Community, Health and Joy
Creating a sustainable future through community-driven initiatives.
The SOL Vision
The World We Will Build
We want to express the deep disconnection so many of us feel, from our community, from our environment, and from a true sense of belonging. Every day, we see the division and the abuse of power. We see the greed that defines our world.
We want to create a new one.
Our Intentions
We will find the others.
We want to seek out those in our communities who share this vision of unity and cooperation. We will not do this alone.
We will build spaces for connection.
We want to create environments where relationships are rooted in uplifting one another and working toward a common goal.
We will grow our own food.
We want to cultivate the land and share the harvest with everyone—reclaiming our sustenance and our health.
We will provide homes, not houses.
We want spaces where families will find safety and comfort, regardless of their income or their ability to "pay rent."
We will share our talents.
We want to create dedicated spaces for local artisans and craftspeople to share their skills, keeping the soul of our community alive.
We will form cooperatives.
We want to build local businesses and networks that address the needs our community is missing, keeping our power and our resources local.
We will build with nature.
We want neighborhoods in our cities where we create alongside the environment, not against it.
The Example Community
We believe that if those of us with this vision in our cities come together, we will serve as an example and an inspiration for the billions of people around the world who want the same thing we do.
5 Foundational Pillars
These five pillars form the bedrock of our holistic approach. We believe that true community resilience requires a balance of physical health, environmental harmony, cultural expression, mutual support, and secure land tenure. Together, they create a complete ecosystem for thriving.
Health and Nutrition
Physical vitality and food sovereignty. Building bodies capable of service and joy.
Environmental Stewardship
Protecting our shared home. Permaculture, native planting, and sustainable living.
Arts and Crafts
Preserving our narrative rights. Keeping our stories, skills, and history alive through creation.
Community Development & Services
The architecture of care. Mutual aid, legal support, and cooperative economics.
Permanent Housing
The ground beneath our feet. Securing land and homes for community tenure forever.
Pilot Program Overview
Back to the Root
More than a program, this is a gathering of spirits. We are weaving the social fabric of our community, regaining our connection not just to the land, but to the deep, supportive human bonds that sustain us.
Through "Back to the Root", we create a sanctuary for connection—a space where neighbors become family, and where we learn that our collective strength lies in our ability to care for one another.
Workshop Schedule
Workshop 1: The Healing Circle
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Health, Breathwork & Social Connection
Core Topics:
- The Architecture of Breath: Regulating the Nervous System
- Cultivating Conscious Connection: Movement and Mindfulness
The Experience:We kick off with playful movement to ground ourselves and step out of our heads. Following a communal lunch, we dive into the transformative practices of breathwork and meditation to help you build deep, authentic connections with yourself and others.
Workshop 2: Setting Roots
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Wellness in Food & Soil Health
Core Topics:
- The Living Soil: Cultivating Micro-Ecosystems
- Native Nourishment: Designing Your Edible Landscape
The Experience:We go straight to the source to uncover the critical relationship between earth and human vitality. Unearth the secrets of sustainable agriculture and learn how to work with your local environment to create native, organic fruits and vegetables.
Workshop 3: The Ancestral Builder
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Ecology & Green Trades
Core Topics:
- Earth as Architecture: EcoBuilding Exploration.
- Ancestral Blueprints: Resilient Climate Solutions
The Experience:Time to get your hands dirty. We’ll explore time-honored construction methodologies that address modern climate challenges, granting you tactile, hands-on experience in building beautifully and sustainably with the earth itself.
Workshop 4: The Mending Circle
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Creative Longevity & Arts
Core Topics:
- The Alchemy of Repair: Upcycling with Purpose
- Functional Art: Crafting a Longevity Mindset
The Experience:Challenging the paradigm of throwaway culture, this session frames sustainability as a hands-on art form. Join us to learn how to repair, restore, and transform discarded natural materials into beautiful pieces of functional art or renovated tools.
Workshop 5: Our Village
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Community & Structural Solutions
Core Topics:
- Resource Mapping: Building Collective Resilience
- Action Through Unity: The Community Impact Project
The Experience:Transitioning from individual practice to collective power, this session provides a collaborative forum for resource sharing and problem-solving. We’ll move beyond dialogue, culminating in a hands-on community service project to leave a tangible mark on our neighborhood.
The Harvest!
Duration: 3 Hours | Focus: Celebration & Community
Core Topics:
- The Shared Table: Nourishment and Narrative
- Harvesting Connections: Sustaining Our Village
No workshops, no "work"—just us. We conclude our series with a communal feast to celebrate the seeds we've planted, both literally and figuratively. Bring a dish, share a story, and enjoy the harvest.
At All the Workshops:
Family-Inclusive:
Comprehensive childcare and engaging children's activities are provided concurrently with all workshops.
Catering:
Complimentary meals are served at every session to foster community and shared learning.
To Participate:
Our first Pilot will have 7 participants only. We’d like to keep our first group small to ensure we have time to receive information, practice it, and build connections together while we’re at it!
We will have an interview process to find the ideal candidates for the pilot program, if you are interested in participating, or know someone who might, please send an email to: [email protected] with the subject line “PILOT”.
[email protected]We’ll reach out to you soon and respond any questions you may have.
Thanks everyone for your interest! We look forward to seeing you all!
-SOL Stewards Team
SOL Certification
We'll make an announcement once this becomes available
52-week Community Stewardship Skill Development Program
1. Community Member
Participation in weekly holistic workshops. Mastery of base skills.
2. Community Caretaker
Active involvement in local business cooperatives and peer-led labs.
3. Community Investor
Investing labor and resources back into the local neighborhood economy.
52-Week Holistic Curriculum
The Community Stewardship Certification is a transformative journey of connection and empowerment. It invites community members to weave a fabric of deep relationships while mastering the vital skills needed to nurture themselves, uplift their neighbors, and steward our shared environment. We are cultivating a resilient, living network of care where every voice matters. To ensure equity, we provide remuneration for neighbors facing extreme economic hardship or low income, covering structural barriers like childcare and transportation so that everyone can participate in building our collective future.
The Economics of Care
| Current System | The Problem | The SOL Solution |
|---|---|---|
Housing | Rent extracts wealth from the neighborhood | Community Land Trusts build permanent equity |
Labor | Corporate profits leave the community | Worker-Owned Cooperatives keep wealth local |
Care | Isolated, expensive, bureaucratic | Neighbor-to-neighbor mutual aid networks |
Food | Dependent on fragile global supply chains | Hyper-local biointensive food sovereignty |
95%
Resource Retention
70%
Food Autonomy
52
Week Program
3
Year Plan
*Community metrics based on aggregate data from local economic resilience studies in Mountain View and Los Altos. When wealth circulates locally within worker-owned cooperatives and community land trusts, neighborhoods retain up to 3x more capital than in traditional extraction models.
Our 3-Year Horizon
Year 1: The Root (Skill Building)
Train the first cohort of 100 Certified Community Stewards. Map existing local assets and identify critical gaps. Establish the first pilot mutual aid network in Mountain View.
Year 2: The Stem (Cooperative Launch)
Incubate and launch 3 pilot worker-owned service cooperatives (e.g., childcare, food distribution). Open a permanent physical community hub for skills exchange.
Year 3: The Harvest (Land & Policy)
Partner with local municipalities to secure the first Community Land Trust property. Push for zoning and policy shifts that privilege cooperative, community-owned business structures.
Growth & Accountability
Transparency is the foundation of trust. Watch our community capacity grow in real time. We are committed to complete financial clarity and participatory governance. Every dollar raised directly expands our impact.
Live Operating Budget
$0
Milestone: $0
SOL rises as a LAMVCF Sponsored Program!
Families Supported
0
Governance Structure
SOL is organized as a participatory matrix. We use a consensus-building framework with defined domains of authority to ensure agility without compromising community control.
Advisory Board
Maria Marroquin
Board Member
Marco Cedillo
Board Member
Marc Adams
Board Member
Staff
Angel Santuario
Steward Coordinator
The Stipend Approach
"Volunteering" is a privilege often inaccessible to those working multiple jobs to survive. By providing stipends for participation in our pilot programs, we remove the economic barrier to civic engagement. This isn't charity; it is an investment in our community's infrastructure. We are paying neighbors to learn how to keep each other housed, fed, and healthy.
Community Calendar
Join us for upcoming events, workshops, and community gatherings. Submit your own event for review.
March 2026
Take Action
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Join as an individual or family to participate in programs and decision-making.
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Collaborate as an organization, business, or municipality.