CLP was initiated in 1996 as a joint project between the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) and the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (PACSA), in response to the land reform process taking place in South Africa. It was established as an independent organisation in 1997 and initially focused on church owned land while also challenging the Church to engage in the national land question and work for a just and sustainable agrarian transformation.