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Black and Indigenous Groups Establish Intentional Communities to Reclaim Land Across the US
Black and Indigenous people are forming intentional communities in locations including California and Alabama to manage land collectively. These groups focus on shared values, environmental sustainability, and reconnection with agricultural traditions. One such community, Black to the Land, operates on 76 hectares in Boonville, California.
Apr 12, 7:00 AM·2m read1 source
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Intentional communities are small groups of people living together based on shared values and a common vision. These communities include co-housing in urban areas with private units and shared spaces, as well as rural ecovillages where residents live off the land and prioritize sustainability. They often involve communal governance and resource sharing.
Black Americans and Indigenous people have formed such communities historically, particularly after the end of enslavement, to support business and agriculture amid racial violence. In recent years, people of color in states including Alabama, Massachusetts, and California have established these groups to reconnect with ancestral agricultural and ecological knowledge.
The communities aim to provide spaces rooted in care and tradition.
Land in California Black to the Land is an ecovillage in Boonville, California, located 115 miles north of San Francisco.
The community stewards 76 hectares of land featuring redwoods, Pacific madrones, oak trees, dozens of fruit trees, and a garden with squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, corn, and peppers. A small stream runs through the valley surrounded by hills. The site operates off the grid using well water and solar panels.
They raise funds through grants, fundraising, and workshops on building, gardening, and foraging, while some work remotely for personal expenses. Zappa Montag, 57, and his daughter Bibi Sarai, then 16, conceived the idea for Black to the Land in 2015.
They sought to create a healing space in nature for Black people after observing gentrification in Oakland. In the initial years, the project hosted community gatherings such as concerts. In 2021, a friend connected them with the Emerald Earth Sanctuary in Mendocino County, an intentional community founded by white activists in 1989 that was winding down operations.
