KEEPER OF THE MOUNTAINS

In 2018, Keeper of the Mountains Foundation started to bring to life a dream of sustainability: The Dandelion Project. The Dandelion Project is our way forward in creating sustainable, energy alternatives in low-income or underserved communities. Our first project begins in Las Marias, Puerto Rico with Plenitud PR, a non-profit offering education with farming, community service, and sustainability. Visit our NEWS page for more information on how you can become involved with our first solar project and donate today!

OUR MISSION

The Keeper of the Mountains Foundation's mission is to educate and inspire people to work for healthier, more sustainable communities and an end to dependency on fossil fuels.  We believe a better future requires everyday people to come together and recognize their power to make long-term, lasting change. 

We envision a network of organizations building a stronger foundation for healing the ecological and community disturbance caused by the practice of Mountain Top Removal and other forms of resource extraction.  
 
We support communities that want to move beyond a fossil-fuel based economy and those which honor the interconnection of people, land, and artistic heritage.

HISTORY to PRESENT

Larry Gibson began fighting Mountain Top Removal and giving Kayford Mountain Tours since the day he discovered that mountaintop removal was the cause of those big explosions that started shaking his house in the mid 1990's. His life mission became educating others about this egregious new form of mining coal. Several years later, he was introduced to attorney Bill DePaulo and they officially formed Keeper of the Mountains Foundation in July 2004.

Anyone who knew Larry knew that every morning he set foot on the ground, he was working to put an end to mountain top removal and to save his home, Kayford mountain. To this day, we are astounded by the impact he is still having on so many people across the globe.

Larry Gibson passed away in 2012 and his legacy was handed down to current KOTM President/Chair, Paul Corbit Brown. Paul has dedicated most of his life to environmental and human rights photography. To date, Paul gives Kayford Tours, travels to educate others about the adverse effects of Mountain Top Removal, and speaks internationally at shareholders meetings on the importance of divestment. When asked about his last conversation with Larry days before his sudden death, Paul recounts the thoughts he shared with Larry, "Well, if we’re going to move forward, we’re going to have to change the narrative. We need to transform this battleground into a victory garden.”

As the fight to end mountaintop removal continues, Keeper of the Mountains recognizes the urgency of creating new conversations and projects which inspire and encourage a brighter, cleaner and more just future for Appalachia.

"We are the Keepers of the Mountains. Love them or Leave them. Just don't destroy them." -Larry Gibson 1946-2012

The IRS recognizes KOTM as a qualified 501(c)(3) organization; contributions to KOTM are tax deductible under the Internal Revenue Code.

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