Seeds of Resilience for Peace and Stability

What is a Seed?

We need sources of inspiration that can provide positive examples of transformative actions that can lead to new pathways towards more positive futures (more sustainable, more peaceful). Many of these positive examples come from the local scale and are already being implemented through small and marginal initiatives, nurturing the potential for larger scale transformative change. They can be new ways of thinking or doing, a social movement, an institution, a new technology. We call them “seeds.”

In the context of this project, a seed is a local or regional initiative already being implemented but not yet mainstream/dominant, that contributes to community resilience and has the potential to trigger transformative change towards peacebuilding.

Here, we are attempting to understand how seeds of resilience contribute to sustainable peace in fragile contexts. In particular, this initiative explores how these seeds may trigger transformative pathways for peace building.

We have developed a framework to show that a seed transformative potential when it has one or more of the following attributes:

  • Supports learning and system understanding
  • Fosters relationships and collaborations
  • Is enabled by resources and support
  • Aligns with the context
  • Enables changes in power structures and norms

    Explore the framework by clicking on the attributes

        Seeds of Peace and Stability

        Read more about the Seeds below.

        Interim Reparative Measures (IRM) Project

        The Interim Reparative Measures (IRM) Project, funded by the Global Survivors Fund and jointly implemented by Nadia's Initiative and Mission East, centres on providing access to both individual and collective interim reparative measures. These projects are co-created with survivors, who exercise full autonomy in shaping the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes.

        Woman’s Sustainable Farming project

        The Woman's Sustainable Farming project rebuilds farming households by empowering women to restart cultivating their land. Nadia's Initiative has designed, developed, and implemented the project. The project's broader effect is its revitalising nature to the Sinjar agricultural industry. The project's broader effect is its revitalising nature to the Sinjar agricultural industry. This is done through the reclaiming of land, which allows farmers to build a foundation for the local economy to reverse some effects from the genocide committed against the Yazidis.

        Kachin Peace Program

        The Kachin Peace Program concentrates on conflict-impacted and hard-to-reach areas in the north of Burma/Myanmar. The program engages in research, design, and execution of peacebuilding actions. It employs systemic action research that first gathers data in the form of life stories from conflict-affected individuals. It then utilises systems mapping, whereby local participants analyse these narratives to identify appropriate peacebuilding, human rights, developmental, and humanitarian measures. These initiatives are then implemented using an action research approach, with intentional networking strategies to scale up and sustain impacts over time. Adapt Peacebuilding, a non-profit organisation, implements this project.

        Co-inspira

        The Co-inspira program in Colombia focuses on public participation in building peace in conflict-affected territories. It unites local communities, government actors, and social leaders to work together to develop and implement peacebuilding initiatives tailored to the area’s needs. The program is focused on collaborative efforts for sustainable peacebuilding initiatives in Cauca.

        Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis within the STRENPO Programme

        The Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) is an approach developed by CARE to assess community-level vulnerabilities and capacities to climate change. It draws on climate information from both scientific and traditional knowledge sources. Through collecting and analysing this data, CVCA catalyses the identification of necessary actions at the community level to enhance resilience in the face of climate change. 

        Seeds partners

        This collaboration includes a range of GRP academic and non-academic partners that work in the nexus of resilience and peace building. Current partners include the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Near East Foundation, CARE, Mercy Corps, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and Stockholm Resilience Centre.

        If your institution is working with resilience in the context of conflict prevention and peace building and you want to get involved or know more about this project please contact: Cibele Queiroz.