Landesa partners with governments and local organizations to ensure that rural women and men living in extreme poverty have s ... ecure rights over the land they depend on. Founded as the Rural Development Institute in 1967, Landesa has helped more than 180 million families strengthen legal control over their land. When families have secure rights to land, they can invest in their land to sustainably increase their harvests and reap the benefits—improved nutrition, health, education, and opportunity—for generations. read more