The Order of Free Labour

Part of the government series of articles.

Order of Free Labour
Sovereign Order of the Commonwealth
Founded	2021
Members	2,200 sworn, 800 apprentices
Mission	Labour in Service to Community
Priory	Sude
Recognition	42 nations

The Order of Free Labour is a sovereign construction and agricultural order chartered by the Commonwealth in 2021, dedicated to building infrastructure and establishing farms in marginal lands and impoverished regions. Members take perpetual vows of poverty, labour in service to community and Commonwealth principles of mutual aid, focusing on the hardest physical work in service of human dignity.

The order maintains fifteen labour communities across Commonwealth republics, each functioning as a working monastery housing 50-150 members. Communities are entirely self-sufficient through their own agriculture and craft production, operating workshops, dormitories, fields and training facilities. Members follow rigid daily routines of communal meals, eight hours physical labour, skills training and rest.

Work focuses on unglamorous but essential projects: digging wells in African villages, terracing hillsides for mountain agriculture, building simple housing in disaster zones, reclaiming marginal land for farming, establishing infrastructure in the poorest regions both domestic and overseas. The order does not pursue prestigious engineering projects but rather provides basic construction and agricultural development where it is most needed.

Federal government provides land allocation (often marginal or undeveloped territory), capital equipment through the Ministry of Industry, and technical consultation. The order exports surplus agricultural and craft production to fund overseas missions through the Bureau of Surplus and Export. Members work themselves to exhaustion in harsh conditions but maintain adequate food, rest and strong camaraderie.

Recognition and Operations

The order operates in 42 nations through Commonwealth development programmes, focusing on post-conflict reconstruction and development of extremely poor regions. Current projects include terraced agriculture in Andean communities, water infrastructure in the Sahel, housing reconstruction in Haiti, and land reclamation in Pacific island nations.

Order communities maintain traditional craft skills and construction techniques threatened by industrial modernisation, serving as living repositories of pre-industrial knowledge.