Indigenous peoples, refugee groups and smallholder farmers from around the world have won £236,000 in this year’s awards, run by cosmetics brand Lush.
Over £200,000 has been funded to 17 projects demonstrating responses to the climate emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the global South.
Presented every two years since its launch in 2017, the award recognizes and rewards projects that address challenges in a holistic and regenerative way.
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At least 14 different countries and five continents were among the winners. This includes three countries as spring award recipients for the first time – Colombia, Nepal and Madagascar.
The judges were drawn from a variety of movements representing regenerative design, permaculture design, food sovereignty, transition towns, biomimicry, eco-village networks and various social justice movements. Lush also appoints a judge for each awards cycle from among its staff and customer base.
They handed out awards in six categories: Intentional; Young; Establishment and Impact Awards, Permaculture Magazine Awards; Ancient Indigenous Wisdom Awards in partnership with Become an Earth Foundation. Winners shared £236,000 in prize money.
The Himalayan Permaculture Center in Nepal is one of the recipients of the Established Project Award.
Run by farmers, this grassroots NGO operates in remote and impoverished farming communities in western Nepal. Its projects are regenerative, integrating food security, health, education, livelihoods and training so that people are not forced to leave their villages because of poverty.
Knowledge
Taniala Regenerative Camp in Madagascar is the winner in the intentional category. It aims to support forest regeneration by promoting sustainable agricultural techniques.
In 2022, it established its first regenerative camp in Lambokely, a village where migrants have fled famine and drought, where slash-and-burn cultivation was common and thus led to deforestation.
Instituto Janeraka in Brazil received the Ancient and Indigenous Wisdom Award for its work with the Awaete people, who have been in contact with global society for less than 50 years.
As such, they face a myriad of psychological and ecological challenges, which are exacerbated by the construction of hydroelectric plants and the development of mining activities.
The Institute has initiated several projects, such as a knowledge exchange program between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, and arts and media projects.
the author
Catherine Early is a freelance environmental reporter and chief correspondent ecologist. She tweets @Cat_Early76.For a full list of award winners and more information about the projects, see here.
