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@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

It’s inspiring to witness where our students bre

It’s inspiring to witness where our students breathe life into the fire of their creativity — the spaces where visions for dismantling the systems that harm us come alive while creating community based and resilient futures. One of our online natural building students, Amanda, built a portable earthen oven on a hitch trailer alongside her community in so-called Los Angeles. Amanda co-conspires with her community in Tongvaland to build bridges between housed and unhoused neighbors. She started a group called Echo Park Mutual Aid to facilitate a space for neighbors most impacted by the volatility of displacement and gentrification. Twice a month they gather to break bread, share resources, learn together and cook in the oven. If you have resource, consider contributing to their patreon in support of these webs of connection, community, and care @e_p_m_a_ 🔥

Quail Springs is thrilled to announce the Plant w

Quail Springs is thrilled to announce the Plant with Purpose: Conservation Outreach in the Cuyama Valley project, awarded as part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Equity in Conservation Outreach Cooperative Agreements. Quail Springs will partner with the @sbbotanicgarden and the Cuyama Valley Family Resource Center to develop climate-smart conservation practices that will conserve soil and water while creating diverse healthy habitat in the Cuyama Valley. We will establish six test sites to demonstrate the effects of planting locally-sourced native plants on fallowed farmland. This project will also develop a new network of underserved small farmers and ranchers who will work with Quail Springs to improve their conservation practices. As always, our efforts will include education, with both a paid internship program for 11th grade students and classroom programming for K–8 students. Image 1: Previous Garden Director Marta Gaunt transplanting seedlings Some plants we'll be collecting from the local landscape:
Image 2: Big sagebrush and lupine
Image 3: Chia sage
Image 4: Manzanita

Some sweet moments of our animal kin on the land t

Some sweet moments of our animal kin on the land this spring 🐐🐣🐾 1. A newborn chick in the goat pen meeting dear Huapa
2-3. Goat family foraging amongst spring wildflowers
4. Sierra enjoying the wildflower field
5. Baby sparrows nestled in a dill plant in the greenhouse
6. Fresh chicks!

Are you interested in joining the team at Quail Sp

Are you interested in joining the team at Quail Springs? There's still time to apply for the Land Stewardship Director role! We're closing applications in a week, by the end of the day on Monday, April 29th, so send in your applications today. You can find out more about the details of the role as well as the application in our ~link in bio~ #quailsprings #landstewardship #greenjobs #environmentaleducation #cuyamavalley

We’re looking for a new team member! Are you int

We’re looking for a new team member! Are you interested in moving to Quail Springs and being a critical part of our environmental justice work? We're hiring a Land Stewardship Director who will work closely with our Garden Director and Program Director to be the main land-tender for our native plant restoration work here in Cuyama. We're looking for someone who's inspired to help us build capacity in our small non-profit, and support our transition to grant-funded work that directly serves the people and ecologies of the Cuyama Valley. Do you know someone who's passionate, organized, a strong communicator, and interested in living in community? Please SHARE with your networks or pass this along to anyone you think might be a good fit. We are committed to the continuing work of dismantling systems which disproportionately hurt the most marginalized people in society — including black and indigenous people of color, people from working class backgrounds, disabled people, and LGBTQ people. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities. Quail Springs is in an exciting time of growth and change, so if this position does not align with your interests and skills but you are curious about living and working at Quail Springs, please keep an eye out on instagram, our newsletters, and our website for more opportunities to come. See the link in our bio for more information or please dm us if you have any questions! #cuyamavalley #quailsprings #quailspringspermaculture #landstewardship #hiring #environmentaljustice #nonprofit

Deadline extended:: land based living worktrade ap

Deadline extended:: land based living worktrade application deadline extended to April 1. Open until filled: earlier applicants are prioritized. Please email kasia@quailsprings.org for questions.

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