Catholic Land Exchange

Ideals of Land Stewardship

1. We believe that all land, structures, and equipment used for agricultural purposes should be improved rather than depleted over time; therefore, we ask members of our community (especially those seeking land) to commit to sustainable, regenerative practices including but not limited to organic farming, humane animal husbandry, permaculture, forest farming, and wildcrafting.

2. We believe that land should be stewarded by families who know and love the land, work it themselves on a daily basis, and see it as a place with a life of its own rather than by corporations that see the land merely as a means of production; therefore, we ask members of our community (especially those seeking land) to commit to living on the land indefinitely, to raising their children on the land, and to transferring the land to others under terms similar to those under which they came to the land whenever they are no longer able to tend it themselves.

3. We believe that (other things being equal) people of faith and religious conviction are more likely to respect their land and communities than are those without such conviction; therefore, we ask members of our community (especially those seeking land) to commit to living their lives in accordance with a religious tradition that fosters the health of their land and family and that honors the conviction and devotion of the land’s prior stewards (especially those from whom they receive the land).

4. We believe that all land, but agricultural and forested land in special and unique ways, should be seen less as property privately held by an individual and more as the common inheritance of the communities on and surrounding that land; therefore, we ask members of our community (especially those seeking land) to commit to maintaining and developing land in ways that benefit and foster the various communities of living beings on the land and surrounding it (people, livestock, wildlife, trees, plants, insects, microbes, etc.) by making decisions based less upon property value and more upon the effects their actions will have upon the surrounding area and its inhabitants.

5. We believe, especially as many people become increasingly distanced from the land, that agricultural and forested lands are ideal sites for education and friendship; therefore, we ask members of our community (especially those seeking land) to commit to making their land and its facilities reasonably accessible to people outside their immediate family by hosting events such as educational days, spiritual retreats, and community gatherings.