California Institute for Rural Studies

For over forty-five years, the California Institute for Rural Studies has conducted community-driven research for action in rural communities working for justice, equity and health.

We believe that rural life in California will be radically transformed as systems of oppression and extraction give way to systems which are life-affirming, sensitive to many types of knowledge, equitable and reflective of the rich cultural landscape of rural California. CIRS creates research-based tools in partnership with rural communities of color who are working to eradicate white supremacy, take down colonial power structures and replace dysfunctional institutions.

Our research methods reflect our belief that people have the right to tell their own stories and that research which deepens their ability to understand, interpret and describe their lived realities is a key for social transformation.