Find organizations for a community project
A food project might need a grower, a shared space and people who understand member ownership. Start with the work you need to do, then look for organizations whose experience could help.
Commonweave brings together research leads on cooperatives, community land trusts, mutual aid, ecological work and other community infrastructure. This guide helps you use its map and knowledge base to make a shortlist worth checking.
Find organizations on the mapStart with a need
These links open List view in a relevant map category. Choose your country and recorded city there; a category match still needs checking.
- Community foodLook for growing, food access and distribution experience.
- Land and housingInvestigate land trusts, housing organizations and shared space.
- Cooperatives and member ownershipLook for organizations to ask about governance, skills and support.
Build a shortlist you can investigate
Name one task and place
“Find experience with shared growing space in our town” is easier to investigate than “build a better food system.” On the map, choose a project goal and narrow the location. If nearby results are thin, try a broader area or the organization directory.
Look for different roles
Use the goal pathway to consider what else the project could need. Food knowledge, land access and member governance are different roles. Select records to investigate and leave missing roles visible. Suggested connections are planning hypotheses, not evidence that organizations work together.
Check each lead at its source
Read the organization’s own website. Check its current activity, who it serves, location or service area, access requirements and whether it welcomes the kind of inquiry you have. Software, a federation or an advice network may support a project without providing a local service. Approximate map locations do not establish reach.
Keep a useful next question
Download a proposed plan from the pathway, or use a short list of your own: organization, possible role, source, unresolved question and next action. Ask about fit and capacity through an invited route before treating a lead as a participant. Do not share personal details without consent.
Understand the ideas behind the search
The framework knowledge base explores cooperation, common ownership and democratic decisions across everyday needs. Start with food, land and housing or cooperatives and solidarity, then examine the evidence and critique.
Listings are research leads, not endorsements or confirmation of current services. Read the data’s sources and limits. If a record is wrong, prepare a sourced correction.