Two people at Firefly Gathering work together to fix a bicycle

How to practice Mutual Aid: Support your community through asking for and offering help

Mutual Aid is more than just helping—it’s about building resilient, connected communities. At Firefly Gathering 2025 on the Toe River in Green Mountain, NC, visit the Mutual Aid tent to share resources, learn new skills, and experience the power of collective care.

Mutual Aid has become quite a buzzword in today’s counter-cultures and social movements. What most people don’t know is that the term Mutual Aid was coined in 1902 by Russian anarchist philosopher, Peter Kropotkin in his book, “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution,” as a challenge to Darwinism’s “survival of the fittest” model of understanding reality. Observing the vast web of interdependence found in nature, Kropotkin argued that cooperation and solidarity were more advantageous for survival than competition. 

So what is Mutual Aid in a practical sense? Used by many people and groups throughout time, Mutual Aid is a collaborative model based on the idea that people are their own best solutions and don’t need to wait for help to arrive. 

This often looks like people supporting each other by exchanging goods and services to address social, economic, and political challenges.

A graphic that says 'do you need something you could ask your friends for?'

Mutual Aid is a model that has been used by many movements, including: labor movements in the 19th and 20th centuries; Black communities, an excellent example being the Black Panthers, who expanded the free lunch programs in public schools among their many social programs offered; Latine communities in meeting their needs as often exploited undocumented peoples; Indigenous communities who have persisted through hundreds of years of colonization; women, who have always taken care of one another; and poor people everywhere who have subsisted on the goodness and generosity of the community. Mutual Aid can be summed up in the popular song by the Beatles, “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

 
Two people at Firefly Gathering work together to fix a bicycle

Unlike charity, Mutual Aid is unconditional and often seeks to flatten hierarchies, make decisions collectively, and share power and resources equally.

 It can help communities unite against common struggles regardless of differences, and it encourages people to learn new skills and change how they think about what is politically possible. 

We really saw this during Hurricane Helene. Folks mostly unaffected by flooding sprang into action and began helping those who were hit hard, regardless of political affiliations, religious beliefs or any of the myriad of things used to divide us today. Instead, folks asked, are you ok? What do you need? And what do you have to offer? This is the heart of Mutual Aid: take what you need, give what you can.

We also learned that resiliency training, nature connection, and earthskills make folks way more helpful and prepared in times of disaster. In all areas of WNC, folks who practice these things were able to set up community hubs and distribution centers, water services, composting toilets, firewood and propane, medicine, food and more. Long before FEMA and other emergency support groups arrived, Mutual Aid hubs and distribution centers were springing up everywhere to share resources and help people survive in the wake of the disaster.

We know that we live in uncertain times with political, environmental and social unrest at all levels. We also believe that the answers to these problems will not come from the top down; but rise up from the bottom through grassroots community based organizations like Firefly, ROAR (Rural Organizing and Resilience), Seek Healing, and so many others. 

A diverse group of five people at Firefly Gathering are in a

So get involved with a local Mutual Aid group in your area, or start one if it doesn’t already exist. And when you’re at the Annual Firefly Gathering (July 8-13, 2025 on the beautiful Toe River in Green Mountain, NC), stop by the Mutual Aid tent and get some free food and clothes, check out the informative zines, buy some amazing merch, take some earthskills workshops and social organizing classes, and get inspired! 

We are our own greatest resource.

WRITTEN BY

Firefly Gathering

Share This Post

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email

MORE FROM OUR BLOG

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our Newsletter for updates on all things Firefly, such as Perennial Workshops, Book Nook, and Annual Gathering News.

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on all things Firefly, including Perennial Workshops, Firefly's Book Nook, and Annual Gathering News.

Lily Harlin

Bookkeeper

Lily is an artist, creator, and dreamer. Since a very young age, she has been immersed in the natural world and draws heavy inspiration from the wild. Though her medium changes frequently, Lily’s art and expression always incorporate an element of the organic and unpredictable. She got her associate in fine arts in 2023, and now volunteers at her school as a ceramic studio monitor. She hopes to open a studio of her own one day to have a place to teach and inspire others. In addition to doing commission work, Lily has been creating many graphics for The Firefly Gathering since 2019. Lily grew up in the Earthskills community from the time she was eight years old, so having the opportunity to grow and give back in so many ways has been incredibly fulfilling. No matter where she ends up, this group of people and ideas will always hold a special place in her heart.