About Us
At the Kamloops Alliance for Resilient Community Futures, we are a dedicated research center that fosters community-led initiatives to build and sustain disaster resilience. Our mission is to empower communities—particularly those facing vulnerabilities such as homelessness, substance use disorders, and economic instability—by engaging them in innovative, participatory research that drives action, strengthens local capacity, and enhances long-term disaster preparedness.
Mission
1. Co-build tools to document community collective memories to map the past displacement strategies and evacuation choices made and used by the participating communities.
2. Co-produce a Community Q sorting tool to retrieve social perspectives and identify strengths, limitations, and alternatives in making these choices.
3. Co-learn from place-based knowledge, rituals, and practices to help re-building livelihoods (during and post-disaster) of communities.
Objectives
Applying concepts from a community makers’ space, KARCF intends to co-build, co-produce, and co-learn a Community Disaster Resilience Action (CDRA) toolbox.
Based In Kamloops
Based in Kamloops, British Columbia, we recognize the vital role of communities in shaping their own futures. We work closely with local citizens, organizations, policymakers, and experts to conduct collaborative research that addresses the unique challenges each community faces in the context of natural disasters, public health crises, and socio-economic disruptions. Our approach combines place-based knowledge, social learning, and collective action to ensure that solutions are deeply rooted in the lived experiences of those most affected.
Through our flagship initiative, the Community Disaster Resilience Action (CDRA) Toolbox, we develop actionable strategies, tools, and resources that communities can use to enhance their preparedness and recovery efforts. By integrating evidence-based research with local insights, we create practical, culturally safe, and inclusive solutions that promote resilience and sustainable development.
At Kamloops Alliance, we believe that resilient communities are built from within. Our work is driven by the belief that, together, we can nurture safer, stronger, and more adaptive communities for a resilient future.
Central Question: ?
How can our community-led research nurture resilience before and after disasters?
The research team proposes to develop and test a CDRA toolbox to enhance the ownership of communities over the research process that benefits the communities by utilizing evidence-based, culturally relevant solutions to their problems instead of the needs and agendas of external actors.
