Since 2019, we have been working hard to create transformational change for rural islanders in the Pacific.
Regenerative Vanua is a not-for-profit organisation, formally registered in 2021 as a Charitable Organisation under the Charitable Associations (Incorporations) Act [Cap 140] in Vanuatu. We have collaboratively developed the Regenerative Vanua Stewardship Agreements with our partners to ensure that Vanuas throughout the Pacific are resilient and self-reliant in the face of the global polycrisis—grounding this resilience in the protection of land and food sovereignty and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
Through the work of Regenerative Vanua, Vanuatu has been recognised by the Pacific Islands Forum as demonstrating leadership in regenerative agritourism and regenerative gastronomy, particularly through the development of the Regenerative Verification Program. The Regional Pacific Regenerative Verification Initiative is now an official program under the Pacific Islands Forum’s post-2025 Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy – with Regenerative Vanua designated as the organisation responsible for implementing the Regenerative Verification Program in the Pacific. The Regional Pacific Regenerative Verification Initiative is strengthening and recognising Pacific leadership in regenerative agritourism and gastronomy. Through Regenerative Vanua’s own Verification Program, Pacific Vanuas are shaping their own pathways for regenerative practice—rooted in custom, culture, and deep connection to land and sea.
A key part of this journey are the Regenerative Pacific Intercultural Learning Exchanges, and the Regenerative Journeys. The exchange program is designed as a space for deep learning, reflection, and conversation, supporting participants to engage with the principles of the Verification Program. Here, they explore regenerative farming and hosting practices while also learning to share their own stories—articulating the values, identity, and knowledge that make regeneration in the Pacific truly unique. The Regenerative Journeys connect Regenerative Verified agritourism and gastronomy businesses with visitors and guests who want to experience regenerative living firsthand and transform their own lives through this learning. In this way, the journeys connect travellers with the hosts and Vanuas who began their own regenerative learning through the exchanges, creating a continuous cycle of learning, sharing, and transformation.
You can learn more about our programs here.
“We are critically engaging with place, creating a positive impact, seeing humans as part of nature, and connecting environmentalism with socio-political processes.”
At the core of Regenerative Vanua is the desire to support Vanuas to finance their transition to regenerative living, and to support the collective wellbeing of the Vanua. Regenerative Vanua supports Vanuas to diversify into markets such as regenerative agritourism, regenerative gastronomy, regenerative value chains, biodiversity and Payment for Ecosystem Services through the implementation of the Regenerative Verification Program.
Regenerative Vanua rejects the notion of these Vanuas as destinations, and instead understands them to be communities who generously provide educational and transformational experiences where visitors are able to connect with regenerative knowledge systems in the Pacific. Under the Verification Program, hosting is framed as an opportunity to strengthen and share culture through regenerative and transformational experiences, rather than as a commercialised, visitor-centred business operation.
“Choosing to use the Indigenous term Vanua is a deliberate and empowering acknowledgement of the Pasifika worldview within which Regenerative Vanua operates. ”
A note on language …
Vanua is a holistic term for place used in Pacific countries (with regional linguistic variations such as Belau, Fanua, Fenua, Fonua, Hanua, Henua, Honua and Whenua) and refers to the relationship between custodians of the land and the land itself, to the energetic aspect of this relationship which creates a sense of belonging to place. Vanua is the relational principle referring to life in all its various manifestations – land, waterways, oceans, air, flora, fauna, weather, people, language, song, dance, stories and so on. Vanua extends across time – it is informed by ancestral knowledge and embodies the needs of the future generations. It is dynamic and evolves to enable harmony and balance. In the Pacific, we understand that the role of being a custodian involves taking care of and stewarding Vanua, so that its full potential – environmentally, socially and spiritually – can be actualised.
