Permaculture
and energy. Its holistic, systems-based principles can be applied to any setting
and bring hope for worldwide sustainability.
At Quail Springs we are integrating permaculture design into our ongoing development of the farm and our stewardship of the flora and fauna in the surrounding lands. Our aim is to restore and vitalize the land for many generations to come.
Upcoming courses on Permaculture
In 2004 there was hardly a sign of life at Quail Springs, the water was dry during the daytime and only flowed a trickle of about 3 gallons per minute at night. Since that time we have spent countless hours tending to the springs, planting riparian trees and plans, creating sponges for the water to revivify the water table and now we are sing about 40 gallons per minute flows during the day and sixty gallons per minute at night. We know first hand, springs can be restored and rejuvenated which gives us and the future generations not only hope but a great reason to celebrate.
“What you people call your natural resources, our people call our relatives.”
Oren Lyons
Faith Keeper of the Onondaga
Natural building is any form of building that prioritizes values of environmental and social impact, by means of using local, natural, and minimally processed materials to create appropriate shelter and structures. Natural building integrates our built environments into their ecologies and communities with a minimal amount of adverse effects on local and distant environments.
There is no way to define what is, or what is not natural building. It is, by definition, what is appropriate in a particular place, and will vary greatly from region to region. Some of these determining factors include the materials available, local climate, personal and cultural needs, experience and skills of the builders, and much more.
“Edible. Good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.”
Ambrose Bierce
Food provides an insight into our culture, our families, and our hearts. People have fallen in love and gotten married because of bread and butter pickles. That’s a true story… Ask Joel Salatin!
On our Blog we share with you our family recipes, our forays into planting, harvesting, processing and preserving. We tell our tales of bread making, bee keeping, butchering, cheese making, fermenting cultured foods and more.
Sun, light, heat, fire, wood, oil, water, wind…exploring the fundamentals of energy; how we honor it, harvest it, and use it consciously is our focus. From instructions for making a batch water heater, or building a biogas digester, to passively heating and cooling a home, or biking to work instead of driving the car, we share our needs, concerns, and day to day steps toward wise energy use.
Courses on using Energy Sustainably
“In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.”
Marianne Williamson
Here we’ll share our stories of the experiences and people that inspire us.
Quail Springs is a farm set amidst coastal southern california, sheltered by the transverse ranges and enlivened by warm winter winds and spring snowstorms. It is an area where one can see a goshawk perched upon a Jefferey pine and in another hour of driving see a Le Conte Thrasher scrambling in the Saltbrush Scrub. Amidst this diversity we strive to steward land in ways which transform western culture while honoring and celebrating the non-human community who also call this their home.
The blog will attempt to help contextualize the work of Quail Springs Permaculture Farm by giving a natural history of our canyon and its surrounding community, sharing experience from one persons journey through the Kamana naturalist training program, hearing stories from the Quail Springs founders, discovering Natural mysteries and more.
