Join a Bioregion: Place-Based Economic Regeneration

Overview

Economics works best when rooted in place. A bioregion is more than a geographic area—it's a living economic community defined by natural boundaries, shared resources, and interconnected relationships. In the UBEC Protocol, bioregions serve as the foundational organizing structure for regenerative economics.

This guide will help you either: - Connect with an existing bioregion in your area - Establish a new bioregion where none exists

"I am because we are" — Ubuntu Philosophy

What is a Bioregion?

Definition

A bioregion is a geographically defined area characterized by: - Natural ecological boundaries (watersheds, mountain ranges, climate zones) - Shared environmental conditions and resources - Cultural and economic interdependence among communities - Common environmental challenges and opportunities

Why Bioregions Matter

Traditional economic systems ignore natural boundaries and resource flows. Bioregional economics recognizes that:

1. Resources are place-specific: Water, soil, climate, and biodiversity vary by location
2. Communities depend on local ecosystems: Economic health reflects environmental health
3. Relationships create resilience: Strong local networks weather global disruptions
4. Knowledge is embedded in place: Traditional and indigenous wisdom about land stewardship

Bioregions in the UBEC Protocol

Within UBEC, bioregions function as: - Economic coordination zones for local commerce and resource management - Governance units for collective decision-making - Token circulation areas where local value is created and exchanged - Monitoring networks for environmental data and impact assessment

Part 1: Joining an Existing Bioregion

Step 1: Discover Your Bioregion

Find Bioregions Near You

1. Check the UBEC Bioregion Map
2. Visit the UBEC Protocol dashboard
3. Navigate to "Bioregions" section
4. Search by location, postal code, or coordinates

5. View active bioregions in your area

6. Identify Natural Boundaries

7. What watershed do you live in?
8. What are your local climate patterns?
9. Which mountain ranges, rivers, or coastlines define your region?

10. What native ecosystems characterize your area?

11. Recognize Cultural-Economic Patterns

12. Where do people in your area trade and shop?
13. What are the traditional food systems?
14. Which communities share similar economic challenges?
15. What indigenous territories overlap with your location?

Bioregion Information to Gather

When you find a potential bioregion, learn about: - Active participants: How many Farmers, Communities, and Activators? - Token circulation: What's the transaction volume and velocity? - Focus areas: Agriculture, conservation, renewable energy, education? - Governance structure: How are decisions made? - Current initiatives: What projects are underway?

Step 2: Connect with Bioregion Members

Initial Contact

1. Reach out to Community Activators
2. Activators serve as bioregion coordinators
3. They can explain local priorities and how to engage

4. Find contact info through the UBEC dashboard

5. Attend a Bioregion Gathering

6. Many bioregions hold monthly or quarterly meetings
7. These may be in-person or virtual

8. Great opportunity to meet participants face-to-face

9. Join Communication Channels

10. Most bioregions maintain:
    • Discussion forums or chat groups
    • Email newsletters
    • Social media communities
11. Ask for invitation links

Understanding Local Context

Before diving in, take time to understand:

• Bioregion history: How and why was it established?
• Current priorities: What challenges is the bioregion addressing?
• Participant roles: Who does what, and where might you fit?
• Cultural protocols: Are there indigenous communities involved? What respect protocols should you follow?
• Decision-making processes: How does governance work in practice?

Step 3: Choose Your Participation Role

The UBEC Protocol supports four primary beneficiary types. Choose the one that best fits your situation:

🌾 Farmer

• You're producing food, fiber, or other agricultural products
• You manage land for regenerative purposes
• You want to access fair markets and earn rewards for environmental stewardship

See: Farmer Onboarding Guide →

🏘️ Community

• You represent a neighborhood, village, or local organization
• You want to build local economic resilience
• You're interested in community-owned resources and cooperative ventures

See: Community Onboarding Guide →

🔄 Community Activator

• You're a connector and facilitator
• You want to help coordinate bioregional activities
• You can bridge between different stakeholder groups

See: Community Activator Guide →

🎓 Living Lab

• You're part of an educational or research institution
• You can contribute environmental monitoring data
• You want to integrate field studies with real-world impact

See: Living Lab Guide →

Step 4: Complete Your Onboarding

1. Create your UBEC profile
2. Set up your account on the UBEC Protocol platform
3. Link to your chosen bioregion

4. Complete role-specific verification

5. Understand token mechanics

6. 🌬️ UBEC (Air): Base token for general circulation
7. 💧 UBECrc (Water): Rainwater/resource conservation credits
8. 🌍 UBECgpi (Earth): Green performance incentives
9. 🔥 UBECtt (Fire): Time trading and service exchange

See: Token Stories →

1. Set up your wallet
2. Install compatible wallet software
3. Secure your private keys

4. Receive initial token allocation (if applicable)

5. Begin participating

6. Start with small transactions to learn the system
7. Attend bioregion activities and contribute
8. Track your holonic evaluation score as you engage

Step 5: Deepen Your Engagement

Progress Through Holonic Levels

The UBEC Protocol recognizes five levels of participation:

1. 🔍 Observer (Starting point)
2. Learning about the bioregion
3. Attending meetings and events

4. Building understanding

5. 👤 Participant

6. Making transactions
7. Contributing to discussions

8. Showing up regularly

9. 🤝 Contributor

10. Actively creating value
11. Taking on small responsibilities

12. Supporting others' success

13. 🔗 Integrator

14. Connecting different parts of the system
15. Facilitating collaboration

16. Building bridges between participants

17. ⭐ Exemplar

18. Modeling best practices
19. Mentoring others
20. Stewarding bioregional evolution

Your holonic level naturally evolves with your contributions and relationships. There's no rush—meaningful participation matters more than rapid advancement.

Ways to Contribute

• Economic participation: Buy and sell within the bioregion
• Knowledge sharing: Teach skills, share resources, mentor newcomers
• Environmental monitoring: Contribute data from your land or community
• Governance: Join working groups, participate in decision-making
• Communications: Help tell the bioregion's story
• Technical support: Assist with platform issues or improvements

Part 2: Establishing a New Bioregion

If no bioregion exists in your area, you can help create one. This is more involved but deeply rewarding work.

Prerequisites for Bioregion Formation

Before starting, ensure you have:

✅ A core group: At least 3-5 committed people
✅ Geographic clarity: Defined boundaries based on natural features
✅ Diverse participation: Representation across Farmers, Communities, and Activators
✅ Time commitment: 6-12 months for initial establishment
✅ Basic resources: Communication tools, meeting spaces (physical or virtual)

Step 1: Map Your Bioregion

Define Natural Boundaries

Work with your core group to identify:

1. Watershed boundaries
2. What river basin are you in?
3. Where does rainwater flow from and to?

4. What are the upstream and downstream connections?

5. Ecological zones

6. What ecoregion classification applies to your area?
7. What are the dominant ecosystems (forest, prairie, wetland, etc.)?

8. What indicator species define your area?

9. Climate patterns

10. What are typical temperature and precipitation ranges?
11. What growing zones apply?

12. What climate challenges do you face?

13. Topography

14. What landforms define your region (mountains, valleys, plains)?
15. How does elevation vary?
16. What are the key water features?

Use UBEC Mapping Tools

The UBEC Protocol provides mapping interfaces to help:

• Bioregion Mapping Interface: Interactive map for boundary definition
• Watershed layers: Overlay hydrological boundaries
• Ecoregion data: Reference ecological classifications
• Population data: Understand demographic context

See: Bioregion Mapping Guide → - Using the UBEC Mapbender WMS Interface

Step 2: Gather Your Community

Community Listening Sessions

Before formalizing anything:

1. Host open conversations about local economic challenges
2. Listen deeply to what people care about
3. Identify shared concerns and aspirations
4. Find natural leaders already doing this work
5. Build relationships before building structures

Core Team Formation

Recruit founding members representing:

• Farmers/producers: Those growing food or managing land
• Community organizations: Nonprofits, cooperatives, faith groups
• Local businesses: Committed to local economy
• Technical capacity: People who can manage platforms and data
• Facilitation skills: Those who can hold space for dialogue

Step 3: Design Your Bioregion Structure

Governance Framework

Decide how decisions will be made:

• Consensus vs. consent: How much agreement is needed?
• Working groups: What functional teams are needed?
• Leadership roles: Who coordinates, and how are they chosen?
• Conflict resolution: How will disagreements be handled?
• Evolution process: How can governance change over time?

Economic Priorities

Identify initial focus areas:

• What are the most pressing economic needs?
• Where are the opportunities for local production?
• What leakages can be plugged (money leaving the region)?
• What existing local economy can be strengthened?

Monitoring Systems

Plan for environmental and economic tracking:

• What data will you collect?
• Who will manage data systems?
• How will data inform decisions?
• What privacy protections are needed?

Step 4: Apply for Bioregion Recognition

Application Requirements

Submit to UBEC Protocol:

1. Boundary definition: Map with natural boundary justification
2. Founding participants: List of initial members and their roles
3. Governance structure: Decision-making framework
4. Economic plan: Initial priorities and strategies
5. Monitoring plan: How you'll track progress
6. Community support: Evidence of local buy-in

Review Process

The UBEC network will:

1. Review application for completeness
2. Verify boundary appropriateness
3. Check for overlap with existing bioregions
4. Assess founding team capacity
5. Provide feedback or request modifications
6. Grant provisional recognition

Provisional Period

New bioregions enter a 12-month provisional period:

• Months 1-3: Setup and initial transactions
• Months 4-6: First evaluation checkpoint
• Months 7-9: Adjustment and growth
• Months 10-12: Full recognition assessment

Step 5: Launch and Grow

Launch Activities

1. Public announcement: Share with broader community
2. Onboarding sessions: Help members get started
3. First transactions: Demonstrate the system works
4. Celebration: Honor the founding moment

First Year Priorities

• Grow membership: Aim for diverse participation
• Increase transactions: Build economic activity
• Develop governance: Refine decision-making through practice
• Document learning: Capture what works and what doesn't
• Connect outward: Build relationships with other bioregions

Bioregion Health Metrics

How Bioregions Are Evaluated

The UBEC Protocol tracks bioregion health across five dimensions:

1. Participation Diversity

• Range of participant types (Farmers, Communities, Activators, Labs)
• Geographic distribution within the bioregion
• Demographic representation
• Holonic level distribution

2. Economic Vitality

• Transaction volume and velocity
• Token circulation patterns
• Local multiplier effect
• Import/export balance

3. Environmental Impact

• Monitoring data coverage
• Regenerative practice adoption
• Ecological indicator trends
• Carbon sequestration estimates

4. Governance Health

• Decision-making participation rates
• Conflict resolution effectiveness
• Leadership rotation
• Policy implementation success

5. Network Connectivity

• Inter-bioregional relationships
• Knowledge sharing activities
• Collaborative projects
• External partnerships

Data Sharing and Privacy

Bioregions share aggregated, anonymized data with:

1. Participants: Regular updates on bioregion health
2. Adjacent bioregions: Learning and benchmarking
3. UBEC Protocol: System-wide pattern recognition
4. Research community: Academic studies and policy insights

Individual transaction data remains private. Only aggregated patterns are visible.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Low Initial Participation

Symptoms: Difficulty recruiting members, few transactions, stagnant growth

Solutions: - Start with existing networks and relationships - Host in-person gatherings to build trust - Demonstrate value early with quick wins - Be patient—meaningful community takes time

Challenge: Geographic Boundary Disputes

Symptoms: Disagreement about where bioregion starts/ends, overlap with existing regions

Solutions: - Focus on natural features, not political boundaries - Allow overlapping memberships if needed - Emphasize collaboration over competition - Defer to indigenous territorial definitions where applicable

Challenge: Unequal Participation

Symptoms: A few people doing all the work, others passive

Solutions: - Distribute roles and responsibilities explicitly - Recognize and reward contributions visibly - Lower barriers to entry (make participation easy) - Create specific asks rather than general calls for help

Challenge: Economic Leakage

Symptoms: Tokens flow out faster than they're generated, participants still dependent on external economy

Solutions: - Identify and plug leakage points - Develop local supply chains - Create more diverse transaction types - Build import substitution strategies

Challenge: Governance Gridlock

Symptoms: Decisions take too long, endless debate, action paralysis

Solutions: - Clarify decision-making authority and process - Set time limits on deliberation - Use consent instead of consensus - Delegate more decisions to working groups

Challenge: Technology Barriers

Symptoms: Some participants struggle with digital platform, unequal access

Solutions: - Provide multi-channel access (web, mobile, SMS) - Offer in-person technical support - Create printed guides and resources - Build trust networks for assisted transactions

Inter-Bioregional Collaboration

Why Connect Beyond Your Bioregion?

While rooted in place, bioregions benefit from wider networks:

• Resource diversity: Trade what you have surplus for what you lack
• Knowledge exchange: Learn from others' successes and failures
• Mutual support: Help each other through challenges
• Collective power: Advocate together for policy changes

Forms of Collaboration

Trading Partnerships

• Exchange goods between bioregions
• Balance imports/exports for mutual benefit
• Develop reliable supply chains

Knowledge Networks

• Share governance innovations
• Exchange ecological monitoring data
• Coordinate research and evaluation

Joint Projects

• Regional infrastructure (renewable energy grids)
• Watershed-level conservation efforts
• Multi-bioregion educational programs

Advocacy Coalitions

• Push for supportive policies
• Counter extractive economic pressures
• Represent bioregional economics in public discourse

Regional Assemblies

Periodically, bioregions gather for:

• Learning exchanges: Share practices and insights
• Protocol governance: Participate in system-wide decisions
• Celebration: Honor achievements and build culture
• Strategic planning: Coordinate larger-scale efforts

Resources and Support

Getting Help

As you join or establish a bioregion, support is available:

UBEC Protocol Support

• Technical documentation: bioregional.ubec.network/docs
• Platform support: help@ubec.network
• Community forum: Connect with other bioregions at community.ubec.network

Learning Resources

• Case studies: Successful bioregion stories
• Video tutorials: Platform walkthroughs and how-tos
• Live trainings: Regular webinars and workshops
• Mentorship: Connection with experienced Activators

Advisory Services

• Bioregion design: Help with mapping and boundary definition
• Economic modeling: Support for token flows and trade patterns
• Governance facilitation: Assistance with decision-making structures
• Monitoring setup: Guidance on environmental data collection

Recommended Reading

Bioregionalism

• Dwellers in the Land by Kirkpatrick Sale
• The Bioregional Economy by Molly Scott Cato
• Reinhabiting a Separate Country by Peter Berg

Regenerative Economics

• Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein
• Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
• The Nature of Value by Jonathon Porritt

Commons Governance

• Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom
• Free, Fair, and Alive by David Bollier
• Think Like a Commoner by David Bollier

Ubuntu Philosophy

• Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me by Michael Onyebuchi Eze
• African Philosophy: New and Traditional Perspectives by Lee M. Brown

Next Steps

Joining an Existing Bioregion

1. ☑️ Find bioregions in your area using the UBEC Bioregional Mapping Service
2. ☑️ Connect with local Community Activators
3. ☑️ Choose your participation role
4. ☑️ Complete role-specific onboarding
5. ☑️ Make your first transaction
6. ☑️ Attend a bioregion gathering

If Establishing a New Bioregion

1. ☑️ Gather a core team (3-5 people)
2. ☑️ Map your bioregion boundaries →
3. ☑️ Conduct community listening sessions
4. ☑️ Submit bioregion application
5. ☑️ Launch with founding participants
6. ☑️ Grow and evolve over 12 months

Closing Reflection

Joining or creating a bioregion is an act of faith in the future. It's a commitment to:

• Rooting economics in place rather than abstract markets
• Rebuilding relationships between people and land
• Regenerating ecosystems through economic choices
• Reclaiming local power over our collective wellbeing

The bioregional economy isn't just a different way of organizing trade—it's a different way of being in the world. One that recognizes our fundamental interdependence with each other and the living systems that sustain us.

As you step into this work, remember: you are part of a global movement of people choosing to think and act differently about economy, ecology, and community. Your bioregion is one node in a growing network of regenerative practice.

Welcome to the work. The land is waiting.

Related Guides

• Bioregion Mapping Guide → - Using the UBEC Mapbender WMS Interface
• Farmer Onboarding Guide →
• Community Onboarding Guide →
• Community Activator Guide →
• Living Lab Guide →
• Token Stories →
• Complete UBEC Protocol Documentation →

Contact and Support

Questions about bioregions? - Email: bioregions@ubec.network - Forum: community.ubec.network - Support: hello@ubec.network

This project uses the services of Claude and Anthropic PBC to inform our decisions and recommendations. This project was made possible with the assistance of Claude and Anthropic PBC.

UBEC DAO Protocol | Ubuntu Bioregional Economic Commons Building regenerative economies rooted in place and relationship

Version 1.1 | Last updated: November 2025