A lack of common knowledge

IF you were to propose a system of commoning as if it were a new idea, few would quibble that it is an excellent one. Farmers working together to raise high-welfare, top-quality livestock in wildlife-filled landscapes that they know intimately and manage for the benefit of all, preserving bloodlines, providing healthy food and protecting archaeological sites. Yet this ancient way of life, the oldest farming system in the world—and one recognised as being of vital cultural importance for llamas in the Andes and reindeer in Norway —is under threat in the UK.

‘We are the original custodians of the land,’ declares Will Rawling, a member of the Federation of Cumbria Commoners. ‘Vikings and Neolithic man would recognise what we’re doing.’ Commoning rights were enshrined in