A New Vision for a Sustainable Future—Rebirth of the Solar Living Center
The Solar Living Center opened a 12 acre educational site in Hopland California, and for 25 years served as a innovator and hands-on educator to promote sustainable practices for a healthier earth. In 2020, the site was closed due to the pandemic and other factors and is now experiencing a rebirth. Members of the original Center community as well as a new generation are now coming together to plan for and reimagine the future.
The center was at the forefront of technology and practices we now take for granted. The challenges of the environmental crisis that inspired the return to the land movement and focus on sustainability have only increased since its founding. We believe that that the original mission of the center, updated now to the environmental realities of our time, is more important than ever.
There are many opportunities under consideration including the return the multi-day SolFest, environmental art camps for youth, and the popular workshops of aquaponics and alternative housing construction. We’re inviting you and the greater community to participate in imaging an even greater future, a future that will include full participation of the indigenous peoples who inhabited this land for millennia.
We understand now that it is not enough to develop new technologies. Healing the Earth will require a growth in our awareness of the sustainable lifestyles of traditional practitioners. We need to reach out to the younger generations to encourage hope and to develop skills so they, too, can become earth healers.
Our Mission
We believe humans are resilient. Our ability to be resilient to changes in our environment can best be nurtured by having deep connection to nature itself. SLI was created to support community leaders in developing the skills to build their capacity to be agents of change within their own communities. To realize our mission we hosted trainings and events, maintained cutting-edge demonstrations in sustainable living, and partnered with organizations and companies that shared our values to further the impact of our work.
“When you wake up and you see that the Earth is not just the environment, the Earth is us, you touch the nature of interbeing. And at that moment you can have real communication with the earth…We have to wake up together. And if we wake up together, then we have a chance. Our way of living our life and planning our future has led us into this situation. And now we need to look deeply to find a way out, not only as individuals, but as a collective, a species.”—Thich Nhat Hanh.