Natasha Hulst

Natasha Hulst works with the Schumacher Center for a New Economics as the Coordinator for Land Commons Initiatives in Europe and Schumacher Action Labs. She focuses on fostering international and national collaborations for land commons, advocating for Community Land Trusts as a practical model to ensure equitable, place-based, democratic, and voluntary access to land. Natasha is also a founding member of Grond van Bestaan, the Dutch Land Trust, which connects organizations to promote sustainable land stewardship in the Netherlands.  She also works closely with David Bollier on the Reinventing the Commons Programme, exploring innovative pathways for community empowerment and resource stewardship.

Natasha is a cofounder of Voedselpark Amsterdam, a real-world example of her commitment to community-led initiatives and commons-based land-use practices. Additionally, Natasha is part of the tutorial collectives for the Lumbung Practice Masters at the Sandberg Institute, where she supports learning and collaboration around commons-based practices.

Her career reflects a long-standing dedication to social and ecological innovation. From 2018 to 2021, she worked with the Biomimicry Institute, and in 2019 she co-founded Drawdown Europe, focusing on land-use solutions as part of natural climate strategies. Earlier, she served as Project Manager of the Nature and Society Programme at the European Center for Nature Conservation (ECNC), focusing on projects in Central and Southeastern Europe (2004–2007). From 2007 to 2016, she was Senior Sustainability Consultant and Unit Coordinator at CREM, where she specialized in natural capital and corporate social responsibility. It was during this time that she became inspired by the Commons as a hopeful and transformative approach to addressing societal and environmental challenges.

In 2016, Natasha joined the DOEN Foundation as Programme Manager of the New Economy Programme, supporting initiatives that explored fair and sustainable economic systems. Her work included grant-making, monitoring, and evaluating projects aimed at driving systemic change at both national and international level.

At Schumacher Action Labs, Natasha integrates her experience in social innovation and nature-based solutions to support land commons and nurture community-led approaches to a new economy and the ecological crisis. The Labs serve as a space for collaboration, experimentation, and practical action, focusing on topics such as land-use, commons, and post-growth strategies.

Natasha holds a Bachelor’s in Biology from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and an MSc in Science, Technology, and Innovation Dynamics from the University of Amsterdam. She is based near Amsterdam, where she lives with her husband, two children, and three cats.