Contact Information
Email: info@notsosimple.info
Phone: 707.684.0028
Our History
Thirty some years ago in Anderson Valley the Simple Living Fair made its debut at the Boonville Fairgrounds. The driving force then was a group of back-to-the-land refugees from urban venues who had the desire and hope to make this agricultural work relevant; cooperating with and respecting nature; and moving a lot of dirt. In the summer of 2010, the Anderson Valley Foodshed organized a retrospective and brand new version called the NOT So Simple Living Fair.
Our Mission
The Anderson Valley Foodshed Group works toward a vibrant, healthy local food system for our community. We celebrate our local foods, farmers and gardeners. We aim to increase our capacity to grow a diverse, year-long supply of food for all who live here. We work toward these goals through education, connecting people to each other, and creating new opportunities to grow, process and enjoy locally grown food.
Our Organizers
Sophia Bates
Sophia Bates lives on her parents’ apple farm in Philo where she grew up. Life on the farm created a passion for connection with her food. She left college after a year to return seasonally to the Apple Farm and travel in Latin America, then recently spent three seasons farming in Maine to develop her skills and knowledge about vegetable production and working with draft horses. Since her return she has been working to diversify the family farm, growing more food crops, integrating more animals, including three Norwegian Fjord horses, and trying to close as many loops as possible.
Captain Rainbow
The Captain appeared in Anderson Valley almost 40 years ago. He was a presenter and performer at the original Simple Living Workshops in the late 70′s early 80′s. He’s having a flashback, and is excited that there is a younger generation updating that flashback. He maintains a big homestead garden, built his home from timber on his own property, a member of the Philo Yacht Club, grange member of the only solar powered grange anywhere. He built most of the greenhouses at the high school, is a founding member of One Less Clown and the Magic co. and has hosted most of the annual locally famous Variety shows.
Rob Goodell
Rob Goodell and family have been homesteading these 20 acres near Boonville. Rancho Kai Pomo, for 34 years.We developed our homestead along permaculture guidelines with emphasis on passive solar building, tree crops, organic orchards, livestock and gardens largely self contained in terms of resources consumption. Our ongoing experiment has evolved with the natural world around us. We are trying to balance human and natural resources and interaction on a small family scale as an example of sustainable living modeled on appropriate technology and cultural examples from the last ten thousand years.
Brent Levin
Brent is a father, a natural builder, and a member of the Emerald Earth Sanctuary intentional community. He is currently enjoying co-creating an eco-village with a team of enthusiastic inspiring individuals. He is also co-teaching two natural building courses this summer at Emerald Earth Sanctuary (www.emeraldearth.org). Brent is thrilled to be a part of the Not-So-Simple team, as the fair seems the perfect venue for sharing and receiving the information he is most excited about right now.
Linda MacElwee
Linda has lived in the Anderson Valley for the past 10 years. She has practiced, studied and advocated for organic gardening and farming for over 25 years. She learned the value of seed saving in the early 90’s while working for Native Seeds SEARCH and has saved her own seeds ever since. At this point in time, she feels it is an ultimate expression of democracy to save your own seeds. She lives with her life partner, Andy, and their dog and cat and chickens in Boonville.
Diane Paget
Diane moved to Anderson Valley in the early seventies (after spending her twenties traveling in Central America, Europe and South Asia) with the goal of living in a way that would leave as many resources as possible for people in the rest of the world. She is an organic gardener and has been a home birth midwife, home schooling mom, watershed and peace activist, and fabric artist. A long time canner and drier, she continues to experiment with new ways to use and preserve local foods.
WE ARE OUTSIDE: Expect warm weather. There is some shade, but wear a hat and appropriate clothes.
NO DOGS PERMITTED. 
BRING YOUR OWN PLACE SETTING: Limit the amount of stuff we send to the landfill and help develop the habit of using our own dishes for take out food as well as potlucks.