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# Community Sovereignty

<figure class="page-hero">
<img src="../assets/images/community-sovereignty.jpg" alt="People shopping at a farmers market with fresh produce" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@theguccer2100">Spencer Plouzek</a> on Unsplash</figcaption>
</figure>

Sovereignty is not something you achieve alone. It is built in relationship — with the land, with the people who grow food, with neighbors who share skills, and with networks that operate outside the extractive economy.

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## Food: know your farmer

Every dollar spent at a supermarket feeds a system designed to concentrate wealth and power. The alternative is older than capitalism: direct relationships with the people who produce what you consume.

- Join a local CSA (community-supported agriculture)
- Buy from farmers' markets — talk to the people behind the stall
- Trade skills: help with a harvest, offer web design, teach a class
- Grow something yourself, even if it's just herbs on a windowsill

When your food comes from someone you know, the transaction becomes a relationship. That relationship is the foundation of a parallel economy.

!!! warning "The monopoly problem"
    [Watch this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLZV5EesNNI) to understand how deeply monopolized the food system is. The solution is not to find ethical products within the system — it's to build outside it.

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## Private Members Associations and collectives

In many jurisdictions, Private Members Associations (PMAs) allow groups to operate outside the regulatory frameworks designed for commercial entities. They are not businesses — they are associations of people exercising their right to associate and self-govern.

PMAs can be used for:

- Education cooperatives outside state curricula
- Health collectives practicing natural medicine
- Legal support networks with aligned professionals
- Community asset ownership (land, equipment, housing)

Research what's possible in your jurisdiction. Find lawyers and politicians with genuine integrity — they exist, often working quietly — who can help push back on overreach in climate policy, health mandates, surveillance expansion, and data center proliferation.

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## Seva: service without expectation

*Seva* is selfless service — giving without any expectation of return. It is the antidote to the transactional mindset that pervades modern life.

Start small:

- Cook a meal for someone who is struggling
- Sit and listen to someone who is lonely — just listen, no advice
- Clean a section of your local park or river
- Offer your skills (legal, technical, therapeutic) to those who cannot pay

Do three kind things every week that you tell no one about. The anonymity is part of the practice — it purifies the motivation.

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## Building freedom networks

Create community links — both offline and online — that support and develop:

| Domain | What to build |
|--------|--------------|
| **Education** | Study groups, skill-shares, unschooling collectives |
| **Technology** | Local mesh networks, open-source tooling, privacy workshops |
| **Health** | Herbal medicine circles, movement groups, mental/emotional/spiritual support pods |
| **Legal** | Network of integrity-driven lawyers, know-your-rights workshops |
| **Economic** | Barter networks, time banks, local currencies, PMAs |

The goal is not to secede from society. It is to build parallel structures so robust that when the extractive systems falter, communities don't.

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## Legally minimizing extraction

Tax avoidance within the law is not evasion — it is resource sovereignty. Learn about:

- PMAs and trusts for collective asset holding
- Agricultural exemptions where applicable
- Non-profit structures for community-serving work
- Barter and gift economies that operate outside taxable transactions

Consult aligned professionals. The goal is to keep resources circulating within the community rather than being siphoned upward.

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**Related:** [Digital Sovereignty](./digital-sovereignty.md) — because freedom networks need free infrastructure.

*Who in your community could you reach out to this week?*