EDUCATE
We EDUCATE diverse students with knowledge and skills to cultivate ecological and social health
FARM TOURS: We offer monthly Farm Tours to showcase our high desert permaculture demonstration site. We invite you to share a farm-fresh lunch and experience firsthand our 20 years of experimentation featuring climate appropriate agriculture, natural building, integrated animal systems and much more!
WORK TRADE: We offer a 6-month residency to work and train alongside our Farm Directors. The Work Trade Program provides an immersive experience in running our small-scale off-grid farmstead. Work Traders learn essential land-tending skills, such as seed saving, harvesting, composting, animal tending, etc.
REGENERATE
We REGENERATE our high desert ecosystem using low-cost, low-tech methods
WATER STEWARDSHIP: After decades of destructive overgrazing, we tend our surface water spring to restore its riparian habitat as well as use earthworks and greywater systems to help recharge the groundwater.
PLANT & ANIMAL STEWARDSHIP: By removing invasive species, reestablishing native plant & pollinator communities and integrating sustainable animal systems, we are working to regenerate and support our fragile high desert ecosystem.
ADVOCATE
We ADVOCATE for sustainable groundwater use and natural building policy
SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER USE: We advocate for the protection and conscious use of water in the Cuyama Basin, one of the most critically overdrafted groundwater basins in California. By working with government agencies and nonprofit partners, we strive to build a coalition of water stewards to make the Cuyama Valley a leading example in water conscious infrastructure.
NATURAL BUILDING POLICY: Amid wildfires and housing shortages, we advocate for the legalization of fire-resistant, low-cost, and non-toxic natural building methods. With the help of our partners, our earthquake and fire safety tests on cob walls have contributed to the adoption of the Cob Construction Appendix in the International Residential Code.
SERVE
We SERVE the Cuyama Valley; a historically disadvantaged and hyper-rural community
SCALABLE SOLUTIONS: Working together with local farmers and businesses, we strive to scale our ecological restoration work across the Cuyama Valley.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING: In collaboration with local partners, we've established a sustainable community garden that expands local residents’ access to food. With another partner, we help create career pathways and opportunities for local residents interested in conservation and regenerative agriculture.
ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION: We offer local residents no-cost, bilingual tours of our permaculture demonstration site as well as educational programming on the topics of watershed restoration, native plants, sustainable water use, and community wellness.
COMMIT
We COMMIT to challenging structures that perpetuate social and environmental injustice
SOCIOCRACY: Our worker self-directed nonprofit utilizes a sociocratic governance model, challenging traditional workplace hierarchy through centering consent, transparency, and equivalence.
COMMUNITY: From our governance model to our live-work community, we strive to be an example of a regenerative human community that honors diverse human and non-human perspectives through action and respect.
SOLIDARITY: We are committed to tangible action towards our solidarity statement.
our work is needed now more than ever.
DONATE
LEARN
Sign up for a course, or work trade with us to learn more about regenerative farming and earthen building.
