Logistics, Fundraising, Land Trust and Shared Stewardship

PB RET 12/27/2025


Earthly Wilds Community is a BIPOC-led project emerging from the Racial Equity Team (RET), building a new intentional community grounded in land reparations, ecological stewardship, and communal living. While the community centers the leadership, voices, and needs of BIPOC members, it is open to allies of all races who are committed to supporting our mission and participating in a diverse, inclusive community. As of this writing, the project is currently stewarded by RET members Miles, Trout, Jeli, Seya, and Sebastian, along with Shilpa, who is not a RET member but is an active part of Earthly Wilds Community.


Recent Progress

Over the past several months, Earthly Wilds Community has made concrete steps. It is now a listed member community on the BIPOC Intentional Communities Council website, our story was promoted in their newsletter, and we'll also be featured in a mini documentary series! We have secured a fiscal sponsorship through the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC). This Fiscal Sponsorship will allow Earthly Wilds to temporarily receive tax deductible donations under the FIC’s nonprofit umbrella while we work toward creating our own Earthly Wilds Foundation 501c3 nonprofit. Once our own nonprofit is in place, we will no longer need the FIC to process donations for us. We are currently raising funds to cover the costs associated with creating our own 501c3 nonprofit. Friends and allies who want to support Earthly Wilds Community through donations (or who know potential donors) can email us at ret@twinoaks.org with potential leads.


Land Trust Agreement

Much of the earlier conversation around Earthly Wilds focused on why land reparations matter. This paper focuses on the practical side: how land reparations could work at Twin Oaks, and what measures will protect the land itself, even from us. Our proposal is to transfer the land title of “The Monacan Land” into a legally binding Land Trust. This Land Trust will remove the land from sale or privatization while allowing it to be stewarded according to clearly defined purposes written into the Trust. The Land Trust is intended to be a durable, long-term structure designed to outlast any single group of people.


Draft clauses to incorporate into the Land Trust Agreement between Twin Oaks and the Earthly Wilds Foundation

  1. The land will be intended for BIPOC-led communal living, reparative justice, and ecological stewardship.
  2. Ecological stewardship is understood to include sustainable human habitation, food production, ecological building, and regenerative land practices.
  3. Economic activity on the land must be community-owned and mission-aligned, intended to support collective livelihood, land care, and long-term sustainability. Private profit derived directly from land-based activities is prohibited.
  4. If Earthly Wilds Community dissolves or is no longer able to serve as the active steward, it will be responsible for selecting a successor group with substantially similar mission, values, and practices. If no such successor group is identified within two years, Twin Oaks will become the default beneficiary, with the land remaining in Trust.
  5. Twin Oakers have a long-term relationship with “The Monacan Land” through hiking, camping, and quiet recreational use, and this relationship is intended to continue in ways that remain in harmony with the land and residents.
  6. The Twin Oaks Forestry Crew is recognized as long-standing stewards of “The Monacan Land.” Their forestry work, firewood collection, and land care practices are honored and intended to continue as part of an ongoing relationship of shared stewardship, coordination, and mutual respect.

Next Steps

We are currently inviting any interested Twin Oakers to comment on this o&i to provide input on these Land Trust clauses. Over the coming weeks, we will finalize the Land Trust Agreement and continue detailed conversations about “The Monacan Land”, including coordination with Forestry and other key stakeholders.


This process ensures the land is protected in perpetuity, serves a reparative and ecological purpose, and supports durable, accountable stewardship while honoring existing community relationships.



-RET