Ojai Valley Museum to Host Hands-On Yucca Fiber Workshop

OJAI, Calif.  – Herb Walks with Lanny Kaufer invites the community to step back into ancestral time on Saturday, November 21, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, for an outdoor Ojai Foraging and Fiber Crafts Workshop in the Chumash Garden at the Ojai Valley Museum (130 W. Ojai Ave.).

Co-led by veteran nature educator Lanny Kaufer and special guest Bruce Vincent – a renowned Ojai Valley naturalist, birder, and master woodcraftsman coaxed out of retirement for this special event – the workshop offers participants a rare, hands-on introduction to traditional Southern California fiber arts.

The session begins with Kaufer leading a short interpretive plant identification tour of the museum’s Chumash Garden, highlighting the edible, medicinal, and utilitarian native flora of the region. Following the tour, Vincent will demonstrate and guide participants step-by-step through harvesting and processing fresh yucca leaves into strong, usable fiber. Each attendee will then use the cordage they created to craft a finished item to take home.

All plant materials and tools are provided with registration. Participants are asked to bring only a plastic wash basin and a cushion or towel to sit on the patio floor. Following the workshop, attendees are invited to visit the Ojai Valley Museum, where admission is on a donation basis. Copies of Kaufer’s field guide, Medicinal Herbs of California, will also be available for purchase and signing in the garden after the class.

About Bruce Vincent:

Bruce Vincent has taught the ecology, wilderness skills, and ancestral crafts of Southern California since 1980. His career includes work with the Matilija Environmental Science Area, Naturalists-at-Large, the International Center for Earth Concerns (Taft Gardens), California State Parks docent programs, and public school districts across Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Widely regarded as a preeminent naturalist and birder of the Ojai Valley, Vincent has also achieved local legend status for his world-class woodcrafting – creating furniture and walking sticks displayed in the Smithsonian Institution.

About Lanny Kaufer:

Lanny Kaufer, founder of HerbWalks.com, is celebrating 50 years of leading herb walks, nature hikes, and educational workshops across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since 1976. He holds a biology degree from UC Santa Cruz and is the author of Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants (Falcon Guides, 2021).

TO REGISTER/ Learn More -  https://herbwalks.com or email [email protected].   Space is limited