The Ranch The Ranch

Ray and Charles Eames believed that nature was the ultimate designer. They continually drew inspiration from the natural world and believed that “eventually everything connects.” This holistic approach drives our way of working at the Ranch, where we combine traditional and regenerative practices, all with the goal of nurturing a thriving ecosystem.

San Antonio Valley Ranch⁠—the agricultural arm of the Eames Institute⁠—is located in California’s Sonoma County and functions as a living laboratory. Through partnerships with nonprofits, conservationists, and educators, we explore, test, and refine ideas and mechanisms for use in land stewardship, habitat restoration, farming, and ranching.

The original 26-acre Eames Ranch, which has hosted grazing livestock for more than a quarter century, had its genesis as a Christmas tree farm throughout the 1980s. In the ’90s, Charles Eames’s daughter, Lucia, moved here to establish her home, bringing with her treasured artifacts from the Eames Collection. Not long after, her daughter Llisa Demetrios and her family joined her, becoming skilled caretakers of the Ranch for the past 30 years.

In recent years, the Ranch has grown to include a number of adjacent properties, the largest of which was a long-time working dairy. Today, our land supports grazing for cattle and provides feed for a flock of sheep, alongside their vigilant guard llama, Lulu. Each year the sheep are sheared, and their fleeces spun into wool for blankets and garments. The Ranch also offers space for beekeeping, a pollinator garden, and a two-acre farm.

The rotational grazing practices are a result of a decades-long partnership with nearby Windrush Farm and more recently with Sonoma Mountain Institute, as well as the multi-generation Mickelson family.

Today’s agricultural and land management tools offer countless ways to revitalize landscapes and make food production more sustainable and resilient. The Ranch serves as a real-world laboratory where we partner with community members and innovators to explore new and resurgent approaches.

Farm & Garden

Both our two-acre farm and half-acre garden demonstrate a variety of growing practices. Seasonal plantings incorporate a variety of strategies ranging from ancient agricultural methods, like intercropping, to new approaches, like our raised-bed keyhole garden.

Rotational Grazing

By following the principles of rotational grazing, we are utilizing our small flock of sheep, and herds of cattle, to promote native species, encourage ecological diversification across our pastures, and sequester carbon.

Soil Regeneration

Using a grant from our local resource conservation district, and working in conjunction with community experts, we are enriching portions of our pastures with organic compost to improve the land’s ability to support biodiversity and sequester carbon.

Creek Restoration

In partnership with our neighbors and nonprofits, we are working on long-term plans to rejuvenate local watersheds by revitalizing 1.5 miles of San Antonio Creek⁠⁠—with an eye toward more sustainable water management and improved biodiversity and habitat for native species.

The properties currently identified as San Antonio Valley Ranch are believed to be a part of the traditional territory of the Meleya and Amayelle tribes of the Coast Miwok people. We honor the Coast Miwok⁠⁠—past, present, and future⁠⁠—as the original stewards of this special place, and appreciate the enduring legacy, connections, and relationships they have to their ancestral homeland. We humbly aim to create a safe place that welcomes everyone in an atmosphere of trust and knowledge-sharing.