Testimonials

“What impresses me most about Rachael - and the struggles she has been part of - is her ability to connect with the communities and land in a way that is respectful and based on the building of mutual trust. Her work on community land rights continues to be at the cutting edge. This is based on the interactions and the lessons from indigenous and local communities across a wide range of contexts. She listens deeply. She has tried and tested a range of strategies with communities and carries a richness in terms of lessons and understanding which provides her with clarity of thought. Rachael is able to locate current struggles within the context of a planet with intersecting crises and brings this understanding of human rights, environment, land, economics, patriarchy and rights of indigenous and local communities into the mix. I would highly recommend her based on the expertise and experience she carries.” — Pooven Moodley, Executive Director, Natural Justice, South Africa

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“Rachael is a global authority on land rights, community land protection and legal empowerment. As a team, we have been benefiting so much from her insight, advice, energy and constructive challenge over the years. An outside-the-box thinker, and a real joy to work with!” - Lorenzo Cotula, Head of Law, Economies and Justice Programme, IIED

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"Rachael is one of the few leading authorities on participatory land governance who works across global, regional, national, and local contexts. When my team partners with organizations focused on participatory planning, indigenous mapping, or land protection, Rachael is my go-to advisor and recommended community land expert. Her extensive experience working with organizations at every level, from individual communities to UN agencies, gives her a perspective that is both strategic, practical, and deeply empathetic." - Marena Brinkhurst, Program Manager, Community Team, Mapbox, USA

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“I had the opportunity to join training sessions taught by Rachael: the tools she has innovated - particularly the valuation and visioning exercises - are very important for community self-analysis, reflection, and the realisation of land and natural resource rights. I get a lot of energy while talking with or learning from Rachael, as she has deep knowledge on community land rights issues; participatory community processes that lead to democracy and transformation are in her blood. My organisation is very much benefiting from her teachings, especially the community by-law drafting process. In Nepal, where the local governments now have the right to formulate local land policy, the federal government has provided a “model law” rather than a framework. We at CSRC are strongly advocating for municpal adoption of the community by-law drafting process that Rachael has taught us. We also now apply the visioning exercise she taught us in our campaign-related work - and it is now part of the land use planning guidelines published by Nepal’s Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation. - Jagat Deuja, Executive Director, Community Self Reliance Centre, Nepal

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“Rachael’s innovative thinking about how to support communities and civil society organizations has greatly improved our team’s work. She is a game changer.” - Brendan Schwartz, International Institute for Environment and Development, UK