The Diggers Today: Enclosure, Manure, and Resistance
Such historical examples of commoning practices and resistance to land enclosures not only provide ample opportunity to learn from past struggles, but also serve as proof that, rather than being a static relic of the past, the commons are continuously defended and transformed in the struggle against the exploitative and dehumanizing forces of enclosure. Agrarian Trust and similar grassroots organizations are part of this long lineage of commoners fighting for a more equitable and ecologically oriented relationship with the land. Over three hundred years before the founding of Agrarian Trust, Gerard Winstanley and the Diggers championed a compelling alternative to the early capitalism of the seventeenth century. Their platform centered on the democratic control of land and the restorative power of a simple but often overlooked fertilizing agent—manure.
The International Land Coalition Commits to New Strategy Centered on Restoring Land Rights to Dispossessed Communities
The International Land Coalition has released a new strategy that centers on securing land rights for “women, youth, family and peasant farmers, indigenous peoples, pastoralists, forest dwellers, fisher folk, afro‑descendants and local communities.” The Agrarian Trust is a member of the International Land Coalition (ILC), a global coalition of over 300 members dedicated to the advancement of people-centered land governance.
Press Release: Announcing New Land Acquisition Project for the Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons
The Southwest VA AC needs to raise $251,329 through a fundraising campaign to fully fund this $426,250 project and acquire the 3.5-acre Lick Run Farm in Roanoke, Virginia.
Defending Workers and Supporting the Commons: A Q&A with Sam Petsonk
Sam Petsonk has spent his career challenging injustices in the courts and the legislature, and has won game-changing results for countless workers across West Virginia and Appalachia.
Creating Land Access & Tenure for Black Farmers in Virginia
While securing land tenure is a challenge facing farmers of every race in this country, Agrarian Trust knows that land access is a greater barrier for farmers of color, and is centering the work of making affordable land security available to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) farmers. More than 98% of farmland in the U.S. is owned by white people while more than 70% of the farmworkers who seed, cultivate, weed, and harvest the crops that feed us are people of color. This gross injustice needs to change.
Could Putting Farmland in the Commons Support Land Justice and Sustainability?
The Agrarian Trust aims to help farmers access land and stay on it, while fostering a system of community supported, environmentally sustainable agriculture.
Press Release: Somali Bantu Community Association Finds Dream Farm – Little Jubba Central Maine Agrarian Commons
The Little Jubba Central Maine AC found their dream farm (107 acres in Maine). Agrarian Trust is now fundraising to make this farmland purchase possible.
Reinventing the Commons: Social Ecosystems for Local Stewardship & Planetary Survival
Come meet Emma Hempstead, Agrarian Trust’s Agrarian Lawyers Network Shepherd in person at this event and learn more about commons in the modern era! Our friends at the Dynamics Ecological […]