Resisting enclosures, imagining other worlds
Stories from Xolobeni in South Africa, animal worlds and strange encounters, and the state and consequences of global land grabs.
Xolobeni: A Commoning Success Story
Xolobeni, on South Africa’s Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, is renowned as a biodiversity hotspot. It’s also known for its community activism against mining, and in defense of customary land rights and sustainable rural livelihoods. It’s perhaps less well known for the achievements of organized local civil society in protecting and developing the commons as the basis of the area’s sustainable, equitable rural economy.
A new photo story documents the rich variety commons-based livelihoods and activities of people in Xolobeni, resisting the efforts of extractive industries and government to ‘develop’ and exploit the area’s resources. The story was co-created with people in Xolobeni, and the photos are accompanied by audio descriptions in isiMpondo, a language commonly spoken there.
What happened to the global land grab?
Ian Scoones discusses the aftermath and legacies of the 'global land grab' ahead of a major international conference on the topic.
The conference takes place on 19-21 March in Colombia, and a new open access paper provides a review of the key issues.
Strange Natures: explore the complete series
All the entries in our series on ‘Strange Natures’ are now published, following our call for creative contributions in October 2023.
New entries include an encounter with singing bullfrogs, a transformational folktale, and a subversive retelling of an old Lovecraft story.
Look out for a zine drawing on the series soon, and a call for our next theme to be announced.
Singing bullfrogs of Sanjay Van
A story about a strange encounter with singing frogs in a South Delhi forest, and the possibility of communication between species.
In this mythical tale, a storyteller undergoes a transformative experience.
An excerpt from a comic that explores a fantastical journey to a strange island in the Andaman sea.
Join the network
Future Natures aims to support a network that includes diverse communities of researchers, commoners, and commoning-aligned artists, writers, makers and others.
Our networking space aims to provide ways for people to connect across borders, places and experiences. The space includes a discussion forum and ways to share information or ideas with other people in the network.