the multitudes that make us
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the multitudes that make us *
Photos by Gabrielle ‘Baby’ Thompson and Kris Moon
Co-Creating Refuge + Re-Meadowing at Moon Mountain
Finding belonging in not-belonging.
Moon Mountain is an ancestral mandate that aims to co-create space to heal on land in community. Located in Western North Carolina, this refuge centers those who have been historically de-centered — people of color and native wildlife. Moon Mountain is stewarded by Kris Moon, Jeong Hwa and their ancestors and is in collaboration with Ekua Adisa and Isissa Komada-John and their ancestors. The land project includes re-meadowing a 2-acre field, and offering space to communally re(source) through a dāna*-based micro-jjimjilbang, or donation-based ritual bathhouse, and additional gatherings blessed by our ancestors. We have experimented with harvesting native plants for medicine and growing cultural food gardens in past years and are listening to both the land and our ancestors for when to return to this part of the project. The land also hosts an artist studio.
A meadow is a lush pasture often near water, symbolizing nourishment, refreshment, and spiritual growth.
After decades of human-centered agricultural use, one that couldn’t help but uphold inequitable power dynamics, we made the decision to re-meadow 2-acres of highly coveted bottomland in the steep mountainous terrain of Madison County. With the support of Wildbud Natives, we have done two ritual burns of the field. We’re learning a lot about our conditioning as we do a lot of “nothing,” which mostly means watching, waiting, observing and documenting what seed is sprouting and welcoming more native wildlife to the land, including wild turkeys, a large family of deer, and even several packs of coyotes.
In 2026, we enter year 3 of this reparative agreement and have our sights on co-creating a couple of walking paths to make the relationship to the land more accessible, while letting most of the plant life do its thing.
In traditional Korean culture, communal spaces like Jjimjilbangs were an essential part of community life.
My Korean ancestors and spiritual guides sent me to these mountains to create experiences to receive care and remember who we are, together. Jjimjilbangs, or Korean bathhouses originated during the Silla Dynasty (57 BC-935 AD) and have been influenced by its proximity to, and cultural exchange with, both China and Japan and later its colonization by Japan toward the end of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). “Hot water bathouses,” or Mogyoktong, were important gathering places to connect to community, bathe and relax. The 24/7 larger Jjimjilbangs popularized in Korea in the 1990s, and when I returned to my homelands in 2012, these communal spaces became a portal to reuniting with my ancestors. Offering a container to reconnect to these ancestral bathing rituals of care became central to the vision of Moon Mountain, and in 2023 the first phases of this materialized with a wood-fired soaking tub and outdoor cold shower. A wood-fired sauna is on the wish/what’s next list.
A living project that invites in more collaboration and aims to re-instate the gift economy and reciprocal healing.
Guided by our ancestors, the directive to heal on land in community brings the balm of being together to the forefront. Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, Moon Mountain recently became a home place for The Clearing, a grief ritual for local people of color in Western NC. Based on feedback from the community, building infrastructure to meet safety and accessibility needs is priority right now. We hear and feel how essential it is that our communities receive abundant care to support embodied thriving and rewrite the cellular narrative of merely surviving. Moving at the pace of relationship, led by our ancestors and in flow with the cycles of the Moon, the vision includes a four-season place for people to stay.
We invite you to join us in re-instating the gift economy in all of our lives and welcome donations of all kinds. For more ways to practice generosity and reciprocal healing at Moon Mountain: