Our Flow Funding Programme shares power with tireless activists and visionary leaders by giving them direct access to funds, allowing them to allocate resources based on expertise and intuition. This trust-based, human-centred approach cuts through bureaucracy, ensuring funds reach overlooked communities and projects, creating significant local impact — explored in these stories.
Our Flow Funding Wisdom Keepers 2024-26 cohort:
SATISH KUMAR — Peace-pilgrim, former Jain monk, & life-long activist for over 50 years, Satish co-founded Schumacher College & founded The Resurgence Trust.
HELENA NORBERG-HODGE — Linguist, author, filmmaker & pioneer of the new economy movement, Helena is founder & director of Local Futures, convenor of World Localization Day & Planet Local Summit.
LIZ HOSKEN — Co-founder & co-director of the Gaia Foundation, Liz has worked with Indigenous communities in the Amazon and Africa to revive traditional lifeways and restore bio-cultural landscapes.
FARHANA YAMIN — Lawyer, author, climate justice activist & funder, Farhana has advised small island leaders on UN climate negotiations for over 30 years. Director of Impatience Ltd, she was ranked #2 on the BBC’s 2020 Power List.
FABIANA MAIA — Regenerative culture designer, futurist & psychologist, Fabiana co-founded Terra Luminous Institute. A leading voice in Nonviolent Communication in Brazil, she facilitates workshops globally.
MANISH JAIN — Champion of deschooling & education reimagination, inspired by Gandhi, Tagore, and Illich. Manish led Shikshantar in India for 25 years, co-founded Swaraj University & Ecoversities Alliance.
VANDANA SHIVA — Quantum physicist, environmental activist & founder of Navdanya promoting organic farming & native seed. Vandana was named one of the world’s top 7 most powerful women by Forbes in 2010.
Discover their Flow Funding Stories
Satish Kumar: “Spontaneous, informal, inspirational”
My first year of Flow Funding has been a wonderful experience — not just in the projects I’ve supported, but also in connecting with new people and being part of this global community reimagining philanthropy. I find this way of decentralising funding — making it more spontaneous and informal — very inspiring.
So far, I’m delighted to have supported three projects: the main one is Artists Project Earth. They are collaborating with many global musicians to create Earth-inspired songs celebrating our planet, spreading hope, and showcasing the power of music to unite and uplift.
They are creating a true “eco anthem” so that people can sing together in celebration of the Earth — for its care, beauty, and protection. Herbert Girardet is one of the project champions doing this beautiful work.
I’m also supporting Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute, along with her collaborators growing permaculture education across Australia and Africa. Our Earth needs agriculture that is more regenerative and permanent, so for me, the promotion of permaculture is very important. I went to an international permaculture conference in Taiwan in November to learn more about this global movement.
Finally, in India, I’m supporting Ruki Seka, a wonderful woman who is working hard to improve animal welfare in Delhi. I’ve found it difficult to transfer money to India — so I might have to take cash for her on my next visit!
Helena Norberg-Hodge: “Such small-scale funding is simply a joy”
I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve enjoyed this round of Flow Funding — it’s been such an enjoyable, fulfilling experience. I've loved supporting small-scale projects and individuals who are doing remarkable work, often with limited resources.
A few highlights include:
A very interesting project in Germany creating an international movement to support the use of draft animals in agriculture — essential for billions of small farmers. Unlike machinery, which rusts and dies, these animals give birth; cattle and horses that pull plows contribute to genuinely circular systems.
A small grant provided much-needed support for Simon Fairlie, a defender of small-scale agriculture in England, who was facing significant challenges and bankruptcy with his dairy farming.
A transformative initiative on the Dartington Estate, where prisoners learn to grow food and heal through deep, meaningful exchanges in circles of connection — a beautiful example of humans connecting with nature and each other.
A roundhouse-building project in the UK, promoting simple, natural construction methods using local vegetation.
The Sustainable Favelas Initiative, rooted in localisation and linked to the Economics of Happiness movement, helping to regenerate community in the favelas of Rio.
I've really enjoyed supporting several wonderful people and vital small projects.
Offering one-off grants with no strings attached, tailored to unique contexts, allows for meaningful impact without the complications often associated with traditional funding.
My key takeaway: this small-scale funding is easily done and it fosters so many meaningful, diverse initiatives. It’s simply a joy.
Liz Hosken: “Being able to Respond to needs as they emerge is a real liberation”
It was such an honour when I was invited to join Flow Funding. I remember it clearly — I was at the Local Futures event in Bristol. Seth came bouncing up the stairs, full of energy, and asked me, and I thought, “Wow — this is amazing, what an honour!”
The way I work is very much about tracking what emerges from the communities or initiatives I’m involved with and responding to those needs, rather than imposing ideas from the outside, as ‘development’ practices tend to do. Often, there’s so much potential, but money can be the block — it can be what stops things from flowing. What was so extraordinary about this opportunity was having funds available that allowed things to happen as they emerged.
I pictured little ripples spreading out from each of us, and the money helping those ripples grow.
It was such a privilege, opportunity & responsibility: sensing the energy of something emerging & having the resources to support it, because often timing is important for keeping things flowing.
One area I focus on is supporting elders, especially in indigenous communities. These elders hold enormous knowledge, yet they’re often not well-supported due to the breakdown of community structures and traditions. The funds supported one elder in Uganda, called Alon, who has played a vital role in guiding the community to restore their sacred natural sites and rituals. He’s a beautiful soul.
He’s the only elder left who remembers how to perform a significant sacred natural site ritual that’s believed to bring calm & balance to protect the land. There are many threats, including mining, roads & deforestation. He wants to see this ritual happen before he dies, but he's struggling to stay alive.
With the funds, we’ve been able to provide him with basic comforts, like a bed and blankets, nutritious food, medical care, and hospital visits: we’re doing everything we can to keep him alive so that he can pass on this experience and wisdom to the next generation, which is his wish too. He says the support he has received makes him ever more determined to finish his work before he dies, and he feels overwhelmed with gratitude. Alon’s situation is just one example of the predicament Indigenous elders are in at this time, and it is very hard to find funds to support them, yet their role is vital.
Another way we’ve used the funds is to support people in our network who want to deepen their knowledge and enhance their skills to support their community. Two key areas that have been really resonant are Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects and Dr. Stephan Harding’s Deep Time Walk project. We’ve been able to fund some of our African friends to train as facilitators in these approaches, which has been incredibly rewarding for them and their community.
It's hard to find funds to support community leaders to develop skills and confidence, so they are deeply grateful for the opportunity to bring these important processes to Africa.
Then over in the Amazon, an Indigenous Ashaninka community living in Peru urgently wanted to move back to the headwaters of their territory, Sheshea, where there are growing threats of mining, narco trafficking, logging, and roads. Their Shaman saw that by moving back to where their ancestors had lived, they could protect this sacred area. Some of the funds flowed to enable them to do this — a tough, dangerous journey through the ‘developments’ to reach the headwaters.
These were the first funds they had ever received as they are an isolated community. They are deeply grateful for the support and the trust in their vision.
There are other examples, but these stand out for me: supporting our beloved elders, protecting sacred places and enabling community leaders to study and grow so they can enhance their work with communities. It’s been a real liberation to feel that we could respond to needs as they emerge, in areas that otherwise would be hard to find the small funds required, thus ensuring those ripples continue.
I feel so much gratitude for being part of this amazing Flow Funding initiative of Be the Earth!
Farhana Yamin: “This is how philanthropy should be done”
Over the past twelve months, I’ve felt increasingly empowered in being chosen as a Flow Funder. It has given me the confidence to say to other funders, “This is how philanthropy should be done” — in order to move quickly, nimbly, and to support movement building which so few funders are doing.
I’ve allocated most of my funding through microgrants to those who needed resources urgently, particularly for gaps that traditional funders often overlook, and one larger grant for an organisation doing a time critical convening linking justice for refugees and migrants with climate change.
It felt the flow funding opportunity came at a critical time. In the climate justice field, where I work, traditional funding models often feel slow and disconnected from frontline needs.
Flow Funding was transformative and so helpful for me — especially in taking away some of the heaviness that comes with working with people who are working in a nimble way that is responsive to changing community needs.
One of the most inspiring things has been the ability to support people who are relentlessly kind and generous, often without formal organisations behind them. These are individuals who, despite having little themselves, continue to give and share in ways that sustain their communities.
This has reinforced a powerful lesson: kindness can be a radical act, and it deserves more recognition and support.
A key lesson has been the need to scale up Flow Funding more rapidly. To achieve this, we must be more public about our work with greater efficiency in capturing and sharing insights gained. At times, it feels as though this initiative is somewhat secretive, like I’m part of a very special group engaged in a pioneering experiment. However, this model has the potential to inspire systemic change and shouldn’t remain in the dark — it should be used by all philanthropies.
As I reflect on my Flow Funding journey, I want to share a modus operandi: start figuring out how to increase the sum of kindness in the world.
Fabiana Maia: “This is social change at the roots”
One experience in particular felt really transformative — and encapsulated the power of Flow Funding for me.
In March 2024, we hosted a group of final-year Biology students for an intensive fauna monitoring course at Terra Luminous. I gave two of them a lift from São Paulo, which is when I first met Samantha Salles de Vilhena — a 23-year-old, half-Black and half-Indigenous woman from Pará, an Amazonian state in northern Brazil. Samantha immediately stood out: extroverted, intelligent, passionate about nature regeneration, deeply rooted in her traditional community, yet navigating life with very limited financial resources.
She shared her story with me. Samantha was in her final semester at USP Ribeirão Preto, one of Brazil’s top universities — but was fired from her job at the botanical garden due to her activism supporting African religious expression & environmental conservation.
She was worried she wouldn’t have the means to finish her degree, as she couldn’t afford rent.
Throughout the weekend, I got to know her better — her dreams, her determination, her incredible potential to drive change once recognised as a professional. Samantha told me about her aspirations to pursue a master’s degree, travel abroad, and eventually return to the Amazon to establish a nature reserve for conservation.
By the end of the weekend, I knew I wanted to help her. With Flow Funding resources, I offered her six months of rent plus extra for expenses (R$ 1200/month). She couldn’t believe it.
Samantha went on to graduate with top grades and is now applying for her master’s degree. This support didn’t just enable her to finish university; it gave her the confidence to keep pushing for her dreams — to trust that she must continue to be an activist believing that more support will arrive!
This is social change at the roots: providing direct support where it’s most needed.
The greatest lesson was to trust my intuition while also dedicating some time to assess the situation — to understand if someone truly lacks other support and to evaluate the potential socio-environmental impact they can generate.
I have no words to express the joy of helping Samantha, and others including Leonardo, Nadia, Thayná, Jorge, Neide, Vanda, Noel, Simone, and Kaique. These marginalised individuals, from Black and Indigenous communities in Brazil, often have no access to even the bare minimum of financial resources.
I’m already making my list of people to support next year!
Manish Jain: “Rebuilding trust that’s been decimated by transactional models of funding”
We’ve used the funds in two key ways. Part of it has gone towards supporting beautiful, emergent projects — things that just pop up and need a little help to get going. The other part I approached more strategically, thinking about what we’d really like to support long-term.
One area we’ve focused on is free learning, natural learning, and unschooling. We’ve used funds to support incredible people in Vietnam, India, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, and even one friend in the UK — all really beautiful and committed local leaders in the field. They’re running small learning centres or pioneering community-based education. For example, friends in Da Nang, Vietnam, have been working to establish the city as a “Learning City”, exploring how public spaces and activities can remain open and accessible rather than becoming privatised. They’re looking at ways to make Learning Commons, apprenticeships, and gap year opportunities available without hefty costs.
It’s been a real joy to support these friends — to deeply appreciate them — acknowledging the meaningful work they’re doing to help young people and communities.
It’s been touching for everyone involved.
I’ve also been sharing the concept of Flow Funding with other funders — poking, provoking, and having fun with it. I’ve even leaned into creating a bit of FOMO, saying, “this is the cutting edge of rethinking philanthropy.” It’s sparked curiosity and a lot of questions about how it works in practice, especially around legalities.
I really appreciate and honour Be The Earth’s boldness in leading this — it’s giving courage to others to think differently about funding models.
What stands out for me is how transformative it is to move very fast — without paperwork, bureaucracy, or red tape. It’s created a different kind of energy flow, restoring trust in a way that’s often missing in traditional funding systems. By trusting people and recognising the value of their work, this approach helps rebuild the commons, a sense of mutual care and a faith in humanity.
It feels like, in some small way, we’re rebuilding a field of trust that’s been decimated by transactional models of funding.