Learn More

The Commons is a term dating back to medieval Europe that describes a shared resource or resources that were accessible to be used by all. Today the idea is still in practice, mainly on public lands - parks that are open to everyone, designated public grazing spaces (common in the western United States), wildlife preserves for the hunting and viewing of wildlife species. 

Expanding on this idea of shared resources, The Rutland Commons was formed to create a system of community ownership: eventual ownership of an incubator farm that welcomes everyone from new farmers to students to refugees; ownership of a shared effort to provide local, sustainable food; ownership of sustainable management of the green spaces surrounding the incubator farm that are used by wildlife and for flood storage; ownership of the education of our youth on the importance of a just, local food system...

The ultimate goal of The Rutland Commons manifests as a piece of property in Rutland County that can be developed into an incubator farm with food-grade facilities, housing, and space for meeting or educational events. The property's riparian areas will be preserved to maintain flood storage and riparian connectivity - two incredibly important things in a state that experiences flooding semi-regularly. Degraded areas, such as wetlands, will be restored to ensure full functions and benefits like water filtration and habitat.

The barriers to farming are steep: purchasing land, a cooler van to store produce or goods, a tractor or tiller or other equipment. To become a farmer, the initial investment can be well over $100,000, which most people will have to secure via a loan. To go that far in debt for a career that some years can be almost a bust due to floods, disease, insects, or other disasters out of that person's control isn't a safe bet. But small local farms are needed. In 1990, small and medium farms produced half of all agricultural products in the United States. Today, they produce less than a quarter. Industrial agriculture, whose motive is profit and not quality, is feeding our families. In 2021, only 14.5¢ of every dollar spent on food went back to local farms; in 1975, it was 40¢. Local farmers live in our communities. Their children attend our schools. They volunteer, go to church, coach soccer, help their neighbors - these are the people we believe in investing in, not industrial agriculture thousands of miles from home.