Regenerative Development Through an Indigenous Lens

I spent the last 11 days immersed with the Arhuaco and Kogi tribes of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. These holders of traditional wisdom are native to the Sierra Nevada and refer to the modern world as “younger brother”.

My incredible learnings there are begging to be unpacked.

The morning of a vision quest in Mexico, the cultural practice of seeking wisdom.

I was called to participate in a historic gathering organized by Sun Nation, an alliance that works with the Arhuaco, and Blue Dot Project, a fund for regenerative systemic investing.

I both see and participate in a lot of theorizing over what is “regenerative”.

We all know that indigenous tribes are the actual superheroes both safeguarding biodiversity and facilitating land regeneration at astonishing rates. As such, they are the best original source for examples of regenerative ways of being.

Although I would like to, I can’t turn away from the commercialization of “regenerative real estate” and “regenerative development”. Redirecting capital towards regeneration is crucial.

However, it is my hope that integrating this way of being into the true gold standard for regenerative projects will bring us into accord with the “laws of origin”, as the Arhuaco like to say.

After this trip, I see it more necessary than ever to integrate the spiritual-ecological wisdom of the pueblos originarios in order to return our planet to balance.

Here are some of my observations on their approach to building villages.