The Birth of Advocacy from Necessity

This video documents how Land Rights Defenders emerged from necessity to protect Indigenous ancestral lands in Ghana's Ashanti Region. It tells the story of the Benimasi-Boadi community's struggle against land dispossession and the founding of the advocacy movement.

Operating from Columbus, Ohio, with field operations in Ghana, Land Rights Defenders was born out of a community's refusal to accept the unlawful seizure of their 1,298.33 acres of ancestral land — including the sacred burial grounds and cultural heritage site of Oheneyere Huahi Yaa Achama Tutuwaa, spouse of Asantehene Osei Tutu I.

What began as one family's fight for justice has grown into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that combines legal advocacy, community education, and international policy engagement to defend land rights across the Global South.