The farmland preserved in Marin is an enormous asset to Marin’s being a real model of how we can live beautifully and sustainably. I bring deep connections with small scale, sustainable and innovative farming in Marin, through our daughter Caymin. For years she grew beautiful vegetables on the Bolinas Mesa, irrigating exclusively from rainwater catchment and dry-farming several of her crops. As a result shoppers at Good Earth and elsewhere ate her gorgeous locally grown fresh veggies. Here’s a sweet video of Caymin talking about her first farm in Bolinas.

Through my involvement with both farming and health care in West Marin, and selling at the Fairfax and Point Reyes Farmer’s Markets, I’ve built connections with leaders in sustainable agriculture such as the Straus Family Creamery and the Marin Carbon Project.

Caymin has since moved Big Mesa Farm to a more permanent place and now farms at a larger scale in Mendocino County. I’ve done a tremendous amount of work on the infrastructure and buildings there, building a solar microgrid to power the entire farm (which is not served by PG&E at all). She now does deliveries using an electric Ford eTransit van, which is charged every day using the farm’s solar power! Many lucky people have opportunities for employment, education, and real connection with soil and life through working at her farm.

Before the move to Mendocino, Caymin also ran a pilot project to grow Quinoa in Elk. She grew 85 acres, all dry-farmed, and harvested 22 tons of protein without any water input. All these farms are on land farmed for generations, but now far more sustainably.