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Plant breeder Carol Deppe is passionate about making seeds available for all growers, rather than being in the control of a handful of corporations. “If we want to control the kind of food available and the kind of agricultural system that we want, we have to do our own breeding,” she explains. “What Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) does is create a pool, a protected commons, of germ plasm which will always be available for breeding. The OSSI pledge goes along with these seed varieties, but also if you breed new varieties.

The Craftsman-style bungalow looks normal on the outside, but the surprise is on the inside: straw bales inside the framing provide super insulation. Natural builder Lydia Doleman designed this 800-square-foot small-footprint house to last centuries, with its metal roof and strong foundation. She used reclaimed lumber and recycled materials extensively. Hot water pipes warm the earthen floors and replace energy-intensive concrete. Day-to-day usage is low impact: composting toilet, vegetative roof and rainwater catchment, LED lighting, and solar hot water.

Nevada County locals Loraine Webb and Jim Wray demonstrate the how and why of packaging bulk foods with nitrogen. They're using equipment available for community members to use at minimal cost. Jim demonstrates packaging: make plastic bags using a heat sealer, fill with foodstuffs, suck out the oxygen with a small vacuum, then replace the air with nitrogen and seal.

Though born and raised elsewhere, Jerry Becker is now a de facto indigenous member of Oregon's Elk River watershed. The credo he lives by is Respect. He and his family have lived lightly "long before it was cool." An ecoforester, Jerry manages the woods sensitively with an eye to its wholeness.