Phillipa Klaiber

The Land is Ours


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For three years I followed the growth and destruction of a woodland community who strove totally towards totally self-sufficient and ecologically sound living. The group comprised of nomads, city squatters and eco-farmers firmly believed in total equality and an absence of hierarchy. The fields and strip of woodland they occupied had an unclear history of ownership and had been abandoned for many years. During their four year settlement the community were under regular threat of eviction. In 2013 the possessory rights to the land were purchased by a local multi-millionaire for development, which ultimately lead to their eviction three years later.

We promote institutions of dislocation, through media, economy and ideology. As a result we experience a vast disconnect from the land and deepening confusion about what it means to dwell on the earth. In an attempt to undo past actions and regain a little of this lost connection, there are a lot of environmental campaigns and actions that happen all over the world. But, to many of us the “climate” is an abstract concept. It isn’t until you live on the land and are truly reliant on it that you can hope to reconnect to it.