When Jason and Kristin Nichols first met at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center in 2017, they made group dinners together from scratch and washed dishes by hand. And while they worked side by side helping to keep flames from the Nuns Fire from destroying the center, they discovered they shared more than a spiritual path. Seven months later they were married.
Their origin story as a couple was the precursor to a handmade family life, where laundry is hung to dry in the breeze, weekends are spent on DIY projects, and after supper, the sounds of a piano and singing fill the house instead of television.
The pair live on a compact homestead south of Sebastopol they call Windhorse Orchard, with 50 fruit trees, a big garden in progress, and room for their two kids—Eve, 5, and Ryo, 2—to get dirty the old-fashioned way by splashing in a tub with a garden hose or digging in a sandbox their dad made with scrap lumber from their many home improvement projects.
On the surface it looks like a simple life, free of the clutter and gadgetry that bedevil so many young families. But for some five years the Nicholses have been working meticulously to live as sustainably as possible, taking their commitment well beyond many of Sonoma County’s more eco-conscious households. They’ve made their 1980s home ultra-energy- and water-efficient and outfitted it with fixtures and common household items made without toxic materials or processes that may off-gas and pollute their inside air; it’s no easy task since few such products are available. But what is out there, they found…