OUR Mycelial
MISSION.
RAIN is inspired by the collective intelligence of nature's networks - particularly mycelia.
How is an NGO like a mushroom?
Beneath the forest floor, a tangle of fungal threads connects trees and plants into a vast super-organism that knows how to share resources and information for the resilience of the whole. It is as ancient as the forest itself, and the trees of the future depend on it.
Every aspect of our work is guided by the wisdom of these webs, from media strategy and internal comms to project management and governance. The result is a decentralised network that facilitates communication, cooperation and coordination between partners working together for the common goal of regeneration. It focuses support from around the world to act at the local level via community-led initiatives that prioritise autonomy, sovereignty and food security.
Stop, collaborate and listen
The existential threats to the planet’s ecology and climate, as well as the global mental health crisis, widespread political instability and widening economic inequalities, are all expressions of a single malady: disconnection. We believe that the remedy is to connect - to each other, to ourselves and to nature. When we connect, or rather, when we remember how intimately and inescapably connected we are, our natural instincts to cooperate are awoken.
The multifaceted crisis we are facing is frightening, but it is also a historic opportunity. We could use this moment to unfold a new paradigm where people work together to regenerate our planet - as if our lives depended on it.
Collectively, humanity has all the tools and skills required not just to survive but to thrive, to rewild and regenerate our world, to practise mutual aid on a previously impossible scale and that generate abundance and security for every living thing on the planet. With that as our goal, RAIN develops, tests and refines protocols whereby communities divided by cultural differences and a difficult shared history can cooperate, coordinate their efforts and share resources and information in the service of holistic landscape regeneration.
The first step is to listen.
Projects are proposed, designed and led by marginalised communities, including traditional, Indigenous and urban black women’s groups. Those communities, with local knowledge and love of their local environments, are ideally placed to focus the resources and ambitions of a global network comprised of individuals, businesses, foundations, educational institutions, community groups, academics, volunteers and others who share the common goal of regeneration
Beyond planting trees, our mission is to help catalyse a shift that is already underway, challenging entrenched power dynamics and questioning how people in ex-colonial powers and people in former colonies interact. To that end, the network shares the stories and media of our partners, not only to generate support but also for reasons of advocacy and to learn from those communities that were resilient enough to survive the colonial era.
Our educational program connects schools in different countries to share regenerative journeys, and introduces traditional and sustainable Indigenous land management practices into the UK schools curriculum. Sharing the stories and traditional wisdom of people on the frontline brings us together. We believe that a sense of solidarity will create a future worth striving for.
From aspiration to action
RAIN began by restoring springs in Minas Gerais, one of the most deforested regions of the world. Recognising the vital role of waterways, both at the local scale in supporting biodiversity and human communities and in terms of the impact of the Brazilian water cycle on global weather systems, hydrology remains a major focus of our work, particularly in the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado biomes. We support agroforestry, reforestation and regeneration as solutions to land degradation, unsustainable agricultural practices and desertification. These practices also have the power to regenerate degraded topsoil, create habitats for endangered species, sequester carbon, mitigate floods and droughts and promote sustainable livelihoods.
Our partners also offer training in monitoring, accountancy, business development and other areas that can enable communities to develop their own solutions to the problems they face. We can embrace our collective intelligence, nurture interconnections and cultivate a thriving future. Let's reconnect with the earth that supports us, with each other and with ourselves - and see what we can do together.
Impacts are measured with metrics that reflect the unique contexts and priorities of our partners: soil health, groundwater flow, economic power, food miles in a meal, video impressions and the number of UK students introduced to Indigenous land management via our schools program are just a few examples. We are experimenting with technological innovations such as remote sensors to measure various metrics from biodiversity to soil composition and pollution levels, making monitoring affordable and accessible to frontline communities.
