About the CLT Center

Frequently asked questions · 9 questions

About the CLT Center

Who we are, what we do and do not do, and how to reach us: help for CLTs, the CLT Map, job listings, webinars, speakers, research and languages.

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What is the CLT Center?

The International Center for Community Land Trusts (the CLT Center) is a nonprofit that supports community land trusts around the world. We were founded in 2018 as the Center for CLT Innovation. We work with national networks, local organizations, community activists and governments to help the CLT movement grow, especially where it is new.

We publish books through Terra Nostra Press, keep the global CLT Map and Directory, run programs such as the Global South CLT Initiative and the Global CLT Virtual Summit, and keep the movement’s history alive. See About Us.

The CLT Center grew out of a decade of international exchange. A 2009 study visit to Burlington, Vermont, organized by the Building and Social Housing Foundation, brought housing activists from several countries to learn from the Champlain Housing Trust and helped inspire CLTs in London, Brussels and Australia. A 2017 peer exchange hosted by the Caño Martín Peña CLT in San Juan did the same for the Global South. In 2018, John Emmeus Davis and Greg Rosenberg launched the Center for Community Land Trust Innovation, now the CLT Center.

Its work falls in three areas: education, through research, publications, case studies and multilingual resources; connection, linking practitioners, governments, researchers, funders and community leaders across countries; and innovation, helping adapt CLTs to new places and challenges. It focuses on housing, food security and land access, and climate and environmental stewardship. Its board is drawn from CLTs and partner organizations on four continents, and a small international staff runs it day to day.

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Does the CLT Center give legal or technical help to CLTs?

We do not give legal advice or represent CLTs, and we are not able to give detailed technical help to every group that asks. We can point you to resources, networks and people who have done similar work, and through programs such as the Global South CLT Initiative we work directly with emerging CLTs in some regions.

For legal questions, start with Resources for CLT Attorneys and your national CLT network. If you are not sure where to turn, contact us.

The Global South CLT Initiative, launched in 2023, offers staged support to communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia, from open learning sessions to peer exchanges, training, feasibility studies and technical assistance. Rather than promoting a single imported model, it helps communities decide whether a CLT or another form of collective land stewardship fits their situation. The level of support depends on the CLT Center’s capacity and funding.

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Can I buy a home through the CLT Center?

No. The CLT Center does not own land or sell homes. Homes are sold by local community land trusts. Use the CLT Map and Directory to find a CLT where you want to live, and contact it directly about available homes and eligibility.

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How do I add a CLT to the CLT Map, or update a listing?

Use our contact form with “CLT Map” as the subject, and include the CLT’s name, location, website and a contact person. To be listed, an organization should be legally incorporated and own or control land. The CLT Map and Directory page explains the criteria.

To be listed, an organization should meet four criteria: it is legally incorporated, whether as an independent nonprofit or a program of another organization; it identifies as a CLT or operates like one; it owns or controls land, or has a project close to acquiring it; and it holds that land in trust for people of modest means. The Map also includes France’s organismes de foncier solidaire.

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Can I post a CLT job on cltweb.org?

Yes. We list CLT job openings from around the world on our CLT Jobs page. Send us the job title, organization, location, a short description, a link to the full posting and the closing date through our contact form. Please let us know when a position is filled so we can take it down.

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Are webinars recorded?

Most of our webinars are recorded. Recordings are in the Video Library (choose “CLT Center webinars”) and on our YouTube channel. Past events are listed in the Event Archive.

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Can someone from the CLT Center speak at our event or talk with a reporter?

Often, yes. CLT Center staff and board members speak at conferences, webinars and community meetings around the world, and talk with journalists about community land trusts. Send us the details, including date, audience, format and topic, through our contact form.

Journalists may also find our CLTs in the News pages useful: a running record of press coverage of community land trusts around the world, with archives back to 2020.

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Does the CLT Center help researchers and students, or offer internships?

We help where we can. Researchers and students can find a great deal in our Resource Library, including the Bibliography, Academic Papers and Interviews. We receive many interview requests and can’t accept them all, but write to us about your project. We occasionally take interns; inquiries are welcome through the same form.

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Is this information available in other languages?

Yes. Much of cltweb.org is available in French, Spanish and Portuguese; use the language menu at the top of any page. The Video Library includes videos in all four languages, and Terra Nostra Press publishes books in Spanish, including En terreno común. The CLT LibrarianAI, our AI assistant, can also answer questions in many languages.

Language justice is part of the CLT Center’s mission: translating CLT materials into more languages so that people can learn about and shape the movement in their own language.

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More questions about community land trusts? See all frequently asked questions, or ask the CLT LibrarianAI, our AI assistant.