Projects
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Photo: Regenar Development Initiative

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