Tiffany Hammond

Aya Community Land Trust is a non-profit, community-governed organization formed to acquire, develop, and steward land and homes that fulfill community goals, create opportunities to build wealth and prevent displacement. We will be guided by the vision of community leaders in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma, which was established through land contributions from John and Mary Conna, George Putnam Riley and others, a sanctuary for Black residents escaping the Jim Crow South and a hub for Black Culture.

We embrace the values of these Adinkra words and symbols.

Aya – Endurance, tolerance and willpower. Representing growth under harsh conditions, this symbol represents our commitment to persist in achieving results.

AYA

Eban – Opportunities and developments. This symbol represents inequity and uneven development. We hold it as a challenge to create equitable opportunity for all.

EBAN

Mako – Love and security. Representing a fence, this symbol signifies the protection of family from harm. We embrace it as an invitation to act with love, and to create safety.

MAKO

Aya Community Land Trust was formed in order to:

Acquire, steward, preserve, develop, and retain land assets for current and future generations that enable the Black community of Pierce County and the Hilltop neighborhood to thrive.
Prioritize Black leadership in the creation, reclamation or preservation of housing, business, civic and cultural spaces that build or restore financial and cultural wealth and prevent displacement.
Steward a growing inventory of permanently affordable residential and commercial properties that are environmentally sustainable and affordable to low- and moderate-income residents and the organizations and businesses that benefit them.
Build collective community power through a democratically governed membership structure, and through collaboration with other community-governed organizations to collect and share information, skills and advocacy efforts that result in improvements of housing, land, economic and environmental well-being.
Support other individuals and organizations in the retention and development of land.