relationship to land
+ + + ◎ + + +
Quercus Collective was formed in 2020 as a way for us to build community and relationship to the land. As we rooted in place in the Sierra Foothills, this project grew in response to what the earth asked of us. It is an ever-evolving process of learning how best to be of service; it is a conversation. We offer foods and medicines from the land for the people, and from the people for the land.
We prefer to grow and know the plants we use to make our medicines, and have been tending herb gardens and wild patches on the land where we live in order to cultivate relationship with them. We also emphasize the importance of cultivating soil, using organic and regenerative practices based in permaculture, traditional farming and land-tending techniques. We plant flowers for pollinators, save seeds, light fires, and feed our oaks with sheep and ash.
We aim to grow like the oak—slowly, sending down deep roots before reaching outward. As interest in our acorn flour has grown, we are considering how to meet that interest without compromising our values. We currently produce on a small scale in a home kitchen and do not intend to industrialize the process. Instead, we envision a community-based hub for acorn processing: a shared space with some modern machinery to support the work while keeping it grounded in care and place. Our goal is to make acorn foods more accessible while remaining accountable to the land they come from.
We are interested in partnering with community members and local tribes, and in building relationships rooted in respect, consent, and shared purpose. If this vision resonates with you, we welcome you to reach out.
Our love for wildcrafting, passed down from the first ancestors, is something we are trying to engage in responsibly, carefully. Other materials occasionally used in our products are sourced from ethical and organic manufacturers. We do our best to use the lowest-impact methods of packaging and shipment. Our products are made in a home kitchen following Good Manufacturing Practices.
If you have any questions regarding the specifics of our practices, please contact us!
We live in the Wolf Creek watershed on Nisenan land in Nevada County, CA.
+ + + ◎ + + +
We believe in strengthening local community and we choose to live in Nevada County because there is a strong culture of local support, which is an essential ingredient to growing sustainable, place-based culture. Nevada County also comes with an inheritance of genocide and extraction. These areas of the Sierra Foothills are the ancestral lands and unceded territories of the Nisenan, Maidu, Miwok and Siakumne peoples. We are actively learning their stories and how to be good community members to them. To learn more about the lives of these tribes, see the links below.
*10% of our profits are donated to the local Nisenan tribe via their non-profit CHIRP*
Find out more about the Nisenan tribe:
http://www.nevadacityrancheria.org/
California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project
Find out more about the Siakumne tribe:
Find out more about the Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated tribe:
**We have a discount code that is available for native folks and special circumstances - please reach out if you would like to learn more, understanding that we have calculated a fair price for our products and make very little profit.**