Who We Are
It is always positive to preserve historic land. But what if we could also preserve the history, identity and culture of those who have lived on the land for hundreds, if not thousands of years? This would take land preservation one step further and would truly be something special. That is what the St. John Heritage Collective is all about.
Known as “St. JanCo,” The St. John Heritage Collective is a community land trust, on the small island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). St. JanCo is on a mission to preserve the history, identity, and culture of St. John’s people, especially those whose ancestry on St. John predates the 1917 American Purchase of the USVI from Denmark, and the 1956 establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park.
At St. JanCo, we firmly believe that the conservation of St. John’s pristine landscape must be coupled with cultural stewardship. The people of St. John face a host of socio-economic and political challenges that threaten their food culture, heritage preservation, knowledge transmission and access to resources. Many of these issues were exacerbated by the devastating impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Our Goal
As a community land trust for the sustainable public use of natural and cultural resources in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, our goal is to acquire, manage, and provide land and resources in support of the community’s needs, including the establishment and maintenance of a public high school, a vocational school, affordable housing, civic spaces, community gardens, art cooperatives, and ethical commerce.
We value the people of St. John and want to create spaces that encourage community engagement, learning and the sharing of knowledge about St. John and its people.
We hope that you too are inspired by this call to build a future for St. John that seamlessly blends environmental conservation with cultural heritage preservation. Join us!
We Call for:
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Decolonization in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the world. We demand Racial Justice. We call for a centering of Women’s Rights and LGBTQ Rights in our quest for liberation.
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We know that, if we are to survive, we need an Environmental Justice movement that prioritizes the voices of marginalized people. We require Affordable Housing and simultaneously call for Reparations and Economic Justice.
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We value Coalition Building with other concerned stakeholders and Inter-generational Solidarity. We advocate for Peace, and, therefore, we denounce the violence in our communities and the militarism of the state.
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We need the resources to provide quality Mental and Physical Healthcare to all members of our community. We desire a quality Education for all of our children. We center Love.
“Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.”
malcolm X | Message to the Grassroots
Our History
St. JanCo began as a youth-led subcommittee of the Virgin Islands Unity Day Group. The group was led by Hadiya Sewer and Kurt Marsh Jr., two Black and Indigenous St. Johnians with ancestry in the Virgin Islands (British and U.S.) that predates the mid-1700s. After a few years of intergenerational community organizing with elders in the Group, it became apparent there was a need for accessible spaces on St. John for its ancestral population. As a result of that work, St.JanCo formed as a nonprofit organization in 2018 after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged the real estate inventory on St. John. David Knight Jr., Cooper Penn, and Evanna Chinnery subsequently joined our board, which reflects a diverse cross-section of St. John’s population, including people with ancestry in St. John, the larger Caribbean, and the contiguous United States of America.
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