Drawing on our successful initiatives such as Future Food Lab and our circular economy project Almacén de Residuos (Organic Waste Warehouse), Lichen offers a proven methodology to foster sustainable, circularity and diversity in local communities food processing systems. We have direct experience developing food circularity case studies and open replicability guides equipped with practical implementation tools. We specialize in citizen participation and empowerment processes to tackle systemic challenges, as well as in raising awareness and communicating complex issues such us resource recovery and food upcycling. Our goal is to awaken consciousness and drive commitment, action, and real-world change toward more sustainable models.
Our value proposition for the consortium includes:
- Co-design of Circular Pilots and Resource Management: Implementing methodologies based on our experience with Almacén de Residuos to integrate circular processing solutions within local communities and urban environments.
-Social Acceptance of Technical Innovations: Developing frameworks to increase trust and adoption of new processing methods and waste-valuation systems through inclusive participation.
-Training & Replicability Toolkits: Designing capacity-building programs and Open Tools based on our replicability guides (Almacén de Residuos) and the Future Food Cookbook, enabling other stakeholders to adopt sustainable food systems.
-Social Impact Assessment: Measuring the engagement of local stakeholders and the effectiveness of participatory actions in the transition toward circular processing.
We are experts in leading Work Packages focused on Citizen Engagement, Dissemination, and Communication, ensuring that innovation successfully moves from design to real-world implementation within the community.

Lichen is a Barcelona-based non-profit social innovation lab specializing in the design and implementation of participatory, learning, and citizen-driven processes. We bridge the gap between institutions and society by developing methodological strategies that ensure inclusivity, access, and active engagement. With extensive experience in urban health, food systems innovation and circular economy, we excel at transforming complex technical challenges into community-led action. Our core value lies in our ability to foster collective intelligence and design replicable tools to drive systemic change toward more sustainable and resilient societies.