About halfway between Santa Barbara and Bakersfield, California - on the ancestral lands of the Chumash people - lies a remote and strikingly beautiful high desert valley named Cuyama. The Cuyama Valley finds itself in the middle of a tense and complicated battle over water rights. A battle where all of the residents, farmers, ranchers, and even the rural underfunded school district, have been pitted against the world's largest corporate carrot growers: Bolthouse and Grimmway.

The Cuyama Water Basin is one of 21 critically overdrafted basins in the state of California. Since 2020 Cuyama Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency has been developing and implementing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan in accordance with state requirements aimed at bringing all critically overdrafted basins back into sustainable use by 2040. But in 2022, Bolthouse and Grimmway, aka Big Carrots, filed a lawsuit to ask the courts to determine water rights in the valley.

The Big Carrot lawsuit required all the small family run farms and ranches in the valley, the town water board, and the local schools to hire attorneys to defend their water rights in court. The lawsuit also inspired some community members to create a Boycott Carrots campaign.

In this episode you'll hear excerpts from oral history interviews with six residents of the Cuyama Valley, digging into what they love about Cuyama, how the water crisis has impacted their personal lives, what solutions might be, and what they hope for the future of the valley

CREDITS:

This episode was created and produced by Rae Garringer in 2025 during their time as a Cuyama Water Justice Fellow. The Cuyama Water Justice Fellowship is hosted by two local organizations Blue Sky Center and Quail Springs thanks to funding from the California EPA.

Endless gratitude to everyone who shared some of your story through interviews: Sara Nuñez, Noemi Vera, Raul Monzón, Tristan Zannon, Brenton Kelly, Alisha Taff, and Emery Johnston. And to Rosalba and Anthony Fonseca for your interpretation and translation work, and to Sandra Uribe for helping coordinate and schedule Spanish language interviews. Special thanks to Liz Fish, Jack Forinash, Mayela Rodriguez, Noé Monte, Melanie Shaw, Nick Shaw, Brooke Swertfager, Pam Baczuk, Brenton Kelly, Blaine Morris, and Teddy Nava.

Q: What happens when you bring a gaggle of country queers together for a weeklong audio workshop and retreat in rural coastal Maine?

A: Rural Queer Maine Audio MAGIC!

In November 2024 a group of rural and smalltown LGBTQ+ folks from across the state of Maine, spent 5 days together in Passamaquoddy territory / Washington County on the coast of Maine at a rural queer audio retreat.

The retreat was organized and hosted by Out in the Open - a multiracial, majority working class, grassroots, movement and capacity building organization based in Wabanaki territory working throughout the states of Vermont and Maine to connect rural LGBTQ+ people to build community, visibility, knowledge and power.

Participants produced short audio pieces, start to finish, over the five days that we spent living, learning, eating, walking, and laughing together. These pieces were produced with support from Out in the Open staff HB Lozito and Grace Johnston-Fennell, Michele Christle of Torchlight Media, and Rae Garringer of Country Queers.

*****These pieces contain audio that may be challenging to hear or bring up emotions for listeners. Please take care of yourself!*****

Country Queers: A Love Letter arrives October 8, 2024 from Haymarket Books!

Listen to Rae multitask morning goat chores while telling you about the book and the fundraiser we've launched to support the costs of book tour travels. Featuring: ducks, goat bells, goats chewing, Rae walking through tall grass, and rambling without a script in the milking shed!

You can preorder the book here and please help us bring the book tour to rural areas and small towns all over by supporting our Fundraiser!

In 2023 state legislatures across the South and Midwest have introduced over 400 bills attacking trans adults, trans kids, and drag queens. This legislative session in West Virginia saw the introduction of more than 15 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills. On Thursday March 9th, 2023 trans organizers held a rally at the Capitol Building in Charleston, WV in protest of House Bill 2007 which would enforce a total ban on gender affirming care for minors in the state. Over 100 people packed the upper level of the capitol building to protest outside the Senate Chambers where the bill was being discussed. In this episode you'll hear interviews with organizers and attendees of the rally, and audio from a powerful afternoon of queer and trans rage, grief, joy, and laughter in the heart of a state often ignored by the national left.

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This episode talks about suicide. Please take care of yourself while listening, and if you or someone you know is struggling please call The Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860. Or call or text the Suicice & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

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In this episode we are asking you to support Project Rainbow an organization working to create West Virginia's first LGBTQ+ safe haven and shelter in Morgantown, WV.

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Created and produced by Rae Garringer with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland. Music by Tommy Anderson.

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led and Appalachian based project head on over to our Patreon page.

Dorothy Allison is a 73 year old, white, feminist, working class story teller, who was raised in South Carolina and Florida and now makes her home in California. She is the author of many books including novels, short stories, a poetry collection, and a memoir. In this interview, recorded by Rae Garringer in August 2018, Dorothy talks about memories of growing up "a poor kid in love with language," learning to write, how she got from FL to CA, class, feminism, and the magic of writing.

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For this episode we're asking folks who are able to support Lauren Garretson-Atkinson's gofundme. Lauren is an Affrilachian creative hailing from the mountains of West Virginia. She received her BA in Africana Studies & Creative Writing from Hampshire College, and her MFA in Fiction from Virginia Tech. Non-traditional in most ways, Lauren enjoys pushing boundaries and genres in her writing, working with speculative-fiction, magical realism and historical fiction. She is raising money to support her in finding the time and space to finish the afrofuturist Appalachian novel she's been working on for years. You can support Lauren here: https://gofund.me/23c5fa12

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by Rae Garringer with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland. Music by Tommy Anderson.

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.

KD Randle (they/them) is a Black, southern, queer, genderfluid person currently living in Jackson, Mississippi. They're a lifelong learner, visionary, creator, their mother's youngest seed, a friend, partner, dog parent, and former farm apprentice at Sipp Culture. This episode weaves together audio diaries recorded on KD's commutes to and from the farm, and an interview with their mother: Reverend Sandras Anderson. They reflect on the legacy of Black farmers, returning home and falling back in love with rural MS, divine androgyny, spirituality, abundance, and more.

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For this episode, we're asking you to please donate to KD as they continue the beginning investments and building of their farming journey. You can do so via cash app: $kellsrandle or Venmo: kells_randle

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by KD Randle with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open, and Rae Garringer of Country Queers.

Sound Design by Hideo Tokui. Audio editing by Rae Garringer.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Our featured song on this episode is "Black Myself" by Amythyst Kiah!!! Additional music is by Podington Bear and Tommy Anderson.

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.

Dana Kaplan (he/him) is a white trans person and the Executive Director of Outright Vermont and he's on a mission to make Vermont celebratory and affirming for all LGBTQ+ youth. When not working, Dana spends time making music, fermenting food, people watching, and hanging out with his spouse and their two kids. In this episode Zach Henningsen interviews Dana about living in Vermont as a NYC kid, music, finding a sense of home in ourselves, and the creativity of rural queer people.

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Zach Henningsen (he/him) is a Junior in highschool with a passion for social justice and equity work. He served on a school board that oversaw- and ultimately suggested the removal of- the School Resource Officer position. He also volunteers at Planned Parenthood, and spends most of his time free either studying or playing music. Zach moved to Vermont in December of 2016 from Texas- and has lived in at least five different states over the span of his life. He believes that place and environment can shape identity to a great extent, and the shift from Texas to Vermont- while jarring- was a positive one. A supportive community fosters growth and comfort, and he believes that wherever you are, such community can be found. He is the producer and creator of this week's episode featuring Dana Kaplan.

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For this episode, Dana is asking you to support The Root Social Justice Center. The Root is a Vermont-based,POC-led nonprofit organization focused on racial justice organizing, community advocacy, and relationship-building through their programming, actions, and local initiatives. The Root provides a physically and financially accessible space in Southern Vermont for social justice groups to meet AND is a hub for racial justice organizing.

You can learn more and donate on their website: https://www.therootsjc.org

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by Zach Henningsen with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open, and Rae Garringer of Country Queers.

Sound Design by Hideo Tokui. Audio editing by Rae Garringer.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Our featured song on this episode is "Simple Times" by Dana's band The Smittens! Additional music is by One Man Book and Podington Bear.

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.

Miguel Mendías is an interdisciplinary artist living in Marfa, Texas, occupied Jumano and Apache lands. He is Chicanx, Mexican-American, or Latinx (a term he dislikes). He is mestizo; of Czech, Basque, and Rarámuri (Tarahumara) descent. His father's family has lived in Marfa, Texas for five generations. In this episode Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay (she/they) interviews Miguel about his work to restore the adobe home that's been in his family for generations, lessons his grandparents taught him, and his relationship to his father, his ancestry, and the land.

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Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay (she/they) is a queer, mixed-Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) living in their ancestral lands in Mākaha, Hawaiʻi. She is an educator, learning experience designer, musician/creative and plant person. She is the interivewer and creator of this week's episode featuring Miguel Mendías, and you can find his interview of her in Episode 2.

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For this episode, Miguel is asking you to support Ekvn-Yefolecv: an intentional ecovillage community of Indigenous Maskoke persons who, after 180 years of having been forcibly removed from traditional homelands - in what is commonly/colonially known as Alabama - have returned for the purpose of practicing linguistic, cultural and ecological sustainability. You can donate and learn more on their website: https://www.ekvn-yefolecv.org/how-can-i-help

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay, with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open, and Rae Garringer of Country Queers.

Sound Design by Hideo Tokui. Audio editing by: Kūʻiʻolani Cotchay and Rae Garringer.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Our Featured Song on this episode is "Surftastic" by Slutpilll. Slutpill is a Whitesburg, Kentucky based band made up of Carrie Carter, Paulina Vasquez, and Mitchella Phipps. Additional music in this episode is by Tommy Anderson!

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.

Sharonna Henderson is a mother, an activist and a burlesque performer. She is a fat, Black, queer, woman who believes in liberation through rest and art. Her life is full of love and beauty and it's her mission to share it with as many souls as possible during this lifetime. In this episode Toviah DeGroot draws from Bhanu Kapil's "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" for a dream-like conversation about bodies, fatness, disability, race, ancestral memory, parenting, white violence, silence, and more.

Toviah Degroot (they/them) grew up living on occupied Abenaki land in central Vermont. They are now a college student, writer, artist, advocate, and a pain in the ass. Building community and bringing people together are their favorite things in the world, and they intend to do it for the rest of their life.

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For this episode, Sharonna is asking you to PAY BLACK FEMMES, QUIETLY.

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by Toviah DeGroot, with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open, and Rae Garringer of Country Queers.

Sound Design by Hideo Higashibaba. Audio editor: Rae Garringer

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Featured song is "Headspace" by Nayeema. Nayeema is a young musician from Knoxville, TN - checkout their music here! Additional music by Ketsa and Tommy Anderson!

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.

Sam Gleaves is a white gay man who was born and raised in Virginia and now lives in Kentucky. Sam is an old-time musician, educator, singer/songwriter, and a banjo, guitar, and fiddle player. This episode features Rae's 2013 interview with Sam where he talks about musical traditions, family, and finding a sense of belonging within the word "Fabulachian." Then you'll hear a phone call between Sam and Rae from January 2022 reflecting on what it's like to listen back to this interview after nearly a decade.

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There's a lot of wind in this episode so take care of your ears while listening!

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For this episode we're asking folks who are able to support Black Appalachian Young and Rising - which is the Black Youth caucus of the STAY Project. BAYR is for Black Appalachian Youth and by Black Appalachian Youth. Check out their work and donate here:

https://www.thestayproject.net/black-appalachian-young-and-rising

Also BIG love to the STAY Project and the Highlander Center in this episode! Please go check out all of their important and powerful work in Appalachia and the South!

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To learn more about this collaboratively produced 2nd season check out our websites at www.countryqueers.com and www.weareoutintheopen.org

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Created and produced by Rae Garringer with support from HB Lozito from Out in the Open.

Editorial advisory dream team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Music by Sam Gleaves! Check out more of his music here: http://www.samgleaves.com

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If you'd like to support this rural queer and trans led project head on over to our Patreon page.