Every. Town.
The Everytown Project.
The primary goal of this project is to place at least one parcel of land in every town in Vermont permanently in trust for stewardship and access for Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC).
We believe that land cannot be owned. We as humans do not have dominion over land, and we must transition away from dominant ownership models.
The right to exist on land has been stolen, originally from the Abenaki people here in what is now called Vermont, and from BIPOC communities everywhere. Every Town seeks to address this by creating an alternative approach to land access, finding Home, and mobilizing a network of safe, welcoming communities.
How it will work.
Land is donated by individuals and organizations and held in trust by the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC) with cultural respect and community conservation easements. Every Town matches BIPOC Land Stewards with parcels of land and homes that meet their needs and interests. Land stewards and NEFOC create an equitable personalized contract formalizing their relationship and agreeing on terms of land use and rights. Land stewards can build homes, farm, and work with the land regeneratively within the bounds of the terms of use as permanent residents.
This process takes time, is relationship centred, and will not be a match for everyone expressing interest in becoming a land steward through this project.
BIPOC Land Stewards- Who’s Eligible?
All people who have been disproportionately impacted by systemic oppression because of their race are eligible. As we launch this project, those who already live here or have relationships with land in so called Vermont are being considered before others wishing to migrate from elsewhere. A longer term goal of this project (though already in motion) is to create space and welcoming communities for BIPOC climate refugees. We are designing a democratic, horizontal structure for making decisions about selecting Land Stewards. (More info to come as it evolves.)
More details for aspiring Land Stewards
Land Stewards are responsible for upholding agreements with NEFOC Land Trust and creating their own infrastructure.
Land Stewards are encouraged to participate in Every Town networks and actively engage in their communities.
Every Town is cultivating networks for resource-sharing, safe spaces, community crisis management, and technical skills assistance (e.g. land tending, farming, design & build, etc.) to support Land Stewards in an ongoing way. We're also members of existing networks, like the ReLeaf Collective, and are collaborating to join forces and avoid redundancy.
It's possible for a Land Steward to end their contract if they wish. We are putting thought and care into what this process will look like, considering how this project is aimed to help "level the playing field" for BIPOC, as well as to build parallel systems for thriving outside of capitalist ownership models.