Zeya Schindler [email protected] On a spring day in 2011 I sealed a thick envelope containing my freshly printed master’s dissertation and dropped it in a mailbox, bound for the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice in Oxford, England. The title of the paper was “Designing for Disaster: Evaluating the Potential for Permaculture Design in Development and Emergency Practice”. The project …
Regenerative Water Harvesting & Land Restoration Training
October 7-11, 2015 with instructors Craig Sponholtz – Watershed Artisans, Inc. Brenton Kelly – Quail Springs’ Land Steward, Farm Advisor & Restoration Program Director Neil Bertrando – R T Permaculture Designer & Loping Coyote Farm Manager Quail Springs Permaculture invites you to learn about what constitutes regenerative landscape design & restoration. Craig’s workshops offer an understanding of the science of …
Quail Springs Circle of Support
Thank you one and all! Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who have given of themselves to sustain Quail Springs. Below we’ve listed names of in-kind supporters and financial supporters for 2012 and 2013. This is a partial and growing list. It is impossible to keep up with the outpouring of support! We’d also like to thank …
Is The World a Better Place Because of Quail Springs?
November 2013 through January 2014: Quail Springs Year-End Campaign Dear Friends, After nearly nine beautiful, and sometimes challenging, years of growing our lives and work out here in the high desert, I have to ask myself and the community who supports us, “Is the world a better place because of Quail Springs?” I believe the answer has to be a resounding, “Yes!” I know …
Warmth, Light and Good Cooking
Reducing Fossil Fuel Dependence with Renewable Energy A fruitful year has taken us a few steps further toward a sustainable human settlement. With our new rocket stove in the commons providing both space heating and cooking, we’re reducing dependence on fossil fuels, particularly propane cooking. A small insulated ‘hay box’ is included in the heated bench for finishing rice, soups, …
Hand-Made Shoes with Full Hearts
In late October, we gathered for a full and magical weekend of story, craft and remembering, as nine students poured their hands and hearts into a two-day intensive of old-time shoe-making. Even the freshest hands, most of which were new to moccasin making, fully dove into the detailed work with inspiration and creativity. I was inspired by how the students worked together to create …
Permaculture Movement Cross-Pollinators
Our Gratitude to Margie Bushman & Wes Roe I’d like to express our deep gratitude for Margie Bushman and Wes Roe, co-founders of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network. This dedicated permaculture duo have been midwives and caretakers of the local and international Permaculture Movement for over three decades now. We sincerely appreciate Margie joining Quail Springs’ Advisory Board, after …
Garlic Planting Time with Permaculture Design Course Students
It’s garlic planting time at Quail Springs! Forty students from our annual fall Hands-On Permaculture Design Course are making a big job into a fun afternoon’s work. There is a slight coolness in the air, a high-desert blue sky overhead, and dappled light filtering through the leaves of young trees. We’re preparing the seed garlic, sorting it for size, laying out the planting pattern, …
Synchronizing worlds by NikiAnne Feinberg
I have served as a Board Member of Quail Springs for less than a year and have enjoyed every minute of it. As a woman in my the middle years of my life, I have been reflecting on what I am doing in this world, what I am good at and how I can be of service to the greater …
Growing Table Grapes in the High Desert
This past April, Margaret Waterhouse, a former farm and garden apprentice, came down from Davis California to the high desert home of Quail Springs Permaculture Farm in southern California with about 120 grape cuttings carefully packed in moist wood shavings. A small group of friends, family, former apprentices, and students had gathered for the weekend to visit, walk the land, …