Empowering millions of women and men with a powerful tool they can use to improve their lives:

LAND RIGHTS

EXPLORE OUR IMPACT
Check out Landesa's 2022 Annual Report →

WHY DO LAND RIGHTS MATTER?

Around the world, people experiencing poverty often share three traits: they live in rural areas, rely on agriculture and forests to survive, and don’t have legal control over the land on which they depend. We offer the tools to help people lift themselves out of poverty. Stronger rights to land have the power to reduce poverty and conflict, increase economic activity, empower women, strengthen food security, and improve environmental stewardship — for an individual, a family, a community, and an entire country.
WHO WE ARE

ENGAGE

Landesa partners with progressive governments and civil society to develop pro-poor and gender-sensitive laws, policies, and programs that strengthen land rights for people experiencing extreme poverty. In Africa and Asia, our land rights experts work shoulder to shoulder with government officials, local leaders, and rural residents developing scalable, practical, and innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems – food insecurity, conflict, climate change, women’s lack of empowerment.
WHAT WE DO

EXPLORE

Strong, legal rights to land can provide people in rural areas with the opportunity, security, and incentive they need to invest in their land to improve their harvests and their lives. Learn more about the connection between land rights and the most significant challenges of our time, from nutrition to climate change, from inclusive economic development to gender equality.
RESOURCES

JOIN

In an era defined by concerns over food security, environmental sustainability, stubborn cycles of poverty, and conflict over land, strong land rights are critical. Landesa champions the power of land rights for people and communities in rural areas as a fundamental building block for a safer and more prosperous future. Join the global land rights movement—make your gift to Landesa today.
GIVE

RECENT NEWS
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Yidamno Wesley

September 20, 2023

Meet Yidamno Wesley, Landesa’s Talking Books Coordinator based in Monrovia, Liberia. Yidamno began working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
What's New

The Campaign That’s Building Solidarity for Women’s Land Rights

August 31, 2023

GIRLS' GLOBE — In this conversation with Girls' Globe, Dr. Monica Mhoja shares examples of how women in Tanzania are investing in smart agriculture and more land. She speaks about how Stand for Her Land is organizing across countries and at the grassroots level to advocate and create opportunities for change.

Read More
What's New

Responsible land based investments: Rising benefits, reducing conflict

August 29, 2023

IPP MEDIA — Land Tenure Specialist Masalu Luhula explains how Landesa helped design the process and coordinate the land transfer in a case of responsible land based investment, the "first of its kind in Tanzania where the investor decides to hand over land that they don’t use so that communities can make good use of it."

Read More
What's New

“40 Across: Charitable grp. such as Landesa”

August 22, 2023

Landesa was pleasantly amused to be included as a clue in The New Yorker’s Daily Crossword on August 22, 2023.

Read More
What's New

Intern Spotlight: Leah Bridle

August 10, 2023

Meet Leah Bridle, an intern with Landesa’s Climate Change team, advising on the risks and opportunities of carbon markets. This summer she focused on arriving at actionable recommendations for the organization, given Landesa's expertise and mission to advance gender-equitable and socially inclusive land rights.

Read More
What's New

Reflections from Women Deliver 2023

August 01, 2023

Read reflections from our Landesa Africa team that attended the Women Deliver 2023 conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

Read More
Featured image for “Climate Resilience At The Intersection Of SRHR And Land Rights”

Climate Resilience At The Intersection Of SRHR And Land Rights

Gender-equitable SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights) and land rights can unlock greater agency and accelerate climate action and justice.
Read More
Featured image for “To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls”

To Avert the Next Humanitarian Crisis, Empower Women and Girls

Women and girls are resilient agents of change – and their potential to respond to all crises, from conflict to climate change, is accelerated when they enjoy secure rights to land.
Read More
Featured image for “A Growing Momentum to Promote Youth Land Rights in Tanzania”

A Growing Momentum to Promote Youth Land Rights in Tanzania

Because youth constitute the majority of the population across Africa, investing in youth access to land is recognized as a key strategy for both economic and agricultural development. A number of countries have embraced this strategy, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania among others advancing efforts to improve youth land rights.
Read More
Featured image for “To protect women and uproot patriarchy means confronting the links between land and gender-based violence”

To protect women and uproot patriarchy means confronting the links between land and gender-based violence

We are inspired by the possibility of strengthening women’s land rights as a way to empower women socially and economically. One such potential benefit concerns the ways in which land rights may protect women from domestic or gender-based violence – a relevant topic as the global community observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.
Read More
Featured image for “Working Together to Advance Respect for Land Rights”

Working Together to Advance Respect for Land Rights

Mars is working with Landesa to create guidance for Mars’ suppliers in their efforts to respect and strengthen land rights. This framework is designed to provide practical steps that suppliers can take to respect the land rights of individuals, families, and communities.
Read More
Featured image for “At COP27, a Call to Root Climate Action and Justice in Land Rights for Women and Rural Communities”

At COP27, a Call to Root Climate Action and Justice in Land Rights for Women and Rural Communities

In Bangladesh’s Sundarbans, life revolves around coastal mangrove forests. But as climate change effects worsen, livelihoods are under threat. Read about what global actors at COP27 can do amid the deepening climate crisis.
Read More
What's New

Staff Spotlight: Yidamno Wesley

September 20, 2023

Meet Yidamno Wesley, Landesa’s Talking Books Coordinator based in Monrovia, Liberia. Yidamno began working for Landesa in 2022.

Read More
What's New

The Campaign That’s Building Solidarity for Women’s Land Rights

August 31, 2023

GIRLS' GLOBE — In this conversation with Girls' Globe, Dr. Monica Mhoja shares examples of how women in Tanzania are investing in smart agriculture and more land. She speaks about how Stand for Her Land is organizing across countries and at the grassroots level to advocate and create opportunities for change.

Read More
What's New

Responsible land based investments: Rising benefits, reducing conflict

August 29, 2023

IPP MEDIA — Land Tenure Specialist Masalu Luhula explains how Landesa helped design the process and coordinate the land transfer in a case of responsible land based investment, the "first of its kind in Tanzania where the investor decides to hand over land that they don’t use so that communities can make good use of it."

Read More
What's New

“40 Across: Charitable grp. such as Landesa”

August 22, 2023

Landesa was pleasantly amused to be included as a clue in The New Yorker’s Daily Crossword on August 22, 2023.

Read More
What's New

Intern Spotlight: Leah Bridle

August 10, 2023

Meet Leah Bridle, an intern with Landesa’s Climate Change team, advising on the risks and opportunities of carbon markets. This summer she focused on arriving at actionable recommendations for the organization, given Landesa's expertise and mission to advance gender-equitable and socially inclusive land rights.

Read More
What's New

Reflections from Women Deliver 2023

August 01, 2023

Read reflections from our Landesa Africa team that attended the Women Deliver 2023 conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

Read More
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Land rights are a key that unlocks a world of possibilities, giving rural families hope, opportunity, and the tools to lift themselves out of poverty. Become a partner in this global movement.
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