Our Story

My grandfather planted his first cherry tree as a small child. As it would turn out, most of his life would be dedicated to cherry farming.

Before Silicon Valley, the land was called the Valley of Heart's Delight — a heritage grown on cherry, apricot, and plum orchards stretching to the horizon. At its peak, the Santa Clara Valley produced over 160,000 tons of fruit annually.

Somewhere along the way, the orchards gave way to office parks, semiconductors, microchips and the valley took on a new identity. The name "Silicon Valley" was coined by a journalist in 1971. It stuck.

I've been thinking about what my grandfather would make of it. His education was in engineering and he wasn’t one to shy away from technology — he was a practical man, and he understood that tools change. But his values remained focused on what mattered most — his family, building community, and treating others with respect and kindness. 

Orchard Valley is my attempt to name what's been lost — and what's worth preserving. Not nostalgia. Not anti-tech. Something more like an awakening. An orchard tends, it requires patience and relationship with the land. It takes years to bear fruit. It nourishes people in the most literal sense — something you can hold in your hand and share at a table. That's what we're reclaiming—symbolically— in the way we choose to live. Less screen time, less reliance on computers to govern our lives and more time cultivating well being, connection, and presence.

Back to the Roots is what happens when you look at the word SILICON and decide, quietly but deliberately, to replace it with something more grounded. My grandfather embodied what is best about the Bay Area — hard working, well educated, committed to making the world and his country a better place. He grew up tending something real. Orchard Valley is for him and for everyone who feels the same pull — back toward the things that nourish, connect, and endure.