Orcas Island is a popular travel destination brimming with local knowledge and community spirit. What we cultivate here has the power to ripple onward, inspiring shifts throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Every place is an ecosystem that we are inseparably part of. For most of human history, survival depended on maintaining strong community bonds and increasing the biodiversity of the food sources around us. This deep interdependence with the land shaped not just our health, but our cultural and social systems as well.

Today’s environmental crisis isn’t only about what we’re doing to the planet—but also what we’ve stopped doing. The erosion of communal stewardship, regenerative practices, and place-based knowledge has created gaps we must now actively repair..

From our excess, new life should emerge. By reimagining our systems and aligning with natural cycles, we can cultivate regenerative abundance rather than depletion.

Small, self-sustaining communities that rely on local skills and resources create rare opportunities for personalized services, meaningful work, and high-quality living—things often lost in the outsourced economies of the mainland. These communities offer resilience, adaptability, and a deeper sense of belonging, proving that sustainable, cooperative models can thrive even in a world shaped by mass production and disconnection.

Housing development should bring health to the landscape- balancing the needs of people and nature, and offering lasting benefits to both.