What We Stand For

We are a community non-profit in Harlan County, Kentucky that looks to traditional folkways to create innovative solutions to Appalachia's challenges, while inviting in the broader world to engage and connect to our natural and cultural heritage.

Our Mission

Pine Mountain Settlement School enriches lives and fosters community by offering experiential education focused on environmental literacy, sustainable agriculture, and Appalachia’s diverse people, art, and culture.

Our Strategy

In carrying out our mission, we take a holistic approach to the stewardship of our natural, agricultural, human and built environment through community development, environmental education, sustainability, and Appalachian cultures and heritage. 

Our Values

  • We draw upon our deep Appalachian roots to engage with the present and shape the future of the region.

  • We model a simplicity in living that emphasizes relationships with people and nature over material things.

  • We promote learning through inquiry and experiential education using our unique natural and built environment as a classroom.

  • We foster a sense of wonder and personal growth by being a place where bodies, hearts, and imaginations thrive.

  • We promote social responsibility through our day-to-day activities and programming.

  • We build bridges among people of diverse backgrounds by encouraging an exchange of ideas, perspectives, and visions for the world that generates mutual respect and understanding.


  • We foster connections, collaboration, and shared expertise, recognizing that all parties have something to contribute.

  • We care for and protect our built and natural environment.