In collaboration with Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians and Solidarity Farm, this project is working to help demonstrate how carbon sink farming practices can be applied under Southern California conditions to benefit farmers and support climate mitigation and resilience efforts. 

LOCATION

Pauma Tribal Farms is located just outside the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians Reservation on 87 acres in the San Luis Rey Watershed in northwest San Diego County. The Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians purchased the farm in 2005, and they manage the farm with their tenants, the Solidarity Farm, which is a worker-owned cooperative that has started to implement carbon farming on the land that they lease from the Tribe. 

PROJECT GOALS

This demonstration project will expand the Tribe’s carbon farming efforts by implementing and disseminating information about five carbon sink farming practices: cover cropping, compost application, hedgerow installation, no-till and transition from row crops to trees. In addition to implementing these practices, this project will gather and analyze data from these carbon farming practices, including data on soil moisture, drought tolerance, and groundwater. 

By demonstrating the synergies between healthy food production systems and climate action - this endeavor will catalyze climate innovation, education, and farming in San Diego County.

This demonstration project is made possible by the California Coastal Conservancy and California Department of Food and Agriculture.