Community Service & Ecological Commerce

The idea for The Simple Living Network grew out of Founder Dave Wampler's dedication to helping people find ways of living more lightly on the earth. Dave wanted to use his skills and knowledge to start a service network that would make information and resources available to those interested in changing their patterns of consumption.

Discouraged by the prospect of printing and mailing thousands of expensive and wasteful newsletters and catalogs to people who might not want them in the first place, Dave jumped at the chance provided by the Internet to accomplish the task using substantially fewer resources.

Since 1996 The Simple Living Network has been charting new waters by serving as a model that upholds a strong commitment to community service and ecological commerce.

Although it may seem strange that something called The Simple Living Network has a web site that offers free Community Services and sells books, audios and videos... this is absolutely the most effective and efficient way we can find to introduce hundreds of thousands of people from around the world to the simple living movement.

The Simple Living Network is a small, home-based cottage business operating in the Cascade mountain village of Trout Lake, Washington. Our staff is small and mostly volunteer. Our operating expenses are low, allowing us to use a greater percentage of our profit to provide free Community Services.

We have purposely chosen to operate as a for-profit corporation in order to model sustainable small business practices. We believe that to be successful in the long-term we must operate through self-funding. All of our free Community Services are funded without support from government, industry or foundations so that we may remain a stable and independent voice, free from the bureaucratic constraints that often come with the fundraising/nonprofit structure. This mode of operation also allows us the freedom to adjust quickly in response to the rapidly changing Internet and societal/market conditions. Our path is one of thoughtful, consistent growth, flexibility and longevity.

We are supported solely by modest Resource sales and CyberAngel gift contributions from web site visitors like you who enjoy our free Community Services offerings.

Having made those tough decisions, it goes almost without saying that our financial survival depends on the revenue generated through your generous CyberAngel gifts and resource purchases. We truly appreciate your support! (Please be assured, we are not getting rich by selling things. All profit, after expenses, goes directly into the maintenance and improvement of this web site.)

What Makes Us Different

We struggle daily with the issue of whether or not we should be in business at all.

Operating a business in the latter part of the industrial age, by its very nature, tends to be harmful. Each day we look for new, earth-friendly, sustainable and restorative modes of operation.

Here are a few of the steps we are taking:

• We believe that over-consumption stands at the center of the many problems our planet faces. This may sound strange coming from a web site that sells things. Nonetheless, we hope that you choose to purchase less "stuff" after visiting our web site, and that the "stuff" you do purchase is more earth-friendly than what you purchased before. We hope our web site helps you discover what is "enough" in your life (without sacrifice or deprivation). Our goal is to share with you the many paths to simple living. Our goal is to help you find meaning and purpose in all that you do. We are encouraging conscientious consumerism through making informed lifestyle choices.

• Operating on the Internet allows us to avoid the massive environmental impact created by traditional printing. We strive to operate in a paperless environment. We do not advertise. We do not send junk mail. We do not rent, lend or sell our mailing list to anyone. (For more information see our Privacy Policy.) Therefore, we rely on you, via word of mouth, to help us by telling others about The Simple Living Network.

• If you place an order through The Simple Living Network, we give it our full attention and care; however, we have conscientiously chosen to forego fancy new packing materials (when recycled options are available) and express shipping. In addition, we don't stuff your package with promotional materials. In fact, you won't find much of anything in your package, except a receipt and the items you ordered.

• We are proud to offer a number of free Community Services and contribute a portion of our revenue and time to nonprofit organizations. Whenever you purchase an item from The Simple Living Network, the proceeds go directly toward providing free Community Services and supporting nonprofit groups by offering free or discounted space on our web server. If you know of a simple living organization that would benefit from exposure on The Simple Living Network, please tell them about us.

• We carefully choose those companies and organizations we represent. We look for authors, publishers and manufacturers who also strive to run their affairs in an ecological manner. In addition, we are committed to supporting localized, cottage industries. Our goal is to offer worldwide exposure at an affordable price. Our web site is simple in design and the number of participants is high. We are trying to provide quality information about quality programs, tools and services.

We know these steps are only a start and really just a drop in the bucket. We recognize that the modes of commerce must change if they are to be sustainable. We are always looking for new ideas and insights. We are constantly evaluating our business ethics. What you see on our web site will change as we learn more. With your support and encouragement, we hope we are offering a new model for doing business -- one that is helpful, sustainable and restorative to the earth and its life.

For those interested in supporting our efforts further:

We sometimes hear the comment/criticism that The Simple Living Network is "nothing more than a bookstore trying to make a buck off of the simplicity movement...."

Nothing could be further from the truth!

We have struggled a great deal with whether we should offer anything for sale at all or if we should accept credit cards. After much thought, as a community service, and for the reasons detailed below, we have decided to make the items you read about on our web site available for purchase.

If you do decide to purchase a book, audio, video or other simplicity tool from The Simple Living Network, you will be directly supporting a home-based cottage business. Our staff consists of only one full-time employee and a couple of part-time helpers, many of them volunteers. We operate out of the spare bedroom of a 900 square foot, unique fixer-upper opportunity. Our continuation depends almost exclusively upon the sale of materials through our web site and small CyberAngel gifts from web site visitors like you. Without such support we would be unable to offer the growing number of Community Services you find here.

We encourage you to check your local library for the tools featured on our web site. If your library doesn't have what you're looking for, we have everything in stock and will be happy to fill your order. If you choose to make a purchase elsewhere, we encourage you to shop locally at a small, privately owned new or used bookstore. You may be able to find some items at discounted prices from large book chains or discount houses on the Internet. However, please consider the social and environmental ramifications before purchasing from these sources.

The profits generated from our web site go directly toward the maintenance and further expansion of the Community Services offered by The Simple Living Network and to the organizations represented. When possible, we cut out the "middle men and women" and purchase products directly from the nonprofit organizations, authors and small manufacturers who produce them so a larger share of the profit goes toward their growth.

Finally, it has been suggested by some that we should simply post the entire contents of all the resources we offer for free. A wonderful idea in theory. Unfortunately, that would be impossible because The Simple Living Network does not own the copyright on most of the books and publications we highlight. Republishing would be in violation of International and Pan-American Copyright and Trademark Conventions and would deny those who went to the trouble of creating the resources their due compensation. (Click here for more information on Copyright and Trademarks.)

Thank you for your continued support of our important work!

Dave Wampler is the Founder and President of The Simple Living Network. He lives and works from his home in the Cascade Mountain community of Trout Lake, Washington.

Dave has been involved in the environmental movement for over 30 years. He has a degree in environmental education and natural history interpretation from George Williams College in Downers Grove, Illinois. Early in his career he worked as a counselor and instructor at camps, outdoor schools and nature centers throughout the United States and Canada and served as the Administrative Coordinator of an international organization called The Institute for Earth Education.

From 1991 to 1999 Dave served on the Board of Directors of a natural products company called Turtle Island Food, Inc., makers of the famous Tofurky. Dave was instrumental in helping Turtle Island move from a cottage business to one of the largest tempeh manufactures in the world.

Currently Dave is a strong advocate of the Your Money Or Your Life program, a member of the Board of Directors of Take Back Your Time and a member of The Simplicity Forum.

The Simple Living Network began as Dave's dream in 1985. His original idea was to distribute information and resources that assisted people in making simple lifestyle choices for reducing their environmental impact and living more in harmony with the earth and its life. As plans progressed, it became apparent that he did not want to buy into the traditional printed newslatter and mail order catalog mode of operation -- it created too much environmental impact.

In 1994 Dave stumbled upon the infant Internet and saw the potential to accomplish his goal without actually printing and mailing a newsletter or catalog. Dave dropped everything and set about becoming a computer programmer fluent in dozens of computer languages. Since that time he has combined his skills to create The Simple Living Network, a home-based business that has grown to become a focal point for the simplicity movement by providing a wide variety of resources and free Community Services.

In addition to spending 30-40 hours per week keeping the wheels of The Simple Living Network turning, Dave enjoys gardening, playing the accordion with local bands, and playing Frisbee golf. When the mountain weather permits, he spends as much time as possible exploring the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

Fred Ecks worked as a corporate software engineer for many years before happening upon the program in Your Money Or Your Life. He diligently applied the steps in his own life, paying off his debt and eventually becoming financially independent when he was 35 years old. Since then, he has enjoyed a life blending a variety of volunteer work and personal enrichment.

Fred can usually be found doing something outside. He's an avid marathon runner, bicyclist, and sailor. When he's not outside, he may be taking community college classes, writing, speaking, or giving a hand with The Simple Living Network. He also writes regularly in his Web Log.

Jonathan Allan works by day in Information Technology. Evenings and weekends he can be found cruising the Simple Living Network Forums when he isn't doing something else.

Something else often includes taking college classes, teaching Community Education classes on voluntary simplicity topics, and volunteering at several places. One favorite volunteer activity is local live theatre: Jonathan has done everything from pushing set pieces around in the dark, running the light board, creating the light design and special effects, deconstructing sets, to speaking, singing, and dancing (if you can call it that) parts. Jonathan is co-author, with Lynne Cantwell, of Live Simply in the City.

Jonathan has achieved a dynamic equilibrium with his wife of almost 20 years. Together they are owned by two cats, choose to live debt free, and are actively simplifying their lives. They generally follow the tenants of Your Money or Your Life and plan to be financially independent before traditional retirement age.

The best place to find Jonathan is on the Simple Living Discussion Forums, but you can visit his personal web site if you want to learn more about him.

The Simple Living Network operates from Trout Lake, Washington, a small town at the base of Mt. Adams in the Cascade Mountains. An hour's drive up the scenic Columbia River Gorge from Portland, Oregon, we are about 20 miles north of Hood River, Oregon -- the windsurfing capitol of the world.

A community of about 1000, Trout Lake sits beside the White Salmon River and is bordered by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This convenient location affords us our share of opportunity to spend time in our favorite place -- outside -- surrounded by trees and animals, exploring on skis, bikes, or feet.

Our modest office occupies much of Dave's home (a "unique-fixer-upper-opportunity") and is filled with computers, projects in progress, stacks of books and all the other things required to keep The Simple Living Network running full speed ahead. A garden out back provides fresh vegetables and some therapy during the summer months.

Although there are probably better places from which to operate an international business, we consciously choose to live and work in the small community of Trout Lake. The Internet affords us a unique opportunity to test the theory that, in this day and age, it doesn't matter where you live and work.... So far, so good!

Visit the Trout Lake, WA Web Site for additional information.