As colonial capitalism disrupts our relationships with each other and the land that supports our livelihoods, plenty of people are searching for new ways to get into right relationship with our more-than-human kin and environment. The past holds many examples of ways of relating to non-commodified land, which is why my research has brought me to find principles that have successfully enabled other ways of being with land throughout time and space. This research has been conducted with Land in Common in mind; Land in Common goes beyond the mainstream Community Land Trust (CLT) model that is at times constrained by a limited vision of conservation or a stepping stone to full participation in the capitalist land market. They instead seek to decommodify the land, believing that access to life itself should not be determined by financial capacity, nor should the means of life be used to generate profit. My research will help to inform a larger conversation within Land in Common about relating to land, each other and to the agreements we make in service of a larger vision of collectivity.
