Linda and Friends,
The Transition Town movement has created a legal structure called a "Community Interest Company" that could be used to transfer property into co-operative status, create permaculture homesteads, and thus give access to land.   
 
A CIC can be "for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a 'community interest test' and  an 'asset lock', which ensure that the CIC is established for community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes."  

 

The way I see it, a CIC could be used to create stable and long-lasting permactulture homesteads!  This is exactly what we want to encourage.  So a CIC could be used by older folks who have land, as a vehicle to transfer their properties into co-ops that benefit a younger generation -- those with the vision and strength to make permaculture homesteads happen. 

 

I really think that we could try to light a fire as to the legal advantages of a CIC.  Right now, apparently it is a legal structure only in England.  We would have to get our own US version of a CIC to get these benefits (see the URL below).

 

Can we ask Paul Edwards to address this issue in his upcoming talk, including 1) the CIC as a co-operative that fosters inter-generational transfer of property and 2) the possibility of CIC's for our country?  Can we move this forward in our local permaculture efforts? 

 

For those permies who don't yet have access to land, this could be pretty important.

 

Thanks,

Ann Crosby

967-6755 

PS: Find more info at http://www.cicregulator.gov.uk/Leaflets/CICBenefits.pdf


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