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ProcessRegenerative Development Principles

Regenerative Development — Practical Guide

Purpose: Brief, practical summary and prompts for teams on how to apply regenerative principles in the field.

🌍 What is Regenerative Development?

Regenerative development means designing solutions that restore local systems — socially, economically, and ecologically.

It’s not just about “doing less harm” (sustainability). It’s about actively improving the health and capacity of the communities and ecosystems you work with.

Core Focus Areas

  • Listening — Understanding context before proposing solutions
  • Co-creating — Working with users, not for them
  • Thinking long-term — Planning for stewardship beyond the hackathon

💡 Practical Prompts for Teams

Before you build, during testing, and before submission, ask yourselves these questions:

1. Who Benefits?

Question: Who benefits if this succeeds — name 3 specific people or groups?

Why it matters: Vague answers like “the community” or “everyone” suggest you haven’t talked to real people yet.

Good answer example:

  • Amina, the vegetable vendor, saves 30 minutes daily on waste cleanup
  • The market manager reduces drainage maintenance costs by 40%
  • Local recycling cooperative gains consistent plastic supply

2. What Can You Build On?

Question: What existing local practice can we build on or partner with?

Why it matters: Communities already have systems, knowledge, and relationships. Building on what works is faster and more sustainable than starting from scratch.

Good answer example:

  • Vendors already use WhatsApp groups for coordination
  • Informal waste collectors already know the routes and timing
  • The recycling cooperative already has weighing and payment systems

3. What Changes Long-Term?

Question: How will this change local livelihoods or systems after 6–12 months?

Why it matters: If your solution disappears when you leave, it wasn’t regenerative.

Good answer example:

  • Vendors develop collective action capacity they can apply to other problems
  • Waste collectors gain reliable income stream, reducing economic precarity
  • Market becomes a model for other markets in the region

✅ Regenerative Development Checklist

Use this checklist throughout your project:

Before You Start Building

  • Have we spent time observing the problem in its real context?
  • Have we interviewed at least 5 people affected by this problem?
  • Can we name existing practices or systems we’re building on?
  • Do we know who the local “stewards” of this problem are?

During Development

  • Are we testing with real users, not friends or family?
  • Have we obtained proper consent from everyone we photograph or quote?
  • Are we documenting what surprises us (not just what confirms our assumptions)?
  • Are we tracking real-world outcomes (numbers, stories, photos)?

Before Submission

  • Can we name 3 specific people who benefit and how?
  • Do we have evidence of real user testing (photos, quotes, feedback)?
  • Have we identified who will maintain this after we’re done?
  • Are we honest about what didn’t work and what we learned?

🎯 Regenerative vs. Extractive Approaches

Understanding the difference helps you stay on track:

Regenerative ✅Extractive ❌
“How can we support what already works?""We’ll replace the broken system”
Testing with 5 real usersBuilding without user feedback
Training local championsCreating dependency on external experts
Simple, locally maintainable techComplex tech no one can fix
Measuring human impactMeasuring only technical metrics
Honest about failuresOnly showing successes

📖 Real-World Application

Example: Market Waste Collection

Extractive approach:

  • Build sophisticated app with cloud database
  • Require smartphones and data plans
  • Manage system remotely from outside
  • Measure success by app downloads

Regenerative approach:

  • Start with SMS (works on basic phones)
  • Build on existing WhatsApp coordination
  • Train vendor champions to manage system
  • Measure success by waste collected and vendor income

Result: The regenerative approach is more likely to still be working 6 months later.

🤝 Community Consent & Ethics

Regenerative development requires ethical engagement:

  • Informed: People understand how their data/images will be used
  • Voluntary: No pressure or coercion to participate
  • Ongoing: People can withdraw consent at any time
  • Documented: You have proof of consent (written or recorded verbal)

Ethical Questions

  • Are we extracting value (data, stories, photos) without giving back?
  • Do participants have agency in how they’re represented?
  • Are we reinforcing stereotypes or showing people’s full humanity?
  • Who owns the intellectual property of this solution?

📚 Further Reading

For deeper understanding of regenerative principles:

💬 Questions to Discuss with Your Team

Use these for team retrospectives or mentor sessions:

  1. Listening: What surprised us when we talked to users? What assumptions were wrong?

  2. Co-creation: Are we designing with the community or for them? How do we know?

  3. Long-term: If we disappeared tomorrow, would this solution continue? Why or why not?

  4. Capacity: Are we making the community more capable or more dependent?

  5. Honesty: What’s not working? What are we avoiding talking about?

Remember: The goal isn’t to build the most impressive technology. It’s to create lasting positive change that continues after you’re gone.

Next Steps: Apply these principles using the Systems Thinking Primer to map your problem space.

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