Mission Statement
and
founding principles
Mission Statement
We believe in the wisdom of story and the innate intelligence contained within each of us that invites us to be a part of stories greater than ourselves. We believe that each human carries the bones of these stories in their souls and we have made it our life’s work to invite these bones to be fleshed into being and connected with others, both human and non-human. We believe in reviving the old ways and inviting remembrance and belonging to an animate world through wild food and medicine, community living and responsibility, ceremony, ancestral skills, poetry, song, myth, and tending wild spaces.
Who we serve
Many humans have experienced deep suffering, confusion, and alienation at the hands of a culture so deeply disconnected from itself. The wandering, questioning, mistrust, and collection of disparate, dismembered experiences that pass for initiation in our culture have proven insufficient for these humans. We believe that humans are meant for a larger, more beautiful and meaningful story. We trust the intelligence and benevolence of the stories that are latent in our bones and recognize the felt need for a supportive, communal container to allow these stories to be remembered.
This is not a new way of doing things, rather it is the oldest way. A way of connection, meaning, initiation, and living in service to life, death, and reciprocal relationships with both the human and non-human world. We reverently serve and trust the mystery, wildness, and vast potentiality that lies on either side of the fragile boundary of Self that we have so delicately constructed at the edge of our skin.
Founding Principles
∴Belonging∴
* You Belong to an Animate World *
We are committed to the project of belonging to an
animate world - a world of ensouled beings who are
also participating in the story of the world, right
alongside you. Everything is alive, intelligent, and
worthy of beauty and respect - plants, animals, rivers,
mountains, fungi, insects, and even humans.
* You Belong to a Village *
Humans belong in villages, with all the accountability and enrichment that a village provides. Living with other humans who are willing and capable of inviting the most beautiful parts of us forward helps us deepen into our most courageous story. Community in a village means cultivating relationships with those who will not not allow us to protect our egos or hide behind our fears.
* You belong to your Soul *
We believe there is a story you were born to
carry into the world that is so much bigger and
more beautiful than anything you could possibly
imagine. This is not the story that your family, your
culture, or your fears want you to be, but your own
story, the one you carry in your bones.
∴Remembrance∴
* Remembering how to be Human *
We are not teaching anything new, rather, we are remembering that there are ways of being that we were born with. We are remembering the most basic functions of what it means to be an animal - how to feed, clothe, heal, and shelter ourselves as well as ways of being in relationship with the world.
*
* Remembering Reciprocity
and value *
We are remembering the old agreements between
Humans and the World, between Life and Death.
We are remembering the language of reciprocity and
the power of the Gift. Our culture has forgotten these
agreements and reduced them to Money, the language
of the Commodity, and we are committed to not
continuing this tradition. We believe humans carry deep
wisdom, power, and skills that are far more beautiful and
interesting than money. We believe there is an intelligent
benevolence at the heart of the universe, an
abundant generosity that our culture has forgotten
entirely.
* Remembering the Gift
of Language *
We believe that the gifts of language and story were given to Humans for a very specific reason, and we are committed to remembering and practicing it. We are learning what it means to use our magic to give the stories, poems, and songs of the world back to itself. We are remembering what being human is for.
