{"id":83413,"date":"2026-05-27T14:10:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83413"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:34:52","slug":"we-belong-to-the-land-an-interview-with-john-mussington-on-the-urgency-of-learning-from-barbudas-communal-land-system-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83413","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;We Belong to the Land&#8217;: An Interview With John Mussington on the Urgency of Learning from Barbuda&#8217;s Communal Land System [VIDEO]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VY9LAu0i7mw?si=S6ubCdbhnZt0LQ9h\" width=\"1030\" height=\"563\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In April 2026, Barbudan environmentalist, community leader and activist John Mussington visited Rio de Janeiro for the 2026 Global Community Land Trust Peer Exchange organized by Brazil&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AboutFavelaCLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Favela Community Land Trust Project<\/a>,* invited to host the event by Minnesota&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4cWQWrw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rondo Community Land Trust<\/a>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4tVCcz1\">International Center for Community Land Trusts<\/a>, with support from the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4tHzexr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Wood Johnson Foundation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The week-long event brought together community leaders from across the globe to exchange ideas on collective land stewardship and strategies for confronting real estate speculation and displacement. Throughout the exchange, participants visited favelas, urban occupations, housing cooperatives and communities resisting eviction. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mussington, of the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4tXYqzI\">Barbuda Land Rights and Resources Committee<\/a>, has spent decades defending <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Rv7caL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barbuda\u2019s communal land system<\/a>, a centuries-old system that keeps land collectively held and protected from private sale. A marine biologist by training, Mussington became an activist through his work conducting environmental impact assessments across Antigua and Barbuda, where he witnessed the environmental destruction tied to tourism and luxury development projects. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4eRLXK0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hurricane Irma hit Barbuda<\/a> in 2017, Mussington has spoken widely against <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/42LCNrf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">efforts to privatize Barbudan land<\/a> and transform the island into a luxury real estate market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sitting down for the below interview with John Mussington after several days of his visiting Rio\u2019s favelas and participating in discussions on collective land stewardship, he moved fluidly between childhood memories of sailing between Antigua and Barbuda, explanations of traditional agricultural practices and reflections on how Barbudans developed a strong culture of self-reliance over generations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thoughtfully and in deep reflection, he often paused to connect local histories in Barbuda to broader questions about colonialism and humanity\u2019s connection to the Earth. Over the course of this interview, Mussington drew parallels between Barbuda\u2019s struggles and those he saw in favela communities in Rio de Janeiro and returned to one central idea: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe belong to the land. The land belongs to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Below we share excerpts from our interview with John Mussington, as well as the unmissable <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/JohnMussingtonBarbuda\">full 13-minute video above<\/a>\u00a0of his presentation during an exchange between Rio leaders and global land rights and CLT practitioners at Ra\u00edzes do Brasil on April 14, 2026.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83415\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83415\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-83415 size-full\" title=\"John Mussington tries pitanga (Surinam cherry) during his visit to the Evictions Museum in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo with Theresa Williamson, founder and executive director of Catalytic Communities. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" src=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\" alt=\"John Mussington tries pitanga (Surinam cherry) during his visit to the Evictions Museum in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo with Theresa Williamson, founder and executive director of Catalytic Communities. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-942x629.jpg 942w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-tries-a-pitanga-fruit-during-his-visit-to-the-Evictions-Museum-in-Vila-Autodromo-with-Theresa-Williamsom-executive-director-and-founder-of-Catalytic-Communities.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83415\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Mussington tries pitanga (Surinam cherry) during his visit to the Evictions Museum in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo with Theresa Williamson, founder and executive director of Catalytic Communities. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b><i>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b><b>:\u00a0<\/b><b>Where were you born? Can you tell us about the village or the location?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I always begin by saying that I am Barbudan, because that, in itself, is a statement that has certain significance. I\u2019m from <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/42Nol24\">Barbuda<\/a>, the twin-island State of <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4v6Edsw\">Antigua and Barbuda<\/a>. In the context of the wider world, some people consider them to be small islands, tiny dots in the ocean. But, for me as a Barbudan, our experience in terms of living on that small island has a lot of lessons that can be shared with regard to how you can actually sustain yourself under trying circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>My father was a shipwright. He actually built boats. So I grew up around that environment, around the sea, around tools, around boats. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the first lessons he taught us was how to swim. He put a life jacket on us, went to the deepest part of the dock, and tossed us over. You learn very quickly to adjust to life. As human beings, we are coded for survival.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every school break, especially in summers, we would sail over to Barbuda on my father\u2019s wooden skiff sailboat. We would leave around three or four o\u2019clock in the morning, and by sunrise we would reach Barbuda.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barbuda, compared to <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3RDt7fX\">Antigua<\/a>, was totally different. Antigua was more built up, city and business. Barbuda was more rural. Open spaces, beaches, wilderness. So, very early, I got an appreciation for the sea, for the wilderness and for a lifestyle that is closely linked to the land.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch<\/em>: What is your origin story as an activist?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can vividly remember the first time I put a mask on my face and dipped my head underwater. What that did was expose me to a totally different universe.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That sparked me. I went on to focus on biology, marine biology specifically. Even before I completed my degree, one of my first jobs was as an intern doing <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4v3ZhQh\">environmental impact assessments<\/a> (EIA).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The whole concept of environmental assessments was supposed to be informing development. Making sure the area selected for development was suitable, looking at the impacts on the environment and figuring out how to avoid those impacts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But what I found was that many governments were just doing EIAs to fulfill an obligation. You would do all the work, make recommendations and then the reports would just get tucked away in some drawer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were losing beaches. Wetlands were being destroyed. Things were becoming really drastic! That opened my eyes in terms of the awareness that a lot of [harmful] things were happening environmentally-wise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I remember one time in Barbuda where the lead consultant was misrepresenting the dangers of a project during a public consultation. I got up in that public session and spoke out. I said: \u201cLook, this is a mistake. These are the reasons why you cannot do this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My boss got very mad and didn\u2019t pay me, but I didn\u2019t care. My reputation was more valuable than committing this sort of fraud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think that was around the time I became very determined not to allow the concept of environmental impact assessments to be abused. So, I began speaking out against the things that were happening.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83416\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83416\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-83416 size-full\" title=\"John Mussington speaks during a workshop at the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" src=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\" alt=\"John Mussington speaks during a workshop at the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-944x629.jpg 944w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaks-in-workshop-at-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83416\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Mussington speaks during a workshop at the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch<\/em>: Could you explain how Barbuda\u2019s communal land system works and where that system comes from historically speaking?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b>As a Barbudan, once you reach 18, you are entitled to land by right. You don\u2019t need a bank. <b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re entitled to land for three purposes: residential, agriculture and commercial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you get land to build your house, it becomes yours and you can pass it on to your children and children\u2019s children. Agricultural land works differently. As long as you are utilizing it, you can have it. When you\u2019re finished, it goes back into the communal pool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is because Barbuda was operated not as a plantation, but as a supply station for other plantations. Barbudans were allowed to maintain family structures, they had their own homes and provision grounds. Because they were not fed by the slave masters, they had to sustain themselves.<\/p>\n<p>With our African ancestry, like many Indigenous peoples, we did not have this concept that you own land as a commodity to buy and sell. The concept that we have is [that] we are part of the land. We use the land to sustain ourselves. We belong to the land. The land belongs to us. So, parting with it by selling it was just not something that was done [in our belief system].<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barbuda was never a plantation for the simple reason that intensive sugarcane or tobacco cultivation could not happen there. It was just too dry, very thin soil and so it was not feasible. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, during the period of enslavement, we had people living on Barbuda to supply the rest of the Codrington plantations in Antigua, as well as throughout the Caribbean. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barbuda was a haven for livestock and we supplied the plantations with fresh meat and provisions. In terms of growing produce, we used a technique called \u2018slash and burn\u2019 and incorporated biochar, which was very similar to the food production systems used in other civilizations in the Amazon basin, especially bringing that knowledge from Africa in terms of our origins and being able to sustain ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you had to look at it from the perspective of the European mindset, this system of communal land ownership would be considered unique. But from the perspective of Indigenous and tribal peoples, it is the most logical system. The Europeans brought this concept of land being a commodity that you can buy and sell. But throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Indigenous people and maroon communities <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4uJjVFB\">practiced and continue to practice common ownership.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/499yRUT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Kalinago<\/a> in Dominica still use that system. The <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4wJOYTc\">Maroons in Jamaica<\/a> use that system. <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4nA359j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Saramaka<\/a> people in Suriname use that system. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wherever you find Indigenous people, that is what they practice. We saw land not as something to exploit for personal enrichment, but as something that sustains life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This whole notion of real estate and buying and selling properties is a Western construct, spread throughout colonialism.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch<\/em>: Could you explain what the current situation is in Barbuda?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the 2017 hurricane disaster, Barbudans began to realize that there was a <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4unl6uh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concerted effort by the central government<\/a> administration [in Antigua] to abolish our land system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>After the hurricane, we <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4ugg2aR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">were evacuated off the island<\/a> with the excuse that another storm was coming. While we were away, the Prime Minister began saying publicly that communal land ownership was a myth. But we know that to be nonsense because communal land ownership is widespread throughout the world.<\/p>\n<p>The disaster provided an opportunity for the government to repeal the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4nGtvq6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barbuda Land Act<\/a> and embark on a process of redeveloping Barbuda into a private island serving primarily the lifestyles of millionaires. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3RhR64s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gaston Browne<\/a>, publicly admitted that he was going to <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3RhSRyA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create a luxury real estate market<\/a> in Barbuda. He said <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4dDCXGb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barbuda would become<\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span>a Jumby Bay on steroids.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d <\/span>Jumby Bay happens to be one of the offshore islands in Antigua owned by millionaires. No one goes there unless you are a homeowner and in that millionaire class.<\/p>\n<p>What happened after the hurricane was disaster capitalism. We realized there were wealthy people in the world who believe they are entitled to the remaining unspoiled parts of the Earth and can use money to buy their way into those places.<\/p>\n<p>We strongly believe that without equitable access to resources and without our communal land system, we cannot continue to exist as Barbudans. The reason we were able to survive the 2017 hurricane with only one casualty was the resilience of our island. Our houses were strongly built since resources were put into superior building materials rather than mortgage payments. Our mangrove wetlands were intact and healthy and so too were our beaches and coral reefs. These systems provided protection. We had these systems in place because we collectively owned them and we shared a strong responsibility to ensure they remained that way. That is a valuable lesson about the advantages of a communal land ownership system.<\/p>\n<p>So the fight continues.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83420\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83420\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-83420 size-full\" title=\"John Mussington jots down ideas so he can share them during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" src=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\" alt=\"John Mussington jots down ideas so he can share them during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-942x629.jpg 942w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-writing-down-and-sharing-his-ideas-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83420\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Mussington jots down ideas to share during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch<\/em>: What would you say to the youth of Barbuda who feel disillusioned?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things we say to young people is this: think about what you eat and how you survive. Can you get any of those things without land? <\/span>The other thing we explain is how real estate works in the real world.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a young person coming out of school elsewhere in the world, you may need a 25- or 30-year mortgage to own a home. If you fall into difficulty after years of payments, the bank can repossess your property. As Barbudans, you are entitled to land by right. You don\u2019t need a bank. You are actually among the wealthiest young people in the world because you have the land.<\/p>\n<p>Many of our young people travel. They experience the outside world. But at the end of the day, they appreciate what Barbuda offers: being able to spend days on the beach fishing, swimming, hunting, just living in fresh air. For the Barbudan young person, that is paradise.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And that is something that we consciously teach them. There&#8217;s a difference between this and the fast world out there, which you&#8217;re free to navigate and enjoy. But then when you get tired and you need to come back to paradise, we\u2019re here and you are part of ensuring that paradise remains because you&#8217;re part owner of that land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch<\/em>: What do you think Barbuda brings to the world?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the positive outcomes of the 2017 disaster was the realization that there were other communities going through the exact same thing and we began speaking to each other. We realized we had a common story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What together we realized is that disaster capitalism is real. The same company that was redeveloping islands in the Bahamas ended up in Barbuda attempting to do the same thing. It is the same company, Discovery Land Company, involved in Scotland, California and Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n<p>That is how we eventually formed the network <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4nABGnK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stronger Caribbean Together<\/a>, bringing together community organizations from Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Belize, Providencia in Colombia and other places throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.<\/p>\n<p>There is a group of wealthy people in the world who believe they are entitled to the remaining unspoiled parts of the Earth and they can use money to buy their way into obtaining those areas.<\/p>\n<p>If communities don\u2019t recognize the strategies being used against them, then they are going to lose those places. The climate crisis is the result of that sort of abuse.<\/p>\n<p>So by uniting together, spreading our stories, we began to realize that what we suffered in Barbuda was the exact same thing that the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4v1NHoX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Raizal<\/a> people in New Providence Colombia suffered two years later. Grenadians also suffered that recently and the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/43kiDVm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">same thing happened in Jamaica<\/a> in terms of the mining of bauxite, as well as in Guyana and Belize.<\/p>\n<p>If we are going to survive on planet Earth, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/44WUsP7\">we need to seriously rethink<\/a> who <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/COP30CivilSociety\">the true stewards of the Earth<\/a> are.<\/p>\n<p>We have seen success in the way our communities live and in our ability to withstand what is happening in the world. We need to spread that message far and wide so people can understand that another way of living is possible.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83417\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83417\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-83417\" src=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\" alt=\"John Mussington speaking to the cohort at the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-944x629.jpg 944w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-speaking-to-the-cohort-at-the-2026-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83417\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Mussington speaking to the cohort at the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b><em>RioOnWatch: <\/em>Was there anything you found inspiring in Rio\u2019s favelas that you would take back to Barbuda?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mussington: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, very much so. W<\/span>hile I was listening to the discussion and walking through the favelas, I became very aware that <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4dubaWK\">land rights<\/a> are actually <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/ROWHumanRights\">human rights<\/a>. Right now, communities are struggling just to have land in order to survive.<\/p>\n<p>If we sit back and allow what is happening to take its full trajectory, where you have to be fighting to buy land and control land, how soon is it going to be before we have to buy water? In Barbuda, we harvest rainwater, but increasingly elsewhere we have to buy water. You have to buy food. Where does food come from? The land. And if you don&#8217;t have land, you can&#8217;t produce your own food. You&#8217;re held ransom to someone else who you have to get that food from.<\/p>\n<p>And while I was sitting there, the thought came across my mind. When will we reach that stage where we have to buy air to breathe?<\/p>\n<p>So we&#8217;re heading down a trajectory that if we&#8217;re not careful, it&#8217;s not going to be a place that we want to live at all.<\/p>\n<p>I feel our communities have the answer as to where we need to go and we need to really lobby hard to let the rest of the world realize that the only way we&#8217;re going to be able to continue to live on this planet Earth is if we <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4dUObrm\">practice the kinds of things<\/a> that we&#8217;ve got in these favela communities.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things that really impacted me is seeing the children and despite the conditions of the favelas, you&#8217;re still hearing laughter. Children having fun. From the outside, you would think: how can people live under these conditions? But personally, from what I&#8217;ve seen and how we live in Barbuda and visiting other communities like the one I visited in the Guyana rainforest you realize that connectedness to the land and the Earth, that&#8217;s what humanity is all about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And so there&#8217;s hope. You cannot be too demotivated because of what is happening. And that&#8217;s what drives me every single day, especially going through what we have gone through in Barbuda.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_83418\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83418\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-83418 size-full\" title=\"John Mussington takes a picture of an information board at the Valongo Wharf archaeological site during a visit to the Provid\u00eancia favela during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" src=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg\" alt=\"John Mussington takes a picture of an information board at the Valongo Wharf archaeological site during a visit to the Provid\u00eancia favela during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-942x629.jpg 942w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/John-Mussington-taking-a-picture-of-an-information-board-at-Valongo-Wharf-archeological-site-during-a-visit-to-Providencia-at-the-2026-Favela-with-Global-CLT-Peer-Exchange.-Photo-Barbara-Dias-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Mussington takes a picture of an information board at the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2IPGqqb\">Valongo Wharf<\/a> archaeological site during a visit to the <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2JpV3OV\">Provid\u00eancia favela<\/a> during the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>*The Favela Community Land Trust and RioOnWatch are both projects managed by Rio de Janeiro-based NGO Catalytic Communities (CatComm).<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><b>Support\u00a0<\/b><b><i>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b><b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/FavelaCovidResponse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by clicking here<\/a><\/b><b>.<\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>\ufeff\ufeff In April 2026, Barbudan environmentalist, community leader and activist John Mussington visited Rio de Janeiro for the 2026 Global Community Land Trust Peer Exchange organized by Brazil&#8217;s Favela Community Land Trust Project,* invited to <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83413\" title=\"&#8216;We Belong to the Land&#8217;: An Interview With John Mussington on the Urgency of Learning from Barbuda&#8217;s Communal Land System [VIDEO]\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":83414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1267,3477,1284,452,1739,1329],"tags":[882,1720,315,242,3774,2251,472,219,3232,2556,435,2122,26,25,1033,1383,3030,1981],"writer":[3890],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[3548],"class_list":{"0":"post-83413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gentrificationwatch","8":"category-climate-justice","9":"category-interviews-profiles","10":"category-rio20","11":"category-video","12":"category-by-international-observers","13":"tag-academia-x-civil-society","14":"tag-affordable-housing","15":"tag-african-diaspora","16":"tag-agriculture","17":"tag-ancestral-knowledge","18":"tag-asset-based-development","19":"tag-climate-change","20":"tag-collective-action","21":"tag-colonialism","22":"tag-community-knowledge","23":"tag-community-land-trust","24":"tag-housing-law","25":"tag-housing-rights","26":"tag-human-rights","27":"tag-land-rights","28":"tag-land-use","29":"tag-sense-of-belonging","30":"tag-stormwater","31":"writer-marj-osagie","32":"photographer-barbara-dias"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83413"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83497,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83413\/revisions\/83497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83413"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=83413"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=83413"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=83413"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=83413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}