Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen

5.3.6 Community owned farms
A slightly different but nevertheless related concept to CSA is the idea of
community owned farms. Most farmland in developed countries is owned
by individuals or companies, who either farm the land themselves, pay
others to do it for them, or rent the land to tenants. However, the notion that
farmland can indeed be ‘owned’, as other commodities are owned, has been
questioned on the basis that land should be for the common good, not for
private profit.
An alternative model of ownership, pioneered in the UK is ‘community
land trusteeship’ (see Community Land Trust, 2008) where
“Land is taken out of the market and separated from its
productive use so that the impact of land appreciation
is removed, therefore enabling long-term affordable and
sustainable local development.”
If green care services are to be offered by farms, then these farms need to
be financially secure. Community farm ownership is one way to revitalise
a farm by involving many other people, including non-farmers. Their
involvement brings money, skills, enthusiasm, new ideas and support –
financial and social capital – to a farm enterprise.
Community land trusts in the United Kingdom are rare, doubtless because
of the considerable effort required to create them. A case study of one,
recently-created farm (Fordhall Farm), together with research into the
motivations of shareholders for supporting it financially, is given by
Hegarty (2008) and Hollins and Hollins (2007).
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