HOPLAND 71
Hopland’s Solar Living Center Offers Fun & Learning
The Solar Living Center (SLC) began as a shared vision among the
workers of Real Goods Trading Corporation and company founder and
President John Schaeffer. It was a vision of a permaculture oasis where the
company could demonstrate the culture and technology of solar living.
Visitors to the Solar Living Center can experience the practicality of
numerous applications of solar power, including the generation of electricity and solar water pumping. The electrical system for the facility
comprises 10 kilowatts of photovoltaic power and three kilowatts of wind
generated power. The Institute is also home to Solar 2000, one of northern California’s largest grid-tied solar arrays. Solar 2000 allows the Solar
Living Institute to sell more than 160,000 k Wh of clean renewable energy back into the grid annually.
At the Solar Living Center, 80% of the plantings produce edible and/
or useful crops. The Center is landscaped as a microcosm of the planet
with the Northern Forest laden with evergreens in the North leading to
the Mediterranean Chaparral of the sub tropics all the way down to the
Olive Bosque in the South highlighting features from around the globe.
Unique to the Center’s gardens is a series of “Living Structures” which
reveal architectural gestures. Through annual pruning, plants are coaxed
into various dynamic forms, such as the willow dome, the hops tipi, the
bamboo pyramid and the agave cooling tower., where overheated visitors
stroll through a gentle mist under the shade of vines, New Zealand flax
and agave plants. Another unusual and inspirationally educational feature
is the “memorial car grove,” where the rusting hulks of 50s and 60s “gas
hog” cars have been turned into planter boxes for trees and flowers!
While You’re In Hopland
LODGING
Hopland Inn. 13401 S. Hwy. 101.
800-266-1891.
RESTAURANTS & DELIS
Blue Bird Café. 13340 S. Hwy. 101.
744-1633.
Burger My Way. 13600 Mountain House
Road. 744-8762.
Hopland Inn Restaurant. 13401 S. Hwy.
101. 744-1890.
The Crushed Grape. 13500 S. Hwy. 101.
744-2020.
SPECIAL SHOPS
Brutocao Cellars. 13500 S. Hwy. 101,
Hopland. 800-433-3689. See Page 61.
Jaxon Keys. 10400 S. Hwy. 101
Hopland. 877-462-0666. See Page 60.
Real Goods. 13771 S. Hwy. 101.
744-2100. See Page 71.
McDowell Wine & Mercantile. 13380
S. Hwy. 101, 744-2100. See Page 60.
Milano Family Winery. 14594 S. Hwy.
101, Hopland. 744-1396. See Page 60.
SIP! Mendocino. 13420 S. Hwy. 101,
744-8275. See Page 61.
Weibel Family Vineyards. 13300
Buckman Dr., Hopland. 744-2200.
See Page 61.
The Greenest Store on Earth
is in HOPLAND at the Solar Living Center
• Solar Electric Systems.
• Composting Toilets.
• Solar Water Pumping.
• Energy Efficient Lighting.
• Solar and Rechargable
Lights and Radios.
• World’s Largest Book Store
for Sustainable Living.
• Educational Toys.
• Organic Cotton
and Hemp Clothing.
• Cool and Tranquil
Water Gardens.
• Solar Powered
Merry-Go-Round.
13771 S. Hwy 101, Hopland • 707-472-2403 • Open Daily 10 am to 6 pm
www.RealGoods.com • www.SolarLiving.org
