New structure for OAO could mean more access for underserved farmers
In an announcement from the USDA this past week, the promise of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach (OAO) has come closer to fruition. The OAO was created by the 2008 Farm Bill to give voice and opportunity to beginning, minority and underserved farmers. Most notably, OAO administers the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged […]
Black Agrarianism: Resistance
Food First continues to break down walls in their Dismantling Racism in the Food System series in their newest piece, Black Agrarianism: Resistance. The piece serves as a study of the historical context of black farming, how slavery and freedom influenced the Black Agrarian Liberation Movements of the 1960’s and 70’s, and the declaration of sovereignty of […]
We Shall Not Be Moved: A history of the Tillery resettlement community
We Shall Not Be Moved is their song, and it means they “ain’t going nowhere!” That’s the spirit of the Tillery, North Carolina resettlement, product of a New Deal program offering landless sharecroppers a chance to buy their own farms. Roanoke Farms was one of only a handful of resettlement projects for African Americans. Its […]
Congreso de las Acequias
There is a great event being put on by our friends at the NM Acequia Association in Taos, NM right after the 2016 OURLAND2 Symposium. “The NMAA is preparing for the annual Congreso de las Acequias as we celebrate another growing season and the bountiful late summer rains. The Congreso is the only statewide gathering […]
Food Policy in the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation
Economy of the Commons
Ten years of research by the P2P Foundation has been distilled into Ten Commandments of Commons Economics
Community Land Trust History: Interview with Bob Swann
An Interview with Bob Swann Conducted by Kirby White (1992) Originally published in Community Economics (Summer 1992): 3– 5. COMMUNITY ECONOMICS: Would you talk about how the community land trust model was developed, and how your own experience led to the development of the model. BOB SWANN: As a conscientious objector during world War II, I spent two years […]
Shifting African policy towards women and agroecology
The role of rural women and smallholder farmers in African society has been highly undervalued. This is so despite the fact that around 80% of Africa’s population is dependent on smallholder agriculture, it is the backbone of the rural economy, and women provide over two-thirds of the farm labour. There is clear evidence that agroecology […]
The Gates Foundation and the Plunder of African Agriculture
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is dangerously and unaccountably distorting the direction of international development, according to a new report by the campaign group Global Justice Now. With assets of $43.5 billion, the BMGF is the largest charitable foundation in the world. It actually distributes more aid for global health than any government. […]
Land rights and acequia culture in Milagro Bean Field War (1988)
As directed by Robert Redford, The Milagro Beanfield War is a diverting account of how little guys join forces to fight big-bucks interests. Though this is a life-and-death issue for land conservationists, Redford handles it with a light touch. In his Milagro, land rights are not a matter for the social agenda but an occasion […]