In their report Innovation and Adaptation in the Climate Crisis: Technology for the New Normal, the World Economic Forum looks at six key technologies – like AI, drones or Earth observation- that can play a role in global climate adaptation. They certainly do, but not alone. We, humankind, already know how to provide as a community responses to disasters. Problem is many of us have forgotten or are unaware of ancestral mutual aid practices still present today. Or we use them to fill the gap where government and humanitarian interventions can’t arrive, but these community-based efforts are difficult to coordinate and replicate to scale aid. The recent severe floodings in Valencia, Spain, in which more than 200 people were killed, provoked an enormous wave of solidarity and volunteer-led recovery actions. Unfortunately they also revealed the disconnection and mismanagement between different levels of government and civil society to handle aid as a whole, and to fully utilize those same key technologies—such as meteorological prediction models—that the WEF highlights.

It might be worth looking at mutual aid traditions around the world, and the efforts to map and support community-led aid inspired by this mutual help heritage. One such ancestral practice is the Filipino tradition of collective care bayanihan – which roughly translates to “being a hero to one another”. Rooted in a spirit of shared identity or ‘shared self’, this practice manifests in everyday acts like complete communal projects, or helping neighbors move houses – historically, communities would even carry entire homes together, on their shoulders, to a new location. Bayanihan reflects an inherent cultural value of collective responsibility and support in both ordinary and extreme circumstances, a cultural resource that’s especially valuable given the Philippines’ ecological vulnerability.

With an average of 20 typhoons per year, along with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, Filipino communities have long relied on each other for survival. However, response efforts are often hindered by siloed approaches, with aid, conflict resolution, and climate adaptation groups working separately, despite overlapping goals. This fragmented response highlights the need for innovative approaches to disaster resilience. Regenerative aid is an emerging concept that aims to restore and strengthen the long-term health of communities and ecosystems. Its practices include solutions like zero-waste donations and mental health support, emphasizing holistic recovery. This idea links well with the essence of bayanihan by prioritizing sustainability and inclusivity rather than focusing solely on immediate relief.

In this same sense has been working Green Releaf, an organization originated in Cebu, Philippines. With the aim to switch the narrative from Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to Design for Resilience and Regeneration, they support culturally rooted, community-led, regenerative aid practices that echo bayanihan and the power of local knowledge in building resilience. Imagine something like growing permaculture gardens in evacuation centres. Following the Taal volcano eruption in 2020, for example, they helped map and connect regenerative solutions like community kitchens, breastfeeding support,  or zero-waste drives. Although Green Releaf is no longer a formal NGO, but a collaboration ecosystem, its vision prevails: grassroots actions being recognized, connected, and integrated with other parts of the whole, to ultimately incorporate regenerative practices into broader disaster response frameworks.