Land is more than property. It can be a place to grow food, preserve culture, gather, heal, and build a future together.
A Black land co-op is a Black-led group that brings people, resources, and skills together to secure and steward land for shared benefit. Members establish how decisions are made, how land is used, and how responsibilities are shared through their own agreements. The exact ownership and membership rights depend on each co-op’s legal structure and bylaws.
WHY BLACK LAND MATTERS
For Black communities, access to land is tied to self-determination, stability, and the ability to pass something meaningful to the next generation. Cooperative stewardship offers a way to respond to displacement and barriers to ownership by sharing costs, work, knowledge, and decisions. The goal is not simply to acquire land; it is to care for it and make it serve the community over time.
HOW A LAND CO-OP WORKS
People pool money, labor, skills, and relationships. Together they plan uses for the land, budget for upkeep, agree on responsibilities, and establish how decisions are made. A co-op might grow food, host cultural gatherings, teach practical skills, or create space for rest and restoration. Visitors, supporters, and members can have different roles; the co-op’s agreements define who has voting or ownership rights.
OAXXANDA IN PRACTICE
Oaxxanda is an earth-centered, Black-led cultural cooperative rooted in Oakland. Our community purchased land in Berry Creek in May 2023. We are developing it as a place for retreats, learning, stewardship, and connection with nature. At 2701 Market in Oakland, we are starting a garden that can bring growing and food access closer to our neighbors. Together, these places connect our rural land work with our Oakland roots.
WHO IS WELCOME?
Oaxxanda prioritizes Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and welcomes people committed to respectful cooperation, cultural connection, and care for the land. Participation is built through relationships and shared responsibility.
GET INVOLVED
Learn about membership, join a gathering, share a skill, or support the work. A co-op grows through the people willing to care for both the land and one another.
