Why Our Work
We, in this world, have become disconnected - from ourselves, each other, the land and water, the more than human. Whether that be due to forced, chosen, or inherited disconnection, systemic conditions, a lack of access, or a lack of knowledge and understanding, it is clear that this disconnection has caused deep harm in the way we relate and move; in how we tend to home. It especially persists here in the South which has been often forgotten, dismissed, disregarded and obscured from the damage that has/is happening. Due to historical harms that have happened here, to humans and more than humans, everyone is impacted - past, present, and future.
If we don’t address this disconnection now, and return to a way of being in deep relationship and care for the more than human world, not only will we lose that relationship but we will also remain disconnected to self and in the unwellness that has come from being disconnected. From the longleaf ecosystem, the third most endangered ecosystem on Turtle Island, and the high biodiversity that exists here Alabama, to the waters that feed and connect us all, we are called to protect, heal, and share the stories from this place. Our survival depends on it.
Objectives: The overall objective of all of our programming is to return Home to ourselves, to one another, and to the Mother through a way of being that centers divine care and reciprocity. Where we are brought back into the wholeness of self, and in turn also restore the land, the waters, the inhabitants of the ecosystems to a place that can be called home. Our programs are intentionally multi-generational and span across lineage and landscape. Meaning, we are here to serve those that are looking to reconnect and trust we will be strengthened across differences. This intentionally expansive audience is necessary because it actually captures who is here on this land, and who will be here in the years to come. Through embodiment workshops, educational activities that share stories and immersive sensory experiences, hands-on teaching approaches, reconnection to culture, foodways, medicines, understanding of native habitats – our work builds upon one another and progressively takes shape. The roots of disconnection are deep, and the impacts are widespread – the problem is not itself localized, but the work must be.
While the objective is reconnection in its various layers and depths, that goal realized leads to deep systemic changes. In waking up our senses to the world around us, we become less dependent on the systems harming us and less available to continue supporting them. This happens in tangible ways as skills are built and lifeways are remembered. This leads to an interconnected network of self-determined, sovereign peoples both Indigenous to this land and those whose lineages represent different stories. We believe that healing must be central to this work, or we reproduce the same systems we are trying to remove ourselves from.
