PermaFuturos, radical citizen social science project by Cultiva Lab, Spain; generated multidimensional resilience data informing local curriculum and practice

PermaFuturos - Community-driven Climate Resilience Through A PermaCulture Lens

PermaFuturos is a radical citizen social science project by Spain-based Cultiva Lab, offering a systems research and co-creation methodology rooted in experiential learning . PermaFuturos stands for permanent community futures, and its methods embrace the holistic permaculture framework. We support citizens in coming together around the challenges they share .

(1) in order for citizens to create radical awareness that triggers behavioural change, they need to feel relevance in their immediate daily contexts;

(2) for citizens to engage in adaptive behaviours, we need to step out of disciplinary silos and put communities deeply engaging in transformative action into the driver’s seat;

(3) regenerative transitions are urgent but have prominently failed if addressed in a technocratic manner.

PermaFuturos is addressing those three central aspects in its radical citizen-engaging methodology that puts citizens in the driver’s seat, brings diverse participants into dialogue through joint research and strategy design, and embraces a systems learning approach that is transdisciplinary by design .

The experiential learning methodology empowers communities to understand the interconnected root causes of their climate-resilience challenges and to co-create regenerative solutions that are locally relevant. Combining scientific knowledge, participatory research and experiential learning methods, PermaFuturos empowers local communities to learn how to address climate resilience challenges in a regenerative, locally grounded way , not through technocratic, short-sighted interventions.

Drawing on the holistic permaculture model, the methodology translates complex systems thinking into an accessible systems research and co-creation process in which participants design local resilient futures from solid systems research. The approach opens participation to communities often excluded from climate innovation while generating insights rooted in ecological and social realities.

Grounded in the principle that resilient communities thrive when they cultivate regenerative cultures from within, PermaFuturos embraces the diverse needs and knowledge systems of their members. Drawing on the seven permaculture domains , learners map interconnected and intersectional social, ecological, and infrastructural factors underlying their local climate resilience challenges. Climate resilience tactics are designed from there, from the root causes, not the symptoms. By centring systems design methods in local knowledge guided by permaculture ethics, PermaFuturos fosters ownership, agency, and actionable strategies tailored to hyperlocal realities.

In 2025, PermaFuturos was implemented in two rural Living Labs in Spain: in the Serrania de Valencia and on the Cantabrian coast, facing distinct climate challenges. Local Knowledge Coalitions of key local stakeholders, including teachers, municipal councillors, rural communicators, elders, and association leaders, co-led research and design processes , producing thick, multidimensional data on how resilience is experienced, lost, and rebuilt. The methodology demonstrates that non-technical communities can engage with systemic complexity when supported by an intuitive, locally relevant framework.

Findings and outcomes from the two living labs have been translated into an educational curriculum that can be use d in diverse learning environments, from the classroom to the village square – as experiential learning masterclasses in schools and universities or as community-driven strategy research and co-creation. We guide communities in unpacking the deep complexities behind their climate resilience challenges, making complexity tangible, and activating the power of community diversity through this collective process. Citizens contribute their heritage knowledge, skills, backgrounds, and lived experiences. In a community, everyone matters; our role is to bring community potential to light through collective research and futures design.

Our educational materials include online and offline workshop materials, a methodology blueprint, as well as an inspirational citizen-narrated short-documentary. We currently offer documentary screenings and talks, as well as masterclasses and community-based learning labs.

PermaFuturos - Community-driven Climate Resilience Through A PermaCulture Lens

2.1 | Education for Climate priority

develop green skills and competences

SDG (03) Good Health and Well-being

SDG (07) Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities

2.4 | GreenComp: sustainability competence focus

1.1 Valuing sustainability (Embodying Sustainability Values)

2.1 Systems thinking (Embracing Complexity in Sustainability)

2.2 Critical thinking (Embracing Complexity in Sustainability)

2.3 Problem framing (Embracing Complexity in Sustainability)

3.1 Futures literacy (Envisioning Sustainable Futures)

3.2 Adaptability (Envisioning Sustainable Futures)

3.3 Exploratory thinking (Envisioning Sustainable Futures)

4.1 Political agency (Acting for Sustainability)

4.2 Collective action (Acting for Sustainability)

4.1 | community advisory group

4.2 | community peer review

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