Re/Village Green Valley
{"type": "project", "title": "Re/Village Green Valley", "logoImg": "bafkreigmy2mqktun4p6f375vgnykpr4ruh3amwxx22xmxjmzws66enaipe", "website": "https://revillage.net", "bannerImg": "bafkreifswk632rwtgpehy3rgp377dgujgjdh74c76rqkwplvoucwaxbrze", "createdAt": 1729638654725, "credentials": {}, "description": "# **Re/Village Green Valley**\n\nRe/Village works on commons space, shared ritual, and community infrastructure to support a Seven Generations Vision for the Green Valley bioregion of West Sonoma County, CA.\n\n**Introduction to Our Bioregion**\n\nOur bioregion is nestled in the beautiful and ecologically rich landscape of Graton, California, part of West Sonoma County's Green Valley. This area is defined by its rolling hills, vineyards, farmland, and forests. Economically, the region is sustained by agriculture, eco-tourism, and small businesses. Our community of approximately 1,800 residents embodies a diverse cultural mix, with a significant proportion of Latino agricultural workers. The area's culture is shaped by its agricultural roots, a long history of Bay Area progressivism in artists, spiritual and co-living communities and more recently tech, with a growing emphasis on regenerative agroecology and local business development.\n\nWe’ve mapped our bioregion based on both its ecological and social boundaries. The Green Valley watershed, which provides both natural resources and livelihood opportunities, connects the region. Key features such as the West County Regional Trail, the Green Valley Creek, and native habitats further define this area. This collaborative mapping process has emerged from community input, engaging local residents and historians, farmers, and environmental groups to co-create a vision that blends ecological integrity with sustainable economic activities.\n\n### **Collective Challenges and Regeneration Opportunities**\n\nThe primary challenges faced by our bioregion include **environmental** threats like wildfires and drought, which strain the local ecosystem and agricultural activities. **Socially**, there is a divide between the long-term residents and the primarily Latino day laborer community. **Culturally**, the town lacks an energetic heart—central, accessible spaces for residents of all backgrounds to gather, celebrate, and work together on local projects. The town is missing a vibrant hearth and the effects that a common shared space has on weaving people and place together.\n\nIn response to these challenges, we see exciting opportunities for regeneration. The Graton Town Square project is a \"tipping point\" initiative designed to serve as a vibrant hub for ecological restoration, economic development, and cultural exchange. We are implementing principles of permaculture and regenerative design in the Town Square, which will feature rain gardens, native pollinator habitats, and spaces for local markets and events. These efforts not only aim to heal the land but also foster social cohesion and economic resilience through community participation.\n\n### **The Bioregional Organizing Team**\n\nRe/Village Green Valley began in late summer of 2023 with a project to acquire a former gas-station site and rehabilitate the land into a vibrant town square/commons for our small town of Graton. Over this first year, our effort has engaged nearly a thousand community members through our Design Committee, Community Advisory Council, Volunteer Days, Town Hall Meetings, School Field Trips, and our recent “Graton Day: The Green Valley Festival” event.\n\nOur core organizing team consists of facilitators and creatives who are weaving together a network of both formal organizations, such as the Graton Community Services District (GCSD) and the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District, alongside an informal network of local residents, business owners, and volunteers. As we continue to grow, we aim to expand our collaboration by involving local schools, Indigenous communities, and other regional organizations to foster a regenerative economy that benefits everyone.\n\n### **Indigenous Engagement and Community Voices**\n\nOur initiative recognizes the need for deeper engagement with Indigenous Peoples and their wisdom in shaping our bioregion’s future. We are actively working to strengthen our relationships with the local indigenous community – particularly the Federated Tribes of the Graton Rancheria and Heron’s Shadow Project in our watershed. We hold a deep conviction as a team that we are all “indigenous to somewhere” and thus need to become “more indigenous to ourselves.” This conviction feeds a slowness and patience with building decolonial relationships in a good way, while at the same time holding a deep humbleness and reverence for the place-keepers of these lands where we are settlers.\n\n### **Current Role and Future Vision**\n\nBuilding a town square is a **potent and symbolic starting point** for our bioregional organizing effort. Our organizing over the past year has created a foundational understanding of the relationships, allies, and “story of place” that will seed further regenerative actions. We’ve begun to meet many local leaders, with critical projects ranging from water, land and forest regeneration, to food, housing, and cultural development. **Many initiatives are small, under-resourced, or disconnected and will benefit immensely from the organization and (multiple forms of capital) mobilized by a BFF.** We are particularly excited to start publicly co-creating our Seven Generations Village Visions (starting with the town of Graton) and Green Valley **Bioregional Regeneration Strategy**.\n\nOur primary financial initiatives so far have been public funding (Sonoma Land Trust, Sonoma County Community Infrastructure Grants, Ag & Open Space Grant) and a community capital campaign. We are in the early stages of designing a number of regenerative finance instruments – including a DAF investment vehicle, a social enterprise development company, and a stewardship trust to hold land, local businesses, and housing assets. The Bioregional Trust and Bioregional Venture Studio models both organically fit into the near-term evolution of the work that wants to happen here!\n\n### **Funding Vision**\n\nThus far, we have supported our work through a combination of public grants, local fundraising efforts, and volunteer contributions. However, we recognize that **more sustainable financial mechanisms are needed to support long-term regenerative initiatives**. Our current funding flows are relatively **fragmented**, and we see this **project as an opportunity to create a more transparent and synergistic financial ecosystem**. By utilizing grants like those from Gitcoin and other sources, we aim to **cohere diverse funding streams** and practice collective governance in resource allocation.\n\nOur vision includes d**eveloping bioregional financing mechanisms that can channel resources toward regenerative projects** in agriculture, education, and community development. We see potential in forming partnerships with regional land trusts, creating cooperative funding models, and exploring revenue-generating activities such as community events and eco-tourism.****\n\nWith Gitcoin funding, we will continue to lean into our **catalytic community events, storytelling initiatives, and development of basic financial infrastructure**. We are grateful for your support in all the ways, and to be part of this larger movement for bioregional resilience.", "logoImgData": {}, "bannerImgData": {}}