The Garden / People's Project / EcoVillage Revolution / ShutUpAndGrowIt - Commune in Lafayette, TN that is totally not a cult

[large_farva]

"The Garden" is a 20 acre intentional living community in Lafayette, Tennessee, that recently rose to infamy through tiktok. Originally, the message being promoted was that all were welcome. But the attention turned negative and the internet labeled the community a cult.

Wishlist

Things that are always useful:toilet papertrash bagsbiodegradable dish soapcoffee & teabeddingropes & tarpsconstructiontin roofingwindowsdoorsmetal fencingwater tank 100-600Galwater barrels…

thefreegarden.org

(archive)
The Garden Facebook Group

Other associated projects:
People's Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit (archive)
FB Page
YT Channel

The Firefly Foundation
GoFundMe
archive

Circus of Purpose
WordPress
archive
Facebook

Ex visitor
Tiktok profile
Video about their experience

From the FB group:

The purpose of “The Land” is to be available as a space for families and people to work, prosper together in a flexible environment, engage in projects that include or coincide with sustainable organic farming methods, and most importantly, helping others. It is located at 8967 Galen Road, Lafayette, TN 37083. We wish to work with all like minded people in an atmosphere of equality which encourages environmental stewardship, low-impact living that is fun but also family friendly, and adheres to a positive ethic that acknowledges the value of our neighbors and our community as a whole.

As a non-profit, they have access to free federal background checks for new members, but choose not to utilize them for any current or new members/visitors.

This, and their open door policy, has led to speculation that they have violent and or sex offenders living there. There is at least one individual living there with a domestic violence charges as recent as 2020. It's been said another person is on the sex offender registry but so far I have not found any evidence.



Persons of Interest
Property owner (partial)
Patrick Martin
Grew up in Rainbow Gathering and Rainbow Family of Living Light which is another group that gives off culty vibes.
The Garden was originally called Shut Up and Grow It, an offshoot of Rainbow Family's Shut up and Eat traveling kitchens.

Spoiler: Tennessee Real Estate Data

thanks to @Anaspook for these

He deleted much of his social media presence recently
Facebook
Twitter
WordPress


Notable residents
Arielle "Rel" Gumson
Rel brought much negative attention to the Garden with her strange behavior and ideals. She killed and ate a cat, skinned and wore her pet dog after it was hit by a car.

Tiktok
Facebook
Has been at the Garden since at least 2019. Ate a cat.

In response to mass speculation on tiktok that The Garden is a cult, they made a cute little video about "drinking the koolaid" in obvious reference to Jonestown/People's Temple Massacre.

After the video was poorly received and many call outs, Rel gives this narcissistic performance in which she gaslights everyone, saying she doesn't even know what Jonestown was, and that this was a reference to the Tom Wolfe book, Electric Koolaid Acid Trip in which a band of merry pranksters doses people with LSD spiked Koolaid. The saying "Drink the Koolaid" is commonly known as being in reference to Jonestown, NOT the Tom Wolfe book. Nice try, though, Rel.

Spoiler: More Rel

Killed, skinned, ate and wore a cat.

This is totally normal

Big views on racism.


Makes plenty of money, why work a real job?

Also needs money for boots one month later.


Speaks for itself

Skinned her beloved pet dog after it was hit by a car. Also wore it as a skirt.

Jack "Tree" Forrester

Tiktok
Facebook
YouTube

From Liverpool, UK. Despite being a recent arrival to The Garden (within the last year), Jack has become the more popular face on tiktok, called "knock off Ed Sheeran" gaining over 80,000 followers since January 2021.
Jack is from Liverpool, UK and has traveled to communes in Europe, Africa and Costa Rica and posts about his travels to his youtube channel and Tiktok. It was tree's video from February 2nd, inviting anyone and everyone to come visit the Garden, that went viral.

Julia Heim (tree's girlfriend)

TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
Trust fund baby from New York.

Flute Tramp aka Philip Guterez is another person living at the Garden. He has has an active warrant in Oregon, extensive criminal history in both Oregon and California. The cover photo for their youtube is the some QAnon Bs.
YouTube

On this channel is a video of a council meeting at the Garden, in which a bong is being passed around in front of very young children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRE4NJ_z1jI&ab_channel=FluteTramp (video saved locally but too large to upload directly)


Just within the last few days, there has been a chainsaw accident requiring a trip to the ER and a visit from the police in regards to a missing person (videos from this now-deleted TikTok profile)

*note the truck they use in this video has a Studio 54 logo on it. It's speculated by some that there is already a documentary filming in progress. Amill has stated that VICE wants to do a documentary on them but did not elaborate on when that might happen.

After the negative attention became too much, two residents and their children left the garden, more from them can be found at tiktok.com/@amillandbritt and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCjOaucVEsadAANolaEPOTA/about. I removed them from this OP after they left the garden. The negativity prompted others to announce a departure from social media, which proved to be temporary.

By March 2021, the garden changed it's stance to say visitors were no longer welcome. Apparently Rel was asked to leave for a 2nd time because she refused to stop posting to social media.

 

[Coolio55]

Pretty cool thread OP! They've certainly got the "characters" for an entertaining "blair witch style" reality show.

As a non-profit, they have access to free federal background checks for new members, but choose not to utilize them for any current or new members/visitors.

This, and their open door policy, has led to speculation that they have violent and or sex offenders living there. There is at least one individual living there with a domestic violence charges as recent as 2020. It's been said another person is on the sex offender registry but so far I have not found any evidence.

I know of one of these hippie places a few towns away and can confirm that it's a hotspot for creeps on the run too. They're almost certainly all like that.

 

[large_farva]

I could use help with collecting information on all the other associated projects

The Garden is part of People's Project 501c3 and there are a lot of offshoots, gofundmes, facebook pages, blogs and more.

Recent article:

https://www.distractify.com/p/treeisalive-tiktok-cult

https://archive.li/3ibw4

 

[themasterlurker]

Don't forget to archive EVERY link that you can in the OP

 

[Neil]

Aww hell yeah! I was born way too late to watch the combustion of the Rajneeshpuram trashfire, so I hope this one grows into an even bigger one for all to enjoy.

 

[The Fool]

I've always wondered if we'd ever see a Jonestown repeat on US soil (or if it's even possible). Here's hoping for a good show!

I know of one of these hippie places a few towns away and can confirm that it's a hotspot for creeps on the run too. They're almost certainly all like that.

That's what happens when you preach about a community of pure values instead of any actual economic or technical details. You don't attract smart people who can plan ahead.

 

[Agarathium1066]

This is some good stuff, love watching these groups turn themselves inside out with their madness.

 

[Samoyed]

Good OP. Literally Jonestown tho

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Damn hippies.

 

[Slappy McGherkin]

Dreds. Dreds everywhere. Long unwashed shit tangles of hair. Disgusting.

Thanks, OP. Adding this to my radar as a potential dumpsterfire.

 

[large_farva]

Dreds. Dreds everywhere. Long unwashed shit tangles of hair. Disgusting.

Thanks, OP. Adding this to my radar as a potential dumpsterfire.

View attachment 1980082

The smell there must be horrendous.
This is only 20 acres, with a handful of living spaces, ONE SHOWER and they are inviting everyone who wants to venture that way.

A few people have said they think at the very least, this group is using social media to entice people to come to use them for free labor and donations. Let's hope that's all it is.

 

[Dysnomia]

It's only a matter of time before some child is raped. If it hasn't happened already. So many deviant looking people in those videos. And you can smell them through the screen.

 

[dirt lamb]

Just saw a video on these faggoty oogles today. That ariel bitch is really hilarious. Nice work on the OP, this is some solid milk imo

Edit to elaborate my enthusiasm on this topic:

Spoiler: Mild powerlevel

among my years in shitty punk scenes i have gotten to know quite a good amount of these traveling stanky crust punk hippies. Most of them are horrible people posing as peaceful hippie idealists. Im talking severely unstable, violent, occassionally murderous people. Based on their methods of engaging people and the stench coming out of my phone when reading about them, I guarantee there is a lot more than a little bit of nefariousness happening there. That chick Rel really strikes me because she oozes bad energy, and I know a lot of her type. Shes definitely a bad seed there. Without too much more powerleveling, Ive witnessed something just like this begin with the same kind of people through a former close friend who was involved. I had really bad vibes then and i am getting the same vibes from these kids.

My prediction for the future of the Garden is violence.

 

[BingBong]

This is a good example of why you should just build a TedShed™ by yourself. Living off the land is all well and good, but not went it involves living with crackheads.

 

[Anaspook]

Rel and Amill have already ended their breaks.
Amill with some video in a recording studio with Nikki Williams.
And Rel has a lovely ramble about haters and fans. (I have a archived copy but i can't get videos to upload here)

Spoiler: Other members tiktoks

Less interesting than people in op but quick mention to some other accounts:

@fnkngn:
A man with heat glasses who i guess is friends with rel, (and also lives in the garden)

@nicnoksontiktok:
Newest video is just his mate asking for free stuff

@ecovillagerevolution:
Facebook

This guy, Karl, is probably my favroute out of all of them. Hes either constantly on drugs or just retarded.
His vidoes will sometimes just be Rel or Trees shit, and this asian guy

Spoiler: Asian Guy

who i think is Blooey Moreno

https://www.facebook.com/blooey.moreno.1

But, around the time Circus of Purpose went to see them, he uploaded this master piece
Hes done a strange amount of solo puppet shows for a grown man who doesnt seam to have his own kids
and the Dancing vidoes!
He made a picture book:

Spoiler: The Sphere of the Deer by Karl Zehr

 

[large_farva]

Rel and Amill have already ended their breaks.
Amill with some video in a recording studio with Nikki Williams.
And Rel has a lovely ramble about haters and fans. (I have a archived copy but i can't get videos to upload here)
View attachment 1980522

Here's Rel's video. Cute she casually mentions she ate roadkill, as if that will put people's minds at ease.

 

[The Fool]

I can't really tell, is this compound in a pine forest?

How are they going to grow anything there? Or are they just going to eat pinecones?

 

[Sexy Senior Citizen]

H. P. Lovecraft once wrote a story called The Lurking Fear, a story about an isolated, once-respected family that inbred so thoroughly that they devolved into subhuman, cannibalistic monsters.

I say that because these people look only a few steps removed from the monsters that family became.

 

[large_farva]

I can't really tell, is this compound in a pine forest?

How are they going to grow anything there? Or are they just going to eat pinecones?

They are on only 20 acres of land right next to a road. They do have gardens, but not enough to sustain all of them plus visitors. They go shopping for food and crap at walmart just like everyone else.

 

[Kendall Motor Oil]

Do they actually know how to garden? A common thread among hippie "communes" is ignorance of well.... everything. The ancom communities I've looked into seem to just want sex and weed on the taxpayer's dollar.
Homesteading requires a lot of effort and knowledge, especially initially.