Mesa Refuge brings transformative stories, ideas, and knowledge to the world by supporting a diverse community of writers and activists through residencies at our coastal California retreat. Our house, gardens, and writing sheds sit beside the San Andreas Fault and Giacomini Wetlands, on unceded Coast Miwok territory of Tomales Bay, on the edges between land and water, city and wildness, busyness and quiet.
Our writers and activists address pressing issues of our time—ideas at the edge—in the areas we value: nature, the climate crisis, economic equity, and social justice. With two weeks of protected time and space to think, write, and produce, our residents courageously imagine—and are fighting for—a more equitable world.
Since 1997, more than 1,000 writers and activists have stayed and worked here. Our alumni include: Natalie Foster, Van Jones, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Anna Lappe, Heather McGhee, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Michael Pollan, Bamby Salcedo, Rebecca Solnit, Saket Soni, Bryant Terry, Bonnie Tsui, and Terry Tempest Williams.
Land Acknowledgement
Mesa Refuge is located on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok people of present-day Marin and southern Sonoma counties. The Coast Miwok name for the Tomales Bay area is Tamal-liwa. The Coast Miwok have continuously lived upon this territory since time immemorial. We honor with gratitude the land itself, and all of its ancestors: past, present, and emerging. We thank Theresa Harlan and Jacquelyn Ross for helping us craft this land acknowledgement.