Quail Springs: A Living Example

“Many folks fall into a lack of imagination...concepts such as regenerative agriculture and natural building just sound like words. So for there to be a place where you can walk to the spring among shaded trees and drink the water, lay down in a cob house that feels like a home, or eat some damn good pizza better than many restaurants, I think many people need that physical reality to understand what could be.”

Fiona, 2020 Quail Springs donor

At Quail Springs, we are building a living example of a better future.

We build fire-safe, climate-appropriate homes out of earth.

We grow food and build healthy soil in the desert. 

We protect and regenerate our watershed. 

We love what we do, and we share what we learn.

EARTHEN BUILDING

California needs building solutions that address our housing crisis and our wildfires. 

Quail Springs has been building with monolithic adobe (also known as “cob”), a fire-resistant and affordable material, for over a decade. While earthen building has been practiced around the world for thousands of years—in fact, some of the oldest buildings in Southern California are built from adobe—a lack of modern testing data (which is needed in order to advance building codes) makes it nearly impossible to build with earth in California today. To overcome this obstacle, Quail Springs has been working with Cal Poly and Cob Research Institute to conduct seismic testing and fire safety testing on cob walls. 

DRYLAND FARMING

We grow food in the high desert, where temperatures are extreme and water is scarce.

As the climate changes and more areas of the planet desertify, the farming techniques we practice and demonstrate here will become increasingly relevant. For 15 years we have been offering farm tours and farm workshops, inspiring thousands of people from around the world to make gardens, grow food, honor their local foodsheds, and support regenerative agriculture. We save seeds, we build soil, and we share what we learn through education, storytelling, and advocacy.

WATERSHED STEWARDSHIP

Our Cuyama Valley has one of the most critically overdrafted groundwater basins in California.

Almost three times the sustainable yield of water is pumped from the Cuyama groundwater basin each year, which is enough to supply six cities the size of Santa Barbara. Quail Springs staff have been shaping sustainable groundwater policy locally for the past six years, while doing outreach and education to encourage Cuyama residents to participate in the process. We've also had the honor of participating in the truly remarkable regeneration of one of Cuyama's last remaining spring-fed wetlands at the Quail Springs site.

Why now?

With the challenges of the current pandemic, the ongoing threat of climate change, uprisings over systemic inequity, and another fire season underway, we are all being called to build social and ecological resilience in our communities. We need each other now more than ever. Our work is needed now more than ever. Join us.

Your gift means we can take these crucial next steps in 2021:

• Launch a high-quality online Permaculture Design Course in spring 2021
• Publish seismic testing results and complete fire safety testing on cob walls
• Complete the next steps for official permitting of our earthen building and permaculture demonstration site with Ventura County
• Take our groundwater advocacy to the next level with scientific partnerships, data monitoring, and local education and outreach 

How to Get Involved:

DONATE. Help us raise $100,000 this fall to further our work on earthen building research and advocacy, watershed stewardship, and permaculture education.

LEARN. Sign up for a farm tour or workshop with us to learn more about regenerative farming and earthen building.

PARTNER. If you are a builder, an architect,  an engineer, a farmer, an activist, or a change-maker and you’re interested in working with us, we’d love to hear from you.

CONNECT. Stay in touch by liking us on Facebook, following us on Instagram, and signing up for our newsletter at www.quailsprings.org.

Thank you for your support!

Much gratitude to Pat Fenelon (@patfenelon) for the production of the video.