This article was originally published by NPQ Online on April 30, 2025, https://nonprofitquarterly.org/organizing-for-the-long-haul-how-to-build-a-network-for-land-and-liberation/. Used with permission.
We are often forced to fight defensive battles in our movements. When your house is on fire, the immediate and urgent priority is to extinguish the blaze. Such is the case with many struggles against the present administration of President Donald Trump. Virtually everyone I know is finding ways to support—and celebrate the successes of—the vital struggles being led by federal workers, nonprofit workers, and community development financial institutions.
As critical as this resistance work is, we must also confront the reality that the current system is collapsing. This means we must build a new one. The People’s Network for Land & Liberation (PNLL) coalition was formed to do just that.
PNLL is a multiracial, multiethnic consortium of six community-based organizations located across the United States. Its aim is to create a bold yet practical solidarity economy that can transform both politics and the economy from the ground up.
All six PNLL members share a common goal of shifting from power-over, extractive, and unsustainable sociopolitical systems to cooperative, regenerative, and balanced systems. PNLL is also a member of the broader national Resist & Build formation, in which I actively participate.
Central to PNLL’s vision is securing community stewardship over land. As Kali Akuno, cofounder of Cooperation Jackson, explained in NPQ, “A lot of businesses go out of business because they just cannot make the rent. So, we wanted to remove that from the equation as much as possible.”
As critical as this resistance work is, we must also confront the reality that the current system is collapsing. This means we must build a new one.
Forging the Vision
The People’s Network for Land & Liberation first emerged amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Today, six organizations comprise the network, all united behind a transformative political program that aims to:
Decommodify land using community land trusts for community-owned affordable housing, commercial space for worker-owned cooperatives, food production using a food sovereignty framework, and to preserve the integrity of the life-giving ecosystems of Mother Earth.
Support community production employing both digital fabrication technologies and regenerative agriculture-based materials and energy. This means decentralized manufacturing that empowers local communities to create goods collaboratively and sustainably using resilient local supply chains.
Incubate an ecosystem of worker-owned cooperatives that go beyond “co-ops for the sake of co-ops” to create profitable and vibrant local supply and value chains.
Engage in an internal self-education program that engages folks to foster critical thinking, dialogue, and empowerment.
Infuse art and culture in everything. This includes making things beautiful but goes much deeper. Operate according to the adage: “If it isn’t soulful, it isn’t strategic.”
Building the