What is The Garden? Exploring TikTok\u2019s first-ever \u2018commune\u2019 TikTok: treeisaliveA rural Tennessee commune inhabited by a group of TikTokers has recently gone viral on the app, with many users suggesting that the collective \u2014 which shares videos via the TikTok handle \u2018treeisalive\u2019 as well as other accounts \u2014 is actually a cult. The \u2018TreeIsAlive\u2019 TikTok account has amassed over 79,000 followers and over 500k likes since its creation in January, with the account aiming to give viewers insight into life on \u2018The Garden\u2019 commune and encourage them to join. What is \u2018The Garden?\u2019 \u2018The Garden\u2019 commune, which is based in Lafayette, Tennesea, was previously called \u2018Shut Up and Grow It\u2019. It was originally founded by Patrick Martion twelve years ago, but it appears that the commune has underwent somewhat of a rebrand since growing in popularity on TikTok. The commune promotes a 100% sustainable living lifestyle, and their website states that they \u201cpropagate a culture of sharing, freedom, and cooperation.\u201d Members of the commune, who sleep in small bunks shared with others, usually spend their days finding the necessities for survival such as food, water and shelter. Facilities on the commune include lodges, compostable toilets, cabins and a schoolhouse. What is the \u2018TreeIsAlive\u2019 TikTok account? Although The Garden describe themselves on their website as a \u201cleaderless (leaderful)\u201d commune, the most prominent member of the commune \u2013 which, at its peak, had 40 members \u2013 is the main user of the \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok account. The user, who has kept his identity hidden, hails from the UK. According to Insider, he was first introduced to community living five years ago through \u2018Rainbow Gatherings\u2019, which describes a temporary community of people with shared ideologies who live together in remote areas such as a forest. Through the \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok account, the commune member shares insight of the group\u2019s daily life and invites viewers to join by reciting the Garden\u2019s full address at the end of each video. Why do people believe the TikTok commune is a cult? The group amassed controversy earlier this month after it was reported by Distractify that, despite the group mostly being vegan and growing their own produce, they reportedly killed and ate a stray cat that killed their chickens. As well as this, the behaviour of Rel Gumson, another member of the commune with a TikTok presence, has also aroused suspicion. Some of the posts on her TikTok account \u2013 which has over 42,000 followers \u2013 include her wearing a skirt made from the carcass of her dead dog, candleit seances and passing around a jug filled with wine which has been labelled \u2018Kool Aid\u2019. One TikTok user, who goes by the handle \u2018cocktailchinoga\u2019, duetted a \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok in order to compare the video with what she calls a \u2018cult checklist\u2019. She claims that the original video, which depicts commune members playing pool, painting and doing chores, depicts several \u2018cult techniques\u2019 such as getting members to perform \u2018mind numbing\u2019 activities and to live all together. She also suggests that the \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok account is \u2018preoccupied\u2019 with recruiting new members. https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thomasedisonhatepage\/video\/6936000254508567814 Meanwhile, TikTok user \u2018thomasedisionhatepage\u2019 has made several videos calling out the commune\u2019s treatment of animals. In one post, she criticised the commune\u2019s decision to vote on whether to treat a sick chicken, claiming that the situation is \u201cf***ed up.\u201d Comments posts uploaded by the \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok account are also littered with accusations that commune is a cult. One TikTok user named Bonnie asked: \u201cWhy do you always have to specify that the people are here out of their own free will?\u201d Similarly, in response to a TikTok inviting more people to join, another TikTok user quipped: \u201cNo thanks, I\u2019ve seen Midsommar.\u201d Midsommar is a 2019 horror film depicting an ancestral Swedish cult that live on a commune. The comment received over 24,oo0 likes. How have The Garden responded to claims that they\u2019re a cult? The \u2018treeisalive\u2019 TikTok account has vehemently and repeatedly denied claims that they\u2019re a cult. \u201cAll we\u2019re trying to do here is grow food and educate people about community living and how to be self-sustainable,\u201d they said in one TikTok. \u201cIt\u2019s strange for us to have this experience where we\u2019re feeling like we\u2019re being attacked for trying to help people, to educate people about self-sustainability and off-grid living.\u201d However, despite their frequent denials that they\u2019re a cult, speculation continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is The Garden? Exploring TikTok\u2019s first-ever \u2018commune\u2019 TikTok: treeisaliveA rural Tennessee commune inhabited by a group of TikTokers has recently gone viral on the app, with many users suggesting that the collective \u2014 which shares videos via the TikTok handle \u2018treeisalive\u2019 as well as other accounts \u2014 is actually a cult. The \u2018TreeIsAlive\u2019 TikTok […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64051\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}