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  • JUSTICE & EQUITY

    The Ojai Foundation is committed to justice and equity. See our solidarity statement for more information.

    Solidarity Statement

  • THE OJAI FOUNDATION

    Fostering practices that awaken connection with self, others, and the natural world.

    After sustaining huge losses in the 2017 Thomas Fire,
    we are on a journey to recover, reimagine, and begin anew.
    Contribute

  • THE FIRE FELLOWSHIP

    The Foundations In Resilience Education Fellowship (FIRE) is an immersive learning journey for young adults, designed to weave together spirituality, social justice, nature connection, and leadership for relevant action.

    The application window is now closed.

    Learn More

  • DAYS OF SERVICE

    Come help with the fire recovery effort by joining a volunteer day on the land.
    Learn More

  • AERIAL DRONE FOOTAGE POST-FIRE

    Eagle’s eye view of The Ojai Foundation after the Thomas Fire.
    View Video

The Ojai Foundation is a 36-acre educational nonprofit located in the Upper Ojai Valley. For over 40 years, our land and programs have been a beacon for youth and adults seeking ways to deepen relationship with self, each other, and the natural world. Council, the practice of listening and speaking from the heart, is our foundational offering and core to all we do.

 

<script>

Help Build a Bridge to Our Future Re-Opening

On December 5, 2017, the Thomas Fire raged through The Ojai Foundation land taking over 24 structures, including our staff residence, two program kitchens and all of our overnight hermitages. In the spring of 2018, we launched our Recover & Reimagine Campaign to raise the funds needed for clean-up and recovery, as well as for a period of listening together for how best to begin anew. As of May 20, 2018, the monumental task of debris removal is complete, allowing us to focus on basic infrastructure, damaged buildings and the gardens, hillsides and forest; while continuing to reimagine and chart our future.
 
Please check back regularly and join our mailing list for updates, ongoing events, and ways to support and stay connected. Financial contributions continue to be gratefully accepted.

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#ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-n #ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-news, you missed this update in November: Last spring, with the help of staff and the @oxnard_cet work crew, we completed the construction on a new earthen tool wall. With the destruction of almost all of our tools and the tool storage spaces in the Thomas Fire, we have been in a slow process of acquiring new tools, and with them the need for storage. Some months ago, we entered a design process to explore where and how we might store our growing stock of garden tools. The result is our new earthen tool wall. Not only does this offer ready access for our most regularly used tools, but it is designed and built in line with our post-fire rebuild ethics: to focus on educational, sustainable, and climate-resilient methods, using local materials as much as possible, beauty and simplicity, modeling after nature, and appropriate technology. The tool wall was built without concrete, using a rubble trench foundation, burlap earth bags, cob, and a living roof. The roof is planted entirely with donated plants. The wall curves, and grows easily out of the slope of the hill, and also honors the viewshed as well as the aesthetic of the Council House roof. The tools are held from locally-sourced timber bamboo. We hope you will have a chance to appreciate this new feature on the land soon, perhaps while reaching for a shovel or a rake while helping care for this place. To sign up for e-news, visit www.ojaifoundation.org
#ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-n #ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-news, you missed this update in November: We wish to bid farewell and offer our gratitude to the partnership with @oxnard_cet , which lasted more than two years and was instrumental in the recovery of the land sanctuary. With as few as one, and as many as 14 people working full time on the land at any given moment through this program, it is difficult to imagine any meaningful fire recovery without their support. These stewards not only left an indelible imprint on the land, but touched the hearts of the staff, volunteers, and board members they worked alongside, whether in council, on service days, or at family appreciation picnics. With them, we had the joy to witness and be part of deepening connection – to self, to community, and to the land. We will greatly miss their authenticity, openness, willingness to jump in and take care, and their humor on the land, and in our weekly staff councils. We are sad to see these stewards go for now, and thankful for the relationships that will remain, including with all those folks working behind the scenes to make the program possible. To sign up for e-news, visit www.ojaifoundation.org
#ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-n #ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-news, you missed this update in November: The Foundations in Resilience Education (FIRE) Fellowship has launched! The FIRE Fellowship is a pay-it-forward, immersive learning journey designed to weave together spirituality, social justice, nature connection, and leadership. FIRE found its shape in the ashes of the Thomas Fire and in partnership with Youth Passageways; it emphasizes resilience training for a small cohort of emerging young leaders with a demonstrated commitment to serving the social and ecological movements of our time. After an extensive review of many inspiring and heartfelt applications, we selected the inaugural FIRE Fellowship cohort. We are so excited to be underway with our inaugural cohort. This year, 13 young leaders – organizers, activists, artists, healers – have come together to build with one another to gain practices for long-term transformation and healing, and provide meaningful service in their communities. In a collaborative design process, the FIRE Guide team, Guardians, and fellows are continuing to adapt the curriculum and design to meet the ongoing changes brought by Covid, social uprisings, and more, with creativity, relevance, and meaningful action. To learn more about the FIRE Fellowship, visit www.ojaifoundation.org/fire To sign up for e-news, visit www.ojaifoundation.org
#ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-n #ICYMI If you are not signed up to receive our e-news, you missed this message yesterday: After nearly twenty years of service to The Ojai Foundation, Laura Whitney is transitioning out of her role. We are deeply grateful for her dedication, generosity, and support. Please click the link in our bio to see the video, with a brief, parting message from Laura.
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