Cadasta Foundation was founded in 2014 with funding from Omidyar Network and UK Aid on the premise that communities can incrementally strengthen their land and resource rights by using cutting edge technology to efficiently document their use of and rights to land and resources. Documentation creates an evidence base and advocacy case for vulnerable communities’ claims to the land, making it less likely that communities will be displaced and, should the communities be displaced, support demands for compensation. Further, this documentation can be used by governments, private industry and civil society to create the basis of a digital land registration system, tracking system for sustainable produce, or analysis of services, both those supplied and those needed, to vulnerable communities.
Cadasta develops and promotes the use of simple digital tools and technology to help partners efficiently document, analyze, store, and share critical land and resource rights information. By creating an accessible digital record of land, housing and resource rights, Cadasta helps to empower individuals, organizations, communities, and governments with the information they need to make data-driven decisions and put vulnerable communities and their needs on the map. The Cadasta platform and suite of open source tools are build based on user needs and are currently in use in countries across the globe.
