Mission:

To empower people of all ages and backgrounds with knowledge, skills and inspiration essential to cultivating ecological and social health.

Vision:

We envision an equitable global community that shares the bounty of this living planet and the responsibility to tend to its health. We believe the most effective way to foster positive change is through our relationships, both with one another and our ecologies.

Solidarity:

In order to fulfill our mission, we must continue to actively work in dismantling the social and ecological imbalances forced upon communities of color in our immediate and greater communities.

Stay up to date!

We send out a lovely newsletter once a month that will keep you up to date on everything we're up to!

RECENT NEWS

Groundwater in the Cuyama Valley

Learn about the history of groundwater in the Cuyama Valley and our valley’s grassroots effort to protect it.

Why Natural Building is Important for Our Future

Ancient building methods can help solve today’s climate crisis, the lack of access to housing, and the dangers we face from wildfires.

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🐤🐈It's been the season for babies here at Qu

✨A special announcement ✨ First, our worktrade

✨A special announcement ✨ First, our worktrade program is resting for the winter season ~ We will be tucking away into the hibernation cave to dream and vision into ripe possibilities and intentions for our worktrade program. Keep your eyes out here and on our website for updates in the late winter. We wrapped up our last worktrade season with a bittersweet ending of bidding farewell, see-you-later to our beloved Mama and child duo: Aya and Oliver. In the story of Quail Springs, there's been but a handful of children who have had the privilege to be raised by these lands, and this generation of Quail community was lucky enough to live alongside these two darling beans. Aya, a student from our now dormant online Permaculture Design Course, applied for the work-trade program 5 months ago seeking community where she could learn and practice decolonizing parenting and education. In her 4 months here, Aya found camaraderie and refuge in the aunties and community who dream, pray, and step into the brave ways that we can better become stronger, softer, and more deeply woven with the struggles of our co-liberation. We fell deeply in love with Aya’s gentle mothering and playful, sincere spirit; with Oli’s fantastic imagination and creativity. Ask him how many pistils evening primrose has, this 6 year old knows! A brilliant plant nerd, comet devotee, and fierce protector of life, Oli’s deeply compassionate and loving heart became potent medicine that our community didn’t know we needed. We cherish your generosity and care, and we’re so excited to see where your journeys take you! #quailsprings #worktrade #communityliving

@quail_springs Natural Building Director Sasha Rab

@quail_springs Natural Building Director Sasha Rabin ( @earthenshelter ) has two Natural Building workshops coming up in Potter Valley, CA. Natural Plasters - September 14th - 16th (with a weekend option for those who can’t stay Monday). Join Sasha and Yoshi Makino (@yetimachine ) for a 3 day deep dive into learning about natural plasters and finishes. They will cover plasters that are appropriate for earthen building, and plasters that can go over sheetrock walls. From earthen base coats to fine finishes, they will cover a wide range of techniques. Just a few spaces remaining in this course. Rocket Stove Cooker - October 4th - 6th Kirk “Donkey” Mobert (@sundogbuilders ) will join Sasha to teach this workshop, building a Rocket Cook Stove. This version uses similar technology as a Rocket Mass Heater (RMH), but specifically designed for cooking rather than heating. Students will build this one with earthen building techniques, learning both cob and adobe. @quail_springs followers can get $50 off either of these workshops if they register by September 1st. Just mention Quail Springs when you fill out your registration. You’ll find the link in our stories or on EarthenShelter.Com. You can also ask any questions in the comments below. #rocketstove #rocketstovecooking #rocketmassheater #woodfired #cookingwithfire #masonryheater #naturalbuilding #permaculture
#cleanburning #designscience #alternativeenergy #earthdoesntburn #woodstove #woodstovecooking #offgrid #rocketstoveworkshop #masonrystove #earthenplaster #clayplaster #claywallfinish #clayplasterfinishes #naturalbuilding #earthenbuilding #naturalplaster
#naturalbuildingworkshop #clay #clayart #plaster #sgraffito #naturalpigment

Blaine Morris (she/her) is making a splash at Quai

Blaine Morris (she/her) is making a splash at Quail Springs as our new Program co-Director!💦 We're thrilled to welcome Blaine, whose rich background as a Creative & Full Spectrum Doula is a fluid yet refreshing addition to our community. Her holistic practice, which ripples across global clinical and community settings, is rooted in culturally grounded care and a decolonized praxis. 🌊 Blaine's journey reflects her deep experience in creation, advocacy, and eco-feminism. She began her path on the cold northeast coast of Turtle Island, nurtured by vibrant arts, culture, a close-knit family, and an expansive community that extends to the ancestral tropical waters and mangroves of Honduras. In 2022, she founded @sanasana_wellness, a monastic maternal health nonprofit steadily being structured and gaining momentum, driven by her commitment to learning in community. This was intentionally deepened through her service in two @wfpsolidaritycollective delegations and her ongoing role as a NY Leadership Circle member of @latinainstitute for Reproductive Justice, before Quail Springs’ mission brought her ashore on Chumash land. We’re excited to see the waves Blaine will create as she steers our programs, including the CalEPA Coalition of Water Stewards grant, into transformative new waters. Her vision and passion will undoubtedly deepen our impact and nourish our community. Welcome, Blaine! 💧

This past June, the Cuyama Valley Community Associ

This past June, the Cuyama Valley Community Association(CVCA) organized a crucial Listening Session attended by key officials and leaders to discuss the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and the ongoing groundwater adjudication lawsuit initiated by major basin pumpers. The session provided an opportunity to reflect on how SGMA is being carried out on the ground, the community's involvement, the adjudication, and the real-life impacts of both SGMA and adjudication on local residents. Attendees included:
● Senator Monique Limón
● Assemblymember Gregg Hart
● Senator Melissa Hurtado
● Michelle Sevilla from Assemblymember Steve Bennett's office
● Kara Woodruff from Senator John Laird's office
● Das Williams, First District Supervisor Santa Barbara County
● Paul Gosselin, Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources These officials were invited to listen to the real-life experiences of the combination of SGMA and Adjudication. Local small farmers, ranchers, fieldworkers, and property owners told their stories of the unintended consequences of this well-intended legislation that attempts to sustainable regulates groundwater but that is disproportionately benefiting the biggest pumpers who also files the lawsuit. Thank you to Melinda Burns and Ian James from LA Times for covering the important groundwater issues facing the Cuyama Valley. Read the articles in our press highlights. Please sign the petition to save the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin (link in bio) #quailsprings #standwithcuyama #wateradvocacy #cuyamavalley #groundwater

On Tuesday, July 23, the Apache Fire ignited from

On Tuesday, July 23, the Apache Fire ignited from sparks cast into the highly flammable roadside vegetation by a truck driving south on Hwy 33 dragging towing chains. That night Apache Canyon residents were evacuated as the fire rapidly expanded and threatened homes and farming infrastructure. Two days later as the fire continued to move through the high levels of fuel load, Quail Springs residents watched the smoke plumes and rising flames 2 miles away and coming toward our canyon over the southern ridges. Mandatory evacuations went into place for Quail Springs/Burges Canyon on Thursday, July 25. Quail Springs residents put their emergency plan into action and within minutes of the mandatory evacuation order, farm animals were being loaded, and we were on the road toward safety and shelter. We have huge gratitude for our Cuyama Valley neighbors and extended communities who offered us critical support. This has been an eye opening experience about the power of community and the knowledge that our safety comes not only from our preparedness, but even more from our interconnectedness. We are indebted to the firefighters, and Ventura County law enforcement who worked around the clock to keep us safe. The respect, care, intelligence, vigilance and high level of coordinated effort/labor they devoted to protecting us and our beloved home went above and beyond the call of duty. We are so grateful. We were able to return Saturday July 27 to continue tending to the land and our homes. Photos:
1, 2, 4, 5: Smoke and fire visible over the canyon from Quail Springs
3: Fire suppressing tankers fly over the sky as we prepare to evacuate with the animals
6: Oaks and junipers that had to be cleared for protective firebreak along the south side of Quail Springs
7: Aftermath of the fire in neighboring Apache Canyon Read more in our Quail Springs newsletter linked in our bio #Apachefire #quailsprings #wildfireseason

We're so excited to welcome River (they/them) as O

We're so excited to welcome River (they/them) as Operations Director! They are such a blessing as an addition to the team, with their easy-going attitude, sharp wit, and attunement to support the shifting needs of Quail Springs as an organization and community. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Growing up in the Pennsylvania woods, River began to understand connection with the soil under your feet. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in Cognitive Science focusing on consciousness, they worked as a researcher, web and software developer, and educator on lands known as Canada, South Africa, and the US. River has spent most of the last decade building and running workforce development programs, advocating for underserved young people, and fostering technical skill, curiosity and delight in their students. They are humbled and awed to have the opportunity to nurture land and community at Quail Springs. River specializes in accessibility, is a certified mental health first responder, and loves to dream up solutions to difficult problems. As Operations Director, River’s core goals are to reinforce organizational memory, increase capacity and ease, and build imaginative and helpful structures that don’t replicate restrictive colonial systems. Outside of work, their interests include natural dyeing, clothing design, backpacking, text-based games, vegetarian cooking, music production, cell biology, contemporary art, poetry, radical abolition, and illustration. They love to make complicated information understandable, and turn messy ideas into intuitive systems. #quailsprings #cuyamavalley #quailspringspermaculture

Our dear community at Spirit Pine are in urgent ne

Our dear community at Spirit Pine are in urgent need for funds to get their Spring Water System back up and running again! Please donate if you can, and share this widely! Over the last 25 years, Spirit Pine Sanctuary has served thousands of private and public school groups, aikido students, natural building students from around the world, and people from all walks of life who are exploring sustainable ways of living. A place of education, inspiration, spiritual renewal, and community hub offering an invaluable lens on how to live in right relationship with the earth. This is our opportunity to hold Spirit Pine and all its inhabitants the way they have held us throughout the years and provide community support in a time of need. Find the donation link in our link in bio #lakefire #naturalbuilding

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