March 2027 | Starting at $5,500
Systemic Philanthropy Journey to Uganda
BioCultural Recovery for Imperiled Wetlands
African BioCultural Solutions
What if the future of conservation depends on restoring the conditions and social technologies that allowed Indigenous stewardship to sustain life for millennia?
Join us at two active Indigenous-led recovery sites connected to the world’s largest tropical freshwater lake, Nalubaale, also known as Lake Victoria.
Together we explore the opportunity to protect 13 acres of threatened lakeshore wetland and unlock the next generation of biocultural restoration,
Sister Places, connected by culture, land and water:
Nalubaale - known by her settler name “Lake Victoria” — is the largest tropical freshwater lake on Earth and the source of the Nile. She is undergoing rapid privatization and ecological degradation. Remaining intact wetlands are at risk of permanent conversion. There is a critical opportunity to secure those acres now, into the care and stewardship of the Uganda Buddhist Center.
Nalubaaga - a threatened wetland region, Regenar is reviving community-governed approaches to ecological restoration, livelihoods, and long-term stewardship rooted in the African principle of Obuntu (interdependence). This is a powerful example of systemic investing in practice—where land, ecology, community wellbeing, and local governance are approached as one interconnected living system.
We are now accepting $1,000 deposits toward March dates, to be confirmed in September 2026.
Discounted registrations of $5,500 by December 1, 2026. Registration $6,250 after December 1.
Discounts are available for groups of 3 or more. This rate does not include air travel, upgrades to lodging or post-trip add-ons.
Our Host
The Venerable Dr. Kaboggoza Buddharakkhita, is a native Bagandan and Abbot and Founder of Uganda Buddhist Center.
Bhante’s local living model, developed over 20 years weaves African Indigenous Wisdom and Buddhist practices into land stewardship, education, health, spiritual practice, and local livelihoods.
This coherent system of peace and development is gradually spreading across the local community, transforming lives and protecting land.
features of the journey
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Five curated days balancing thoughtfully scheduled cultural and learning excursions, on-site self-directed free time alongside optional mindfulness and creative sessions.
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Embedded facilitated prompts, dialogues, and mini-workshops exploring systemic investing, ecological institutions, and partnership-based economic models. Connect the lived practice to your own philanthropic, investment, and community economy-building practices back home.
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Our facilitors work at the forefront of systemic investing, regenerative development, and community-centered economic design.
Suzanne Bowles, founder of Cattail Strategy, brings more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of Western philanthropy, Indigenous community economy models, and systems change practice, and has coordinated and facilitated dozens of transformative site-based learning journeys.
Regen Foundation will cohost with attention to “ecological institutions”—a praxis explored in its newly published work on how humanity must evolve to operate operate more like living ecosystems. An opportunity to witness emerging ecological institutions in practice across Uganda, where land stewardship, cultural continuity, community wellbeing, spiritual life, and regenerative finance are being woven together into new models for systemic resilience and long-term planetary care.
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A supportive and reflective learning environment grounded in care, dignity, and shared humanity.
Bhante is a ordained monk, counselor and teacher with decades of experience guiding people from diverse backgrounds in mindfulness, emotional resilience, and healing-centered practice. His work includes a PhD focused on Indigenous approaches to trauma healing and community wellbeing.Suzanne’s experience in multicultural collaboration has a particular focus on helping people of Western and European lineage reconnect with our own ancestral wisdom traditions, and embodied practices of abundance and repair. Her approach integrates somatic awareness, nature-based reflection, narrative practice, and trauma-informed group process.
Coliberatory lens: we believe that every person carries insight, responsibility, and gifts needed for collective healing and transition. We center principles and values while making space for the complexity of identity, history, grief, power, and transformation.
We cultivate a relational field capable of deeper trust, maturity, and collective learning.
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You will choose between standard clean and accessible lodging or luxury ecolodge experience. Meals offered with the support of the award winning chef at Uganda Buddhist Center, the community farm and some of the most delicious cultural food experiences imaginable.
daily flow
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Gentle morning options for sleeping in, sunrise meditation and organic breakfast at the Uganda Buddhist Center, depending on your daily preference. (grab and go breakfast available for late risers.)
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First session every day: Join your companions and chattering grey monkeys in the dedicated outdoor space under the trees . We discuss our plan and place our questions of the day.
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Most days we will have a farm and forest fresh lunch of local African cuisine on site at the UBC. Excursions will include acclaimed destinations or culturally exploratory experiences. We will gather dietary needs and preferences before confirming plans.
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Site visits and immersion including African medicine lessons along the lakeshore, insights of African Indigenous approaches to healing from trauma, active contribution to mutual aid and ecological repair and optional immersions in cultural work and care opportunites at the orphange and school.
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Stay with the group you are with, or go to a quiet place and reflect, journal, have a critical conversation, meditate, or go back to your room. Whatever suits your needs for the day.
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Coming together for a feast to fulfill bodies and souls. Advance our central inquires, share in our joy, grief surrender and dreams before unwinding into sleep,
Partners and Facilitators
Abdul Semakula
Abdul is the director of Regenar and the Nalubaaga efforts. He is a Ugandan Regenerative Community Innovator who has started foundational works to restore a reclaimed wetland and stream while building a commons-based economy.
Abdul is prototyping a community engagement process for unbuilding colonial structures and narratives and rebuilding development on a living systems foundation by convening neighborhoods to weave individual with collective dreams.
Abdul advances tech-enabled climate finance, social innovation and citizen-state platforms. He previously founded an IT agency serving customers in Uganda UAE and Europe after graduating with a BSc. Computer Science.
Third Facilitator
Details forthcoming.
Suzanne Bowles
Suzanne Bowles is the convenor of this immersive learning journey and a systemic investing strategist with more than 25 years of practical experience in multicultural movement building, philanthropy, community economy design, and field-based learning exchanges at the intersection of Indigenous and Western systems.