SONGS & STORIES
A WILD SERIES SPRING
FESTIVAL & BENEFIT
March 17 – 19
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/wild-series/songs-stories/

Quail Springs is deeply honored to welcome some of our most treasured storytellers, wisdom keepers and musicians for a magical feast of story and song under the stars of Cuyama. Come and celebrate the beautiful seeds of culture that bring us together as we gather by the fire to listen, remember, learn and sing. Held by the enchantment of the high desert, our esteemed elders, teachers and song keepers will share beloved stories and songs from a range of world traditions. Join the Quail Springs Village and our dear community for this rare and meaningful Wild Series Spring Festival.

Proceeds from this event will go to our Seeds for the Next Generation capital campaign. Please endeavor to pay as much as you are able to support the beautiful work of Quail Springs to continue.

THE ART OF HIDE TANNING
March 23 – 26
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/wild-series/hide-tanning/

Join us for a four day immersion into the traditional art of making leather by hand. In this intimate and experiential class, students will tan one deer or goat buckskin from start to finish, learn to make rawhide, and participate in a fur tanning demonstration.

The art of hide tanning is a cross-cultural human legacy, one with an ancient heritage that spans across continents and lineages. Besides full hands-on experience, we will spend time discussing history, methodology and various cultural approaches. Students will leave with an understanding of how to bring to life beautiful hand-tanned leather and fur in their own small home tanning set-ups.

Hide tanning is a physically demanding craft, so be prepared for four full days of very active and fun learning! We are going to learn as much as possible and our days will be packed with richness. No experience is necessary!

All of the hides used this class only come from reliable and sustainably harvested sources – either from California small farms, or from legally hunted deer

INTRODUCTION
TO COB & NATURAL BUILDING
April 10 – 15, 2017
http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/natural-building/cob-intro/

Cob building combines clay sediment, sand, fiber, and water, and is hand sculpted to form walls, benches, ovens, and fireplaces. Cob building makes use of readily available, affordable, non-toxic materials to build beautiful, organic structures.

The course is appropriate for both first-time builders and for professionals in the building trade who are interested in natural materials. In this cob workshop, we focus on the characteristics of the natural materials most commonly used in construction: clay soil, sand, and fibers. Our main focus will be cob, though we will touch on various other building techniques that utilize the same materials, including adobe block, light straw-clay, wattle and daub, and plasters. We will discuss how to find and choose appropriate soil for construction, how to create various mixes, how to attach wood to earthen walls, and how to use earthen materials to build walls, sculpt niches, shelves, and furniture.

This course is primarily a hands on course, where we learn by doing. We will be building a small structure from start to finish. As a complement to the hands-on portion of the course, we will include slide shows and discussions of the theoretical aspects of natural building. Subjects include building design and siting, passive solar design, foundations and drainage, earthen floors, appropriate roof design, and wiring and plumbing for natural structures.


RESILIENCE DESIGN TRAINING:
A PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MAY 21 – JUNE 4, 2017
For more info: http://www.quailsprings.org/programs/permaculture/pdcid

This course equips people working in international development and grassroots projects with the perspectives and skills needed to engage with communities in partnership to incorporate elements into the design of communities, smallholder farms and land with household agricultural production that are holistic, appropriate, strategic, effective, diverse, as well as ecologically and economically sound. This course includes the 72-hr Permaculture Design Certification through the Permaculture Research Institute.

What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design science utilizing an innovative systems-approach to consciously design landscapes, human settlements and smallholder farming systems that integrate functional diversity and biological fertility by mimicking natural eco-systems. Diverse and fertile systems act resilient in the face of shocks.

Who is this course for?
This course is designed for people who work with Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s), Government Organizations, or are Community Organizers. The teaching is directly relevant for international development practitioners, including the technical teams from agency Headquarters and field teams engaged in implementation.