Episode 3 of the Resist + Renew podcast, where we interview Josina from Land In Our Names (LION).

So yeah, I mean ending racism, loads of black farmers, lots of use of the land that's in accordance with spiritual practices or farming practices from places where we have heritage.

- Josina, on LION's vision for land justice

Show notes, links

Land In Our Names: website; Instagram.

Willowbrook Farm

Aweside Farm

Black Girls Hike

Black Girls Camping

Land for the Many report

Oxford Real Farming Conference

Soul Fire Farm

Transcript

Ali: This is Resist + Renew.

Kat: A UK-based podcast about social movements.

Sami: What we're fighting for, why, and how it all happens.

Ali: The hosts of the show are:

Kat: Me Kat,

Sami: Me, Sami,

Ali: and me, Ali,

Sami: I'm recording this now baby

Ali: Shit it's a podcast.

*Laughter*

Ali: Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for joining us again at the Resist and Renew podcast. This week we are joined by Josina Calliste from Land in our Names and we're going to be talking about land inequalities, race, and visions for a more just relationship to land here in the UK and more broadly.

Ali: So Josina Calliste is a health professional, a community organiser, and after burning out of academia, she began thinking more deeply about food growing and land justice. Under an apple tree in June 2019, she co founded Land in our Names a Black led collective addressing land inequalities affecting black people and people of colour, his ability to farm and grow food in Britain. She loves forest works and hopes one day to set up an eco village. Thanks so much for joining us, Josina.

Josina: Thanks for having me.

Ali: So we're going to talk about a lot of different things today. But if you could kick us off by talking about, you know, kind of what's the context that Land in our Names is organising in, why why land justice? And why coming at it from like a race perspective? And yeah, what's what's kind of the context that we're, we're in?

Josina: Oh, so just small questions, then. Yeah, there's huge inequalities in terms of land ownership in Britain, which is sort of only vaguely aware of, but land ownership is very invisiblised in this country. We do know that half of all land in England is owned by 1% of the population. And it's concentrated into the hands of the elite, the crown, the royal family, aristocrats, and other random sets of oligarchs from various places, the church, universities. But lots of people don't know this. And it seemed important to approach land injustices using a racial justice lens, because of the effects of those inequalities on the health and well being of Black people and people of colour in Britain. And the more that I go into food growing, and the farming world, which can mean that you're in very white spaces, particularly in permaculture, and, you know, lots of lovely hippie New Age environments, aren't necessarily engaged with those racial justice issues.

Josina: But it did seem really important because of how food inequalities affect black people. And women of colour who experience hunger or, you know, using food banks disproportionately. Health inequalities due to living in very polluted areas or in overcrowded areas of Britain. And those inequalities have become more stark due to COVID and lock down conditions and to the inequalities in access to green spaces. And yeah, outdoor environments, particularly parks and inner cities.

Ali: Hmm. Yeah, I think that's really important. I don't think many people necessarily draw those two aspects together. I think farming, like in most people's mind, or is like a mainstream narrative is, is quite white. And it's quite, mostly just about like countryside and maybe it's like nice nature and food. But I think drawing that with the structural inequalities you were talking about is really important.

Ali: Yeah, my mom is actually a farmer.