Reworlding Sessions

Across three international editions, Design Innovation Group has been exploring what it takes to reimagine future systems and design meaningful regenerative change.

About the sessions →

with Instituto Ecobairro São Paulo, Brazil

with Girls for Climate Action, Uganda

Planting Seeds to Cultivate Regenerative Futures

with Girls for Climate Action

How do we design futures that balance both tradition and innovation?
This question has never been more urgent. As the climate crisis accelerates, the need for locally rooted, inclusive solutions becomes more and more essential. Designing for regeneration goes beyond solving immediate problems—it’s about creating the conditions for long-term resilience and thriving communities. 

The Reworlding session in Uganda responded to this challenge. During two weeks,  participants went through a collaborative journey to explore how regenerative design could inspire sustainable, context-specific transformation. Organised in collaboration with Girls for Climate Action, these sessions brought together diverse voices to reimagine possibilities for the future. By centring on ancestral knowledge, cultural practices, and local ecosystems, the sessions became a powerful demonstration of how collective creativity can address complex challenges.

Cultivating Knowledge and Inspiring Action

The sessions were more than workshops—they were spaces for exploration, reflection, and co-creation. Rather than focusing solely on tangible outputs, the process itself was central: listening deeply, engaging meaningfully, and planting seeds of change that could grow long after the sessions ended.

Grounding our approach in traditional wisdom was key. Participants revisited practices such as agroforestry—an ancient system that combines trees and crops to enrich the soil, conserve water, and boost biodiversity. This practice, far from being outdated, emerged as a sophisticated method of working with nature rather than against it. By blending ancestral knowledge with 21st-century tools and approaches, the sessions highlighted how regenerative design can open pathways to meaningful, localised transformation.

Learning from the Past to Shape the Future

The first week centred around reflecting on heritage and envisioning regeneration within cultural and environmental contexts. To facilitate this exploration, we created a guiding booklet filled with thought-provoking questions. This booklet became a catalyst for deep reflection, helping participants uncover how traditions could inspire sustainable futures. 

Each day unfolded around a theme, building connections between culture, environment, and community: 

Three Recurring Themes

Throughout the sessions, three themes stood out.

1. The Importance
of Traditional Knowledge

Reviving ancestral practices—such as agroforestry and respect for sacred spaces—provides a foundation for sustainable innovation. 

2. Empowering Women
to Lead 

Centring women in environmental advocacy creates stronger, more inclusive solutions. 

3. Merging Wisdom
and Modernity 

Blending ancestral traditions with contemporary tools enables communities to regenerate both ecosystems and cultural pride. 

And a New Understanding of Time

One of the most profound insights was how Ugandan participants conceptualised time. Unlike the linear, goal-oriented perspective common in design theory, participants viewed time as cyclical and deeply tied to natural rhythms—such as the passing of seasons or the growth of a seed.

When asked to envision the future 25 years ahead, many found it challenging to think in such fixed timelines. Instead, they saw the future as a restoration of what has been lost, deeply rooted in traditions passed through generations and in harmony with nature’s cycles. This perspective reframed our approach to regeneration: designing for the future isn’t about chasing distant goals but about aligning with the natural flow of ecosystems and cultural traditions. Regeneration, they reminded us, is about replenishing knowledge, restoring balance, and nurturing intergenerational resilience.

From Insights to Action

Building on the insights from the Exploration and Imagination Week, participants transitioned to the Making and Creating Week, where they transformed ideas into actionable artefacts. Outputs ranged from community dialogue frameworks to creative tools for environmental advocacy.

Key moments included:

Inspired by the Reworlding methodology, a participant shared that she would use this approach in her community.

Another sparked regional conversation by sharing her reflections on a radio station.

The guiding booklet became a tool for continued exploration, guiding participants in uncovering new insights within their local contexts.

These creations are not just outputs—they are seeds planted for future growth. They represent a shift from theoretical reflection to community-driven action, rooted in the participants’ realities and aspirations. 

Replenishing What was Lost

Discussions began with stories of environmental degradation, from deforestation to the overuse of harmful agricultural practices. Yet, intertwined with these challenges was hope—an enduring reverence for sacred trees and ancestral practices like agroforestry. These traditions, passed down through generations, offered sustainable ways of living in harmony with the land.

Participants shared how agroforestry, once overshadowed by industrial farming methods, is regaining prominence as a sustainable approach. For example, integrating crops with native tree species, such as jackfruit and shea, not only restores soil fertility but also provides economic opportunities.

This insight reminded us that regeneration often means reviving and replenishing what has been eroded—both in nature and in cultural memory. For designers, it’s a call to honour local expertise and design solutions that amplify, rather than overwrite, traditional practices.

6 Lessons from Reworlding with Young Women from Jinja district & Karamoja district

Start with Reflection
Introspective, theme-based questions provide people with a structured yet creative environment to explore insights that reflect their lived experiences.

Design for Inclusion
Empowering marginalised voices, particularly women and those residing in indigenous communities is essential for sustainable environmental stewardship. Women face challenges like limited land ownership, and collaboration with men and cultural leaders is vital to promote gender equality and involve them in decision-making.

Rethink Time
Embrace cyclical, nature-based perspectives that align with community rhythms. This perspective reshaped how we think about regenerative design. Rather than racing toward a distant endpoint, regeneration is about grounding change in the flow of nature—restoration that aligns with ecological cycles and cultural continuity.

Use StorytellingNarratives make abstract concepts relatable and inspire collective action. For designers, storytelling offers a way to make complex concepts tangible, relatable, and emotionally resonant. It bridges knowledge gaps and connects people to the deeper "why" behind regeneration. Creating stories together to help understand a concept, to find a common language.

Facilitate, Don’t Prescribe
Provide frameworks and tools that empower communities to envision and own their regenerative future. Rather than imposing rigid methods, we provided participants with a mindset—a framework they could personalise and expand upon. This approach mirrored the idea of planting a seed: our framework gave participants the initial tools and perspectives to nurture their own ideas, growing them into community-driven solutions.

Empower Marginalised Voices
Foster inclusive spaces where all community members, especially women, can contribute.

Toward a Future of Regenerative Design

The Reworlding session in Uganda demonstrated to us that regeneration is not just about restoring ecosystems—it’s about honouring cultural pride, fostering inclusivity, and strengthening community resilience.

This experience offered a powerful lesson: true regeneration emerges when we collaborate, reflect, and align with the unique rhythms of the communities we work with. By planting seeds of knowledge, hope, and connection, we can co-create a vision of a future that is vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable.

The Reworlding session with female climate activists from Jinja and Karamoja brought a renewed understanding for regenerative design practice: designing for the future is not about imposing solutions but about cultivating the conditions for communities to thrive on their own terms—just as a seed grows into a tree under the right conditions. 

What do you take away from this process?
How do you plant seeds in your design process?
How can designers globally apply these insights to their work?

With thanks to all our co-researchers:

G4CA participants
Alice Namongin
Joan Asiimwe
Christine Cathy
Collines Oweka
Moreen Namande
Goret Imalingat
Patience Ataliba
Moreen Namatende
Tamali Nambubi
Sandra Kisakye
Shirat Namukasa
Everlyn Teko
Miriam Mirembe
Judith Lokwakol

G4CA team
Joanita Babirye
Kataike Viola
Claire Lokeris Pedo
Biira Sharon
Deborah Mbabazi
Keith K.
Wilson Mukwaya

Design Innovation Group
Fisha Katugugu
Thais Costa
Jacoba Seminck
Dan Eames