Yarn &
Yield

A COMMUNITY COOPERATIVE

We are regenerating communities via a community cooperative owned and governed by its members.  Unlike individual cooperatives, a community cooperative focuses on serving the community’s collective needs rather than individual needs.  Community cooperatives aim to create a more equitable and sustainable economy that serves the needs of residents instead of generating profits for external shareholders.  By pooling resources and working together, members can achieve economies of scale, reduce costs and develop other services that better meet the communities needs.

As a community cooperative, Yarn and Yield will create a Community Land Trust to secure community land out of the speculative market, ensuring it is available for future generations to develop services that benefit their local communities.  Yarn and Yield will be a non-distributing cooperative with a not-for-profit legal entity with charity status.  We will be able to accept donations to support our work.  Our efforts will be focused on creating and supporting other service cooperatives, social enterprises and the Community Land Trust.

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST?

A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a non-profit trust that holds land on behalf of the community, ensuring long-term stewardship for various community assets such as affordable housing, urban farms, and civic buildings.  

By owning the land, CLTs can secure it for future generations by taking it off the speculative market.  This allows other non-profit organisations or individuals to lease the land for a small fee. At the same time, the CLT retains ownership, ensuring the land remains available for community benefit over time.

We want to work with landowners who wish to see their land protected for the community and future generations.  The CLT will raise community funds to acquire land from private landowners at market value, giving them a way to receive a return on their investment.  Private landowners can provide for their families while securing the custodianship of the land for future generations.

Our first landowner wants to sell their land to the Community Land Trust, located in West Woombye.  We hope it will be the first of many lands that we will be able to secure out of the speculative market and take custodianship off for the benefit of the community.  If you are a landowner who would like to start a conversation about how we might be able to help you keep your dream of how your land will benefit future generations, please reach out.  We hope to have a network of many land in our CLT, providing services for the community by the community.

WHAT IS A COOPERATIVE?

With the land secured in a Community Land Trust, community initiatives can develop on the land.  Yarn and Yield will raise funds to assist in creating and ongoing management of various types of cooperatives: producer, consumer and worker.

As an Anchor Organisation, we will co-create new cooperatives in local communities by providing startup and ongoing management to ensure their success.

We will assist cooperatives using the land in the CLT with strategic planning and visioning, impact measurement, community engagement, systems and processes, capacity building, resource management and advocacy.

Being part of a cooperative means participating in an organisation where economic, social and personal benefits are intertwined, creating a holistic approach to business that values people, the land and community alongside shared profit.

Our first cooperative will be an urban farm on the property in West Woombye.  With the founding support from the team at Sunshine Syntropics we will support them in developing their producer cooperative.

Community Led for Community Benefit

Landowners, individuals and organisations can participate in creating a thriving future for local communities across Australia.  We have a grand vision of creating a network of Community Land Trust and Cooperatives across Australia.  Working together to benefit local communities and local lands.

It starts with you!  You can become a member, help us form our new board or offer your skills to develop our network.   Reach out and lets explore how we can work together to create Yarn and Yield.

Get in touch

Our Location

West Woombye, Sunshine Coast

E-mail Us

hello@yarnandyield.au