Securing Our Legacy: The Family Land Trust as a Pathway to Agricultural Revival in Dominica

Synopsis

Securing Our Legacy: The Family Land Trust as a Pathway to Agricultural Revival in Dominica, by Irvin Pascal, addresses a critical, yet often overlooked, barrier to Dominica's agricultural prosperity: the fragmentation of family land through generations of inheritance without adequate estate planning. This fragmentation stifles investment, discourages farming, and leaves fertile land underutilized. The book aims to demystify this challenge by explaining its roots and consequences, then introduces the family land trust as a culturally appropriate, legally viable solution. It provides a practical roadmap for Dominican families to consolidate control over their ancestral lands, protect them from neglect, and enable productive use without forced sales, empowering them to build a foundation for food security, rural livelihoods, and economic resilience. Through the lens of his own family's 4-acre plot, Pascal illustrates how a land trust can transform inherited land from a source of conflict or stagnation into a cohesive, productive asset. This guide is written not as a legal treatise, but as an accessible tool for farmers, landholders, community leaders, and families seeking to secure their legacy. It emphasizes collective stewardship, intergenerational cooperation, and the potential for land-based enterprises, ultimately aiming to foster unity, economic empowerment, and the preservation of Dominica's cultural and ecological heritage for generations to come.