Emerald Earth Sanctuary

We are fortunate to live on 189 beautiful acres, which covers the entire cross-section of a small watershed, from ridge top to ridge top. A seasonal creek runs East to West through the middle. The North-facing slopes are mostly recovering redwood and tan oak forest, much of it very steep. The South-facing slopes are mixed oak/Douglas fir/poison oak woodland with large grassy meadows. We are privileged to share the land with many kinds of animals, including deer, bobcat, owls, skunks, newts, frogs, ravens, hawks, foxes, hummingbirds, wild pigs, turkeys, and the occasional bear or mountain lion.

When the land was purchased in 1989, the only existing structure was a 20’ x 40’ wooden cabin, which has served for years as our common house, with a main kitchen, eating and meeting areas, shower, an office and kids’ loft. All other structures have been constructed using natural building techniques and as many on-site resources as possible. There are now five small cabins, a bathhouse/greenhouse with a sauna, showers, garden greenhouse, guest loft and what's currently looking like half of our new common house. All of these structures are constructed with a combination of straw bale, cob, light clay, and straw wattle, with natural plasters and finishes. The wood used was either harvested on site, reclaimed, or milled locally. The cabins are heated by passive solar and wood stoves.

There are no indoor toilets; we use composting outhouses. There is a swimming pond and two developed springs, which provide water for irrigation and domestic use. There is also a vertical well that was drilled at the end of 2002. We recycle our gray water for irrigation. All of our electricity comes from solar panels, with a supplemental gas generator in the rainy months. We continue to think of ourselves as "off the grid," though we are "linked" to the mainstream via satellite internet and cellular phone.

We have two developed garden sites where we grow mostly vegetables and herbs. We also have a few old apple and pear trees that still produce, and have planted many more fruit and nut trees.

We keep cows, goats, pigs, chickens and bees, and are open to more animals in the future, as a direct relationship with our food is important to us. We intend to concentrate our development on about 15 of the flattest acres of the land, leaving the rest for pasture restoration, wildlife habitat, wildcrafting, and sustainable timber and firewood harvesting.