Our fourth installment of 2023’s Schumacher Conversations, “Reallocating Land: From Market to Commons,” takes place this Thursday! If you haven’t already, you can register via the link below. Read more about our participants and the topic on the registration page, and do share this free online event widely.
“[M]an’s management of the land must be primarily orientated towards three goals – health, beauty, and permanence. The fourth goal – the only one accepted by the experts – productivity, will then be attained almost as a by-product.
…we should be searching for policies to reconstruct rural culture, to open the land for the gainful occupation to larger numbers of people… and to orientate all our actions on the land towards the threefold ideal of health, beauty and permanence.”
— E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful
When asked what could be done to usher in a more just and regenerative economy, Fritz Schumacher counseled “start where you are.” The aligned organizations listed alongside each monthly conversation offer a curated set of pathways to action.
April’s theme, “Reallocating Land: From Market to Commons,”calls for bold new approaches to land tenure. Listed are some of the pioneers in the field — offering community-driven alternatives to private property that broaden community access while caring for ecological health.
We highlight just a few below; all April organizations may be explored here.
The Community Land Trust Network is the leading voice for the community land trust (CLT) movement in the United Kingdom. Their work centers on the vision that every community can form a CLT to meet their local housing needs; and that every local authority, developer, and housing association considers CLT partnership for its projects.
The Dudley Street Neighbors Initiative (DSNI) works to empower residents of the Dudley Neighborhood of Roxbury and North Dorchester, Mass. to organize, plan for, create, and control a vibrant, diverse, and high-quality neighborhood in collaboration with others. DSNI was formed in the 1980s by Dudley residents seeking to reclaim a neighborhood area marked by disinvestment, arson, and dumping.
Located in the village of Varik in the Netherlands, Veerhuis is a hub for the new economy. Veerhuis was founded by Henry Mentink, an environmental and new economy activist, to provide individuals and organizations a space to think and work towards creating a new economy and society. The parcel of land on which Veerhuis is built is community-owned, and has been taken out of the market, exemplifying Henry’s belief that the whole Earth should be freed.
Throughout the year, we will continue to focus on our 12 anniversary themes, and to showcase initiatives turning bold ideas into practice that transforms the economy.
Brave, hopeful, committed. Do join them,
Schumacher Center Staff