Terre de Liens

Terre de Liens is a French civic organization and land investment vehicle dedicated to preserving agricultural land from speculative development and ensuring its use for sustainable, organic, and agroecological farming. Based in Crest in the Drôme department, the organization raises funds from citizen investors through two vehicles: the Terre de Liens investment fund, which allows individuals to invest their savings in farmland, and the Terre de Liens real estate company, which manages the acquired properties. The land is then made available to farmers committed to organic or agroecological practices through long-term leases that provide tenure security and maintain land affordability. Since its founding in 2003, Terre de Liens has helped install hundreds of farmers on protected land across France, many of them young farmers who would otherwise be unable to access farmland at market prices. The organization also conducts awareness campaigns and policy advocacy to address the broader challenges of farmland access, agricultural land concentration, and the disappearance of small farms. By combining civic engagement, patient capital, and agroecological values, Terre de Liens has developed a pioneering model for land stewardship that is increasingly recognized and replicated in other European countries.