MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Norman Bober is the newest member of the Board. He came to Michigan from Washington, D.C., where he was a librarian for the United States Commission on Civil Rights for six years. At present, he and his family live on a small farm near Bangor.
Thomas Breznau set up a homestead near Lawton. In addition to teaching at Kalamazoo College and Nazareth College, he and his wife host a number of Detroit inner-city children each year to give them a brief experience of life on a farm.
Kenneth Dahlberg is an environmentalist in the Department of Political Science at Western Michigan University. He has had published a book criticizing the export of energy- and capital-intensive agriculture (the "Green Revolution") to the poor countries of the world.
Joseph C. Filonowicz, a retired Detroit industrialist, came to Bangor with an interest in revitalizing rural communities. Earlier he helped a group in North Carolina to establish a land trust.
Maynard Kaufman is a member of the Western Michigan University Department of Religion. For five years, he and his wife directed the School of Homesteading on their farm near Bangor.
William Kobza moved from a career in social work into homesteading. He and his family have recently moved to a small homestead near Lawton.
Paul F. Schuttz, a former American Friends Service Committee staff person in Rural and Economic Alternatives, raises fruit organically on a farm near Lawrence.
To provide a context for the Land Trust Movement, the feature article in this Newsletter is "Land Trust - a Conceptual Overview". In future issues we anticipate having information on the status and activities of other land trusts around the country.
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September 28, 1980 is the date selected by the Board of Directors for MLT's first annual meeting. The location will be in the Bangor area. There will be more information in the next Newsletter.
- Sally Kaufman, Editor
LAND TRUST - A CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW
Land is basic to human existence. It was here before people came to move about on it. Native peoples recognized earth as the mother of life. They nurtured and preserved its bounty, for their very lives depended on its fertility. They perceived the land as a resource to be shared and felt that no one person should have exclusive possession of even a part. Traditions in Africa, China, India, Mexico and most recently in Israel, demonstrate communal ownership of land. Land held communally is made available to all members of the community, and whatever development takes place on it must serve the common good.
In order to assure that lands are held for the common good, a trust arrangement is established. Trust in this sense is that of trusteeship. The trust is a corporate body that is charged with maintaining stewardship of the land. Writing in Seventeen Problems of Man and Society (1968), Ralph Borsodi suggested that since land and the natural resources of earth "did not come into existence as a result of human labor they cannot be morally owned, they can only be held in trust". Land that is held in trust is intended to be held that way in perpetuity - never to be sold. The trust may lease the land to various users, with the expectation that the renters will preserve or enhance its long-term value.
The concept of land trust as described above seems to run counter to a basic American tradition. That tradition is based on land ownership. People want something they can call their own and manipulate as they see fit. This characteristic was important to the-development of Western culture, but a future of dwindling natural resources requires a look at alternative systems of land management and distribution. We are seeing private ownership of land being translated into corporate ownership. Small farmers are being forced off their land as agriculture becomes so mechanized that only those with huge capital outlays can survive. Middle-income families faced with inflated prices and rising interest rates can hardly afford home ownership. Giant corporations speculate on rural and urban lands for their own gain. Yet, the land and its resources are "limited. If the pattern of corporate acquisition of land continues, what avenues are open to individuals?
Land trusts are part of a creative effort to preserve land for the common good, to allow for its redistribution, and to care for scarce natural resources. The models they provide can be found in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Some land trusts have developed into, or are considering, planned communities. Others have set more modest goals. There are many possibilities under land trust management. It's up to the people to determine their future.
- Norman Bober
HOMESTEADING PRACTICE COURSE NEWS
A record number of ten students in the homesteading course have been living and working on the MLT Farm this spring. They are enrolled in the course which has been offered under a cooperative arrangement between Michigan Land Trustees, which provided the farm, and Western Michigan University, which provided a salary for the Farm Manager who functioned as instructor of the Homesteading Practice course.
Unfortunately, this cooperative arrangement which began in 1978 is likely to end soon, as Western Michigan University administrators are increasingly reluctant to allocate ever-scarcer funds to such non-traditional learning experiences. The Directors of MLT have agreed to carry on the living-learning homesteading course for the remainder of this summer and will provide support for the Farm Manager. Various proposals for the future of this program are under consideration. Many students and prospective students continue to be interested in the course for its own sake, aside from considerations of academic credit. Prospects for adequate enrollment in summer are excellent.
Most of the students on the farm were or are from WMU. Two students now enrolled are from out of state, and applicants for the summer session include additional out-of-state students.
- Maynard Kaufman
FROM THE CHAIR'S VIEWPOINT
The Michigan Land Trust (MLT) is still in the beginning stages of its existence. The members of the Board keep a vision of what variety of activities we could sponsor, but being only six in number, we know our limitations. Consequently, our best project thus far has been the development of the Homesteading School. The School has functioned as an accredited course from Western Michigan University. Maynard Kaufman has served as Coordinator of this program. Maynard and Ken Dahlberg have spent countless hours planning, coordinating and guiding the concept through the necessary administrative channels at WMU. Ironically, at a time when low-energy agricultural practices should surface as a dominant issue in an energy-conscious economy, the Homesteading course .appears to become another victim of the dollar-short economy. Fortunately, however, the course will continue during summer and fall under Maynard's coordination and Jonathan Towne's supervision.
New avenues are opening up the MLT. With Joe Filonowicz, the "Community Connection" emphasis is continuing to reach into the urban sector of small town life. Putting a finger on the pulse of "Small Town America" is where Joe begins. Interpolating that early American spirit into present small town American strength and vitality is the landscape of Joe's current fieldwork.
The Board of MLT hopes to keep the land trust concept creative and responsive. These two examples remind all of us of the versatility of what we, as an IRS-approved, educational institute, can do. We appreciate your continuing support. JOIN US!!!
- William Kobza