We’re hiring! Grow the commons with us 🥕
We’re excited to announce that Agrarian Trust is growing! I hope you’ll take a look at these new roles on our team and consider sharing with your colleagues and networks. We’ve reached a pivotal moment in our work and can’t wait to welcome four new members to the team.Â
Exciting Land Rematriation Updates
Agrarian Trust and an Indigenous collective are raising funds to support the long-term viability of a land rematriation project within the ancestral homelands of Nipmuc People in an area known as “Bogastow Farm.”
How we catalyze the commons 🌱
Agrarian Trust Summer Newsletter | June 2024 Whether the solstice found you basking in the sun or keeping cool in the shade, we trust you’ve been enjoying the bounty of local farms. It’s been […]
Changemaker Profile: Renard Turner and the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons
A Q&A with Renard Turner, co-owner and operator of Vanguard Ranch and founding board member of the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons.
Agrarian Trust attends 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Summit
August 9th has been designated by the United Nations as the international day of the world’s indigenous people. On this day people across the world work to raise awareness and […]
Land Trusts and the Commons Sector
It seems obvious that we live on a finite planet, with finite space, and finite resources. Then why isn’t it treated as such?
Agrarian Commons Farmers go to DC
Agrarian Commons farmers Cam Terry, Duron Chavis, and Tyrone Cherry III joined the National Family Farm Coalition’s (NFFC) first national fly-in in three years. A progressive policy organization committed to fighting corporate control of agriculture, NFFC gathered farmers, fisherfolk, and nonprofit leaders to lobby their congressional representatives. Our shared objective was to create a more equitable farm system for all.
What is the Dead Sea Declaration?
The Dead Sea Declaration comes at a critical moment in the movement for a more just and sustainable system of land governance. Time and time again, the stewardship of land by communities who live there has proven to be the most effective way to conserve the Earth’s ecosystems and climate. Eighty percent of the Earth’s biodiversity is on land controlled by Indigenous tribes: not as a matter of coincidence, but as a result of the centuries of knowledge and care practiced by Indigenous people. These bastions of biodiversity need to be defended at all costs. The knowledge and practice of these stewards can help inform efforts to expand people-centered land governance around the globe.Â
The Global Roots of Community Land Ownership
A CLT, according to Center for Community Land Trust Innovation, “is a nonprofit corporation that holds land on behalf of a place-based community, while serving as the long-term steward for affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community assets on behalf of a community.” Like the Agrarian Commons, CLTs are based on the premise that land should be held and managed for the benefit of local communities.
Envisioning the Future of Black Seed Agroecological Farm and Village
Black Seed Agroecological Village and Farm is still in the beginning stages of development. As is the case with most new farming operations, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done before the farm can begin operating at full capacity. New fields need to be cultivated, perennials planted, and new buildings constructed. Turner is currently working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture to define water rights on the farm, and to identify the source of surface water that covers part of the land.