About Us

learn about our Origin Story, the Moonstead farm, our team, collaborators and values.

Origin Story

We started in Salt Lake City in 2017 as a community-based publication centering herbalism and women’s empowerment.

​In  our first publication submissions, we were struck by the stories of  people without access to institutional healthcare. Many people spoke of  wanting natural, sustainable and affordable remedies. We realized that  our communities needed a space to learn about herbalism and healing, so  by 2018, we converted a 40-foot bus into an herbal apothecary and  started offering herbal workshops. In 2019, we purchased a half-acre of  land in West Valley City licensed for agricultural, commercial, and  residential use where we began growing our own herbs. 

Since our  beginnings, we have continued to release our publication on a quarterly  basis, but we have expanded our vision as we strive to grow into a  cooperative business. With a bus-converted apothecary, farm land, and  the support of our community, we are excited to launch our business as a  farm-to-bus tea shop and apothecary. 

Our vision for this  tea-shop-on-wheels is that it will travel across the Salt Lake Valley  and beyond to offer healing remedies. As a cooperative, there will also  be business opportunities on the farm as it becomes a space for people  to attend private sessions, group classes, workshops, and events. With  the launch of the Mobile Moon Coop, we will continue selling our  publication in addition to teas, tinctures, salves, oils, fresh herbs,  and other herbal products. We will also sustain a monthly member program  where patrons receive a handmade selection of herbal products on a  monthly basis. 

As the practitioners of the Mobile Moon Coop, we  are working towards a business model that is collaborative. Through a  cooperative model, we imagine our products as vital community resources  and hope that our land can become a space where other healers and health  practitioners can offer their services to a growing community.  Ultimately, through the distribution of herbal products and by offering  education, we strive to aid communities and ecosystems through  education, empowerment, and botanical stewardship.

The Moonstead

The  Moonstead is an herb farm and community gathering space. We use  regenerative practices to cultivate a diverse selection of herbs and  foods. We make sure that these lovingly-tended plants make their way  into the community via Moonboxes, events, and volunteer work days. We  also lease 1/4 acre to Grand Prismatic Seeds, a queer-owned and operated seed producer that focuses on native edible and medicinal plants. 

Our  garden was designed with embodiment and intention. There are seven  trees planted in alignment with the body’s “chakras” – or energy  centers; Crown, Third Eye, Throat, Heart, Solar Plexus, Sacral, and  Root. Each  of these trees is the center of a “keyhole” garden, or beds  that minimize path space while still creating access to crops. In each  chakra garden, we have planted herbs that balance these key regions of  the body. In this way, we are building a resilient ecosystem on the land  that we aim to see reflected the resilient ecosystem of our bodies and  communities. Given our arid climate and heavy clay soils, we feed the  soil with plenty of mulch, compost, and living microbes. We do not use  chemical pesticides or fertilizers on site. 

In Spring of 2019,  The Moonstead was a vacant lot. It was a field of thistles, dandelions,  cleavers, and chicory with eight Siberian Elm trees and a rusty set of  trampoline springs. We observed the beauty of the site for some time  before laying out a plan and diving in. By the Summer Solstice, we were  able to host a Farm-to-Table dinner with the bus on-site, live music,  and the garden freshly-established. By 2020, we had an agreement to  lease the back of the lot to Grand Prismatic. We built a storage shed, a  greenhouse nursery, and an outdoor kitchen using mostly upcycled and  on-site materials. The Moonstead is a testament to the power of  community. Throughout the process, we have stressed the importance of  restoration in all processes. When we come together, we are always  learning. When we build together, it is a process of empowerment and  reclamation of skills. When we dig into the Earth and plant seeds or  harvest what has grown, it is a consensual and reciprocal relationship. 

Meet the Team

Rikki Longino

Founder & Membership Manager

They | Them

Rikki founded the Mobile Moon Co-op in order to foster a diverse community of learning together and co-creating a deeply-rooted culture of regeneration. Rikki has studied Environmental Humanities and Urban Ecology at Whitman College and the University of Utah. They have worked at five non-profits in the Wasatch Valley and currently work at the SLC Public Library as the Garden Coordinator and Seed Librarian. Rikki can be found hands in the dirt, face in a flower, pockets full of seeds, and teeth munching spinach any given day. They are motivated by the way elements of a healthy ecosystem intersect and support one another; by the way that cycles wax and wane and the Mobile Moon Co-op is an expression of their passions and dreams.

Yasi Shaker

Events Manager & Moonbox Graphic Designer

They | She

Yasi is an artist, dancer, herbalist, and sociologist. They can’t just choose one project or issue to focus on, so they work on all of them all of the time. They co-produce the Moonboxes, create labels for the products, organize the events and creating content for the social media and of course play and farm on Moonstead. Yasi is also a sociology Ph.D. student at the University of Utah where they study food justice and sovereignty. They have a background in psychology, organic farming, community organizing, food justice strategizing, and facilitating spaces for healing and reclaiming our pleasure and erotic self through dance.

Yasi is always in awe of plants’ wisdom and they love learning about the healing properties of plants and making herbal medicine with friends. They absolutely love being part of this queer and femme-centered cooperative that practices critical love and community-care.

Daley

Moonbox Coordinator & Market Manager

She | They

Daley is a creator, maker, art-doer, lounger, & casual herbalist with lots to learn. She is blown away and inspired by the community care, medicine/knowledge sharing, & ever-giving and growing energy that the Mobile Moon Co-op has. She has found their groove in product-making and moonbox coordination within the co-op.

Often found tabling at markets, she loves hanging & talking herbs, queerness, and art with curious folks.

Camlyn

Events Manager

She | They

Camlyn was drawn to the Mobile Moon Cooperative following some yearning for earth, space, rest, and community/ancestor connection.

Camlyn’s work experience is in media arts, community engagement, and education. She is a high school teacher, an associate film producer, and a trainer/consultant in equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. She also volunteers on the board of Awakening Valley Sangha and the ACLU of Utah. Camlyn is so excited to support the Mobile Moon Cooperative in their events and community outreach. 

Camlyn enjoys dancing, laughing, good food, interviewing people, reading, and mostly spending time with herself and loved ones. Be well. Rest. Enjoy. Love. 

Jenny Beaudoin

Events Manager

She | They

Jenny is a dancer, explorer and behind the scenes cheerleader. They currently manage MMC’s finance and accounting records. They have a background in business operations, data science, and alternative measures of success. They are humbled by each moon kin and the gifts they share with the collective.

Jenny is inspired by healing through movement and connection. They can be found at any open farm day, hoeing, harvesting, sweating, or stretching.

Juana

Moonbox Alchemist

2spirit, They | Them
 
Plantavist (plant activist) in relationship with plants & fungi for over a decade. Craft person who honors our animal kin by creating wearable art & sacred ceremony tools.

Charlotte

Zine & Website Design Wizard

She | Her

Charlotte was the creator of the Moonbox with the aid and support of Rikki. It is now being managed by the Moonkins that still reside in Salt Lake City.

She now has taken over the layout for the Zines with occasional aid of Luca, the original editor of the zines!

Also she is currently the online wizard of the website 🙂

Now living in the south of Chile, Charlotte has fallen in love with the crafting of heirloom quilts and blankets using noble materials and learning to reuse fabric scraps and adding color to her creations using natural dyes.

Caro Nilsson

Events Manager

She | Her

Caro is an artist that has recently gone rogue from her career in the architecture world to follow a new and ever-evolving path of her own making. She has a background in organic farming and a deep fascination with the way native and local plants make places feel the way that they do. Caro’s work is to help people return to themselves in a way that feels like coming home, through connection with the immediate environment and the present moment.

She was drawn to the MMC as a way to come back to the joyful place that farming creates, to connect with the land, and instead found an entire community of passionate humans. There is a place where education, art, the natural world, the environment, and community come together. The Mobile Moon Co-op is a rich example of that type of place and Caro is so honored to be a part of it.

values

+ We  will implement a framework of intersectionality to support individuals  who have been the most marginalized by systems of oppression +

+ We operate through mutual aid rather than charity and aim to enhance, rather than replace pre-existing community systems +

+ We  will work with and learn from the land, plants, and fungi in order to  make possible a healthier, more fulfilled way of life for everyone +

+ We  will recognize and respect indigeneity by engaging with decolonizing  practices such as acknowledging historic and present day injustices  (forced removal, genocide, displacement) on First Nation peoples and  emphasizing harmonious land relations +

+ We will welcome critical feedback because growth is a collective process +

Collaborators

James Young and Guy Banner are the co-owners and farmers of Grand Prismatic Seed. They are committed to growing high quality open pollinated seeds that can withstand the stresses associated with high desert crop production. James has a passion for growing plants/seeds used for natural dyeing. Guy has an affinity for medicinal herbs and plants native to the Great Basin, Intermountain West, and Colorado Plateau. His background includes ethnobotany, habitat restoration, agroecology, native seed production, and ornamental gardening.

We lease 1/4 acre to Grand Prismatic Seeds for growing purposes. 

Become a Member

No matter which category you select, your role as a part of this network of life creates a reciprocal balance of efforts and inputs. The tallest trees cannot survive without the smallest microbes and soil particles making a nurturing foundation.

Support our Journey

Monthly memberships not your vibe? Consider a one-time donation to support our work. Your contribution allows us to make a difference while offering you the flexibility of not joining as a member. We appreciate your support!

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