WV Gazette: Greenbrier Valley’s small farms think big

There is some great local foods work going on in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. The Charleston Gazette took notice this weekend with a great piece on the potential for the region. Greenbrier Valley's small farms think big By Kathryn Gregory   LEWISBURG — When Jennifer "Tootie" Jones looks out over her 150-acre farm in Lewisburg, she doesn't just see cattle and horses. She sees potential for growth. "What people are open to [in the region] is looking how they can continue doing something that is their business — that they love — and how they can survive doing it. They want to keep doing it and make some money," she said.   Jones, along with other farmers in Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas counties, are pushing to increase local food production as a way to get back to the land and make farming a more primary job in the region. "Greenbrier Valley Local Food: The Possibilities and Potential," a study by Morgantown environmental consultant Downstream Strategies, highlights the Greenbrier Valley's ability to "significantly gain from a localized food system," by using the regions hilly terrain to grow more crops and graze more livestock, with an emphasis on smaller animals such as lamb, sheep and goats. Pocahontas, Monroe and Greenbrier counties are home to more than 56,000 people spread across 1.5 million acres. Currently, hay and livestock dominate the agricultural landscape but some regional farmers –who own almost 2,000 farms in the valley — and community members are looking...

How to Engage Rural Youth: Ask Them!

On Thursday, the Daily Yonder posted a piece about how rural Texas communities are engaging young people in revitalizing their towns. It's a crazy, off-the-wall idea, but it just might work in other places too: talking to them. While it seems pretty obvious, simply asking young folks what they want for their communities is actually uncommon, at least in the Midwest: For the past five years, the Rural Policy Research Institute has sponsored surveys of high school and middle school students in 39 rural communities in Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. The results showed that “rural communities have persistently, if unintentionally, overlooked involving youth in the shaping of their own futures.” More than 7 out of 10 young people surveyed said that no adult had ever asked them how to improve things in their towns. Still, 6 out of 10 said they would return if they were presented with the right opportunity. About half, in fact, said they had an interest in owning their own businesses. What would Appalachian young folks say they wanted, if they were asked?If they're anything like kids in rural Texas, it might surprise you, says the article: "It turns out that kids don’t think like kids, all about skateboard parks and bowling alleys. They think like citizens. Several speakers during the day remarked that, when asked, young people point out nuts and bolts kind of changes that a town needs. They point out junk that needs to be hauled out or buildings that need to...

BG Daily News: Kentucky ranks near bottom for broadband service...

The Bowling Green Daily News featured a story yesterday on broadband adoption — a topic we've discussed quite a bit lately, culminating in the Rural Broadband Summit and Hearing held in Whitesburg, KY last month.  The article profiles some of the work being done by ConnectKentucky in eastern and western Kentucky.  Their mission "is to accelerate the growth of technology in support of community and economic development, improved healthcare, enhanced education, and more effective government. In order to fulfill the mission, ConnectKentucky provides multiple technology services."  What other ideas do you have for bringing Kentucky up from the bottom on broadband issues?  By ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News Kentucky ranks near the bottom of states in terms of the percentage of households using broadband connections. Only Alabama at 56 percent and Arkansas and Mississippi, both at 52 percent, are lower than Kentucky’s 58 percent, according to “Exploring the Digital Divide,” a report released this month from the U.S. Department of Commerce. And nearly 30 percent of Kentucky households report having no computer at all. The state with the highest broadband adoption rate is Utah, at 80 percent. Based on a survey of 54,300 households by the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated average of 68 percent of households had broadband service in 2010, up from 64 percent the previous year. Still, there is a digital divide mostly among rural, low-income minorities who don’t have the service at home. There is no single solution to limiting the divide, the report...

Check out Transition Jobs!

Notice anything new on the site?  There should be a blue box towards the end of the left column — we're putting the word out about transition related jobs we think you might be interested in.  Let us know if you come across any opportunities we should post.  You can email us at info at appalachiantransition dot net or post on Facebook, Twitter, or Google + and we'll be sure to put new opportunities up there.  Now, start your application and join the transition effort in your new job! About Kristin TraczKristin Tracz served MACED’s Research and Policy team from 2009-2012 working on clean energy policy, energy efficiency programs and the Appalachian Transition Initiative. She joined MACED after finishing her Master of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She now lives and works in Washington,...

West Virginia Group Hopes to be Web-Based Business Hub

The rise in home-based enterprises and larger businesses offering telecommuting means that employees don't necessarily have to move to where the jobs are. Ansted, WV (population around 1500) is exploring how they might become a haven for web-based businesses, according to an article in the Beckley Register-Herald. “'It occurred to me that northern Fayette County is geographically and economically separate from the rest of the county. It became pretty apparent to me that we were going to have to do something different to find economic equality or parity," the Ansted mayor is quoted as saying. “We embrace the concept that we have the infrastructure to enable Internet home-based business enterprise.” While this is a potentially positive development for Ansted, it has something that many small Appalachian communities do not: not one but two high-speed internet providers. With many Appalachian residents reliant on dial-up, or without internet access at all, it is nearly impossible to compete in the technology-based economy. It's encouraging, then, that the Federal Communications Commission recently voted to shift $4.3 billion from a fund to provide phone service to rural areas into a fund to provide broadband. Hopefully this will position more of Appalachia to spearhead programs like the one in Ansted. Ansted group looking to attract Web business By C.V. Moore A community group in Ansted, partnering with university researchers, has set out to prove that northern Fayette County could be a viable Internet-based business center. They are conducting a study that may eventually help attract...

Schools in Kentucky Examples of a Cleaner Energy Future?

Today’s Herald Leader takes a look at Fayette County Public School’s Locust Trace facility, exploring how the building was designed to “prepare high school juniors and seniors for careers in the equine industry and agriculture, where a return to sustainability is the trend. School officials wanted their facility to set a good environmental example — and be less expensive to operate and maintain.” Reporter Tom Eblen describes the site, and the building itself: Sunlight and prevailing winds were analyzed to orient the classroom building and large arena building to make the best use of sunlight and natural breezes. The buildings use 21 Big Ass Fans — large high-volume, slow-speed fans — to help regulate indoor air flow and temperatures. The arena building, for instance, is heated and cooled with five large fans that pull air through louvers along a roof gallery that are opened and closed manually or with automatic sensors. Clerestory windows along the gallery provide most of the arena's light. Both buildings make extensive use of solar energy. Sunlight is maximized by window design and "solar tubes" that funnel magnified sunshine through the ceiling. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into as much as 175 kilowatts of electricity. Power not needed immediately is fed into the Kentucky Utilities grid to offset power drawn from it on cloudy days. Electricity is shut off at night, except for a few outlets needed to run things like fish tanks. More on the Locust Trace AgriScience Farm is available in Eblen’s article. ...

Monroe Farm Market Bridges Urban-Rural Food Gap

The Monroe Farm Market in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia uses an online market to connect rural farmers with urban consumers. Check out the video to see how it works!   From the Ground Up Episode 2: Monroe Farm Market from Central Appalachian Network on...

Tourism Forum Set for Nov. 29

Central Appalachia is ripe with tourism opportunities, and the Southern and Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association is hosting a one-day forum to discuss how to take advantage of them. It's a Jungle Out There: 11th Annual Tourism Forum November 29, 2011 at the Center for Rural Development, Somerset, KY, 8:30-2:00pm Join TOUR Southern and Eastern Kentucky (TOUR SEKY) for our annual Tourism Forum November 29, 2011. Each year TOUR SEKY hosts an all day educational work shop to showcase some of the newest tourism trends. This year is no different! During the event TOUR will welcome Mrs. Tami Reist with the Alabama’s Decatur/Morgan County CVB. Mrs. Reist will share with us the many marketing strategies she uses to entice more visitors to her area. Reist was a professor at Southeast Tourism Society’s (STS) 2011 Marketing College at North Georgia University. Our second speaker; Mr. Berkeley Young, CEO of Young Strategies, Inc., specializes in destination research planning, management and retail experience. In the last 10 years Young has worked with more than 100 destinations in over 26 states and we want to take full advantage of his knowledge. Registration Fee: $50. RSVP at Agenda: 8:30-9:00 Registratoin 9:00-2:00 Speakers Awards Luncheon Included For more information, visit the TourSEKY...