NYC Community Land Initiative

May 14, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

Working the urban landscape: From the NYC Community Land Initiative: Expanding Community Land Trusts in New York City is a big and complex goal, so we have broken into groups to work on different pieces of the puzzle. EDUCATION & OUTREACH The housing crisis is big, and the community land trust model is complex, so this […]

Shared Assets: Helping Communities Improve the Commons

May 08, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

Shared Assets is a not-for-profit company founded in December 2011 to: Promote the potential for social enterprise and the voluntary and community sector to deliver urban and rural regeneration through the management of environmental assets such as woodlands, waterways and green spaces Work with public, private and charitable owners of large environmental assets in order […]

Organic Dairy Farmer Training Program in Maine

May 08, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

Before finding land, farmers need to be confident in their skills and knowledge. Those who don’t come to farming through family inheritance can learn on the job. Here’s an opportunity for those interested in dairy. The program helps train in all aspects of the dairy business, and even offers assistance in finding land, securing financing […]

British Land Cooperative Looks for Support

May 07, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

From the Ecological Land Cooperative: Based on the success of our first cluster of small farms at Greenham Reach, Devon, we have developed plans to create around 20 new ecological smallholdings between 2015 and 2020. We are inviting applications for £340,000 of community shares in our co-operative to fund our next cluster of farms, delivered […]

Reparations: Paying for a Disturbing Past

May 01, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

At the heart of recent events highlighting the importance of all lives, is a much older and twisted tale of abuse, theft and countless other injustices. It includes the legacy of the American farmer, from slaves to sharecroppers. An article in the Atlantic looks at why paying in cold hard cash for past mistakes may […]

South African Farms Face Hurdles for Country’s Food Security

Apr 28, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

If any of the 3% of South African farmland supplying 95% of formal sector food fell out of large-scale production, it could have serious consequences for the country’s food security. From an article about a recent World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report: The WWF report, “Farming Facts and Figures”, provides a snapshot of the country’s […]

Adverse Possession: Ownership through Occupation

Apr 28, 2015 • Land Access Stories • By Agrarian Trust

An obscure law called “adverse possession” allows ownership through occupation, not through purchase or inheritance. Could what has been used as a legal basis for some residences apply to farmland? This story from California Northern by Chris Smith details the story of one California resident that acquired his home by living in it: One night a […]