Farm Commons

Oct 1, 2024  We’ve been listening to you and others, and we’ve been watching the risks and losses across Canada (and beyond) in the world of agriculture and community spaces. Capitalism reigns supreme, and land costs are threatening food production, along with the challenges of climate change, soil erosion, cost of labour and inputs, urban development of arable farmland, and more.

And so we’re exploring conversations with interested & knowledgeable folks around the province about community ownership of community assets, as we are moving forward on building what we are calling a “Farm Commons“, a (hugely) scaled-up version of our pilot project at One Tiny Farm. The inspiration is sparkling!

We’re planning a community forum to learn from land trusts and other models that exist around BC (and beyond), to hear about what’s working, what’s not, and how we can share in this.

Our goal is to explore:

• What’s been done – what’s worked, what hasn’t worked
• Who should be at the table? Knowledge-holders, potential partners, investors or donors?
• What resources exist – templates, tools, guides, videos, etc.

Is there an opportunity to create a collaborative or regional entity (or does one exist that may be expanded) to include future land acquisitions?

No need to re-invent the wheel. What can be learned and shared between us?