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Renewing the Countryside Newsletter
August 2005
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In This Issue
-- This Month's Featured Stories
-- In Other Words: A Guest Feature By the Michigan Land Use Institute
-- RTC News Flash
-- Resource Pick of the Month: Association for Enterprise Opportunity -- Partner Pick of the Month: Food Alliance Midwest -- What We're Reading: The New American Farmer -- Where We're Going: Murphin Ridge Inn -- What Does RTC Do?
Greetings! Welcome to Renewing the Countryside?s third monthly newsletter! Read on for this month?s stories, project updates, resource recommendations, and book and restaurant picks! |
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This Month's Featured Stories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Making Herstory: Maria Ines Runs America?s First
Latina CSA
Maria Ines started out as a field laborer, for a huge California food corporation. But now she's growing her own broccoli and carrots, and selling directly to the customer. Through the help of the "Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association," she started Laughing Onion Farm, a 13-acre CSA in Hollister, Calfornia. Southwest Windpower Andy Kruse?s story is a classic one: he and a friend started messing around with wind turbines in a garage ?out in the cinder hills? near Flagstaff, Arizona. The year was 1987, and he and David Calley had visions of harnessing this source of renewable energy for the betterment of humankind. David was making wind generators even when he was in high school in the early 1980s. With his technical expertise, and Andy?s marketing background, the pair founded Southwest Windpower and made a small wind turbine that they called the Windseeker. |
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In Other Words: A Guest Feature By the Michigan Land Use Institute ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Downtowns Harvest Farmers' Markets' Growing
Successby Dianne Conners Each month, we'd like to feature a story, article, or essay from one of our partner organizations in this section. If your organization would like to contribute a piece, please contact Andi McDaniel at andi@rtcinfo.org. Thanks! Julie Adams has a new Friday morning ritual, now that Petoskey has launched a downtown farmers market that?s meant to help growers and local merchants alike. The chef and co-owner of Julienne?s Tomatoes café walks out her door and across the street to the market as soon as it opens at 9 a.m. By noon, she?ll be serving eager customers scrumptious, fresh dishes based not on a preplanned menu but on what local farmers brought from their fields to the market that morning. |
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RTC News Flash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing...Our First Local Foods Calendar!
Since 2003, we've been partnering with organizations in
different states to produce beautiful calendars that showcase
innovative farms and rural enterprises in each region. This
year, we've partnered with Food Alliance Midwest and the
Minnesota Farmers Union to launch our first "Local
Foods" calendar! This 16-month 2005-06 calendar is full of
stories, recipes, and photographs showcasing Minnesota chefs
who use local foods, and the producers who supply them. For
information on doing a Local Foods calendar in your area,
please contact Jan Joannides at jan@rtcinfo.org or
612.251.7304. The calendars were released at the
recent State Fair "Minnesota Cooks" event, which
involved live cooking demonstrations by local chefs and the
opportunity to meet growers. Green Routes Goes to Press! The Upper Minnesota River Valley and Tamarack Green Routes guides are hot off the press! The guides each highlight 15 to 25 restaurants, B&Bs, farms, art studios, and other wonderful assets in western and east central Minnesota. For more information or to request a free Green Routes brochure, contact Beth Munnich at 1-866-378-0587 or beth@rtcinfo.org. Or, go to www.greenroutes.org. Green Routes is a green tourism initiative that directs people to places where they can get locally-grown food and locally-made products as well as participate in a community's natural attractions and amenities.
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Resource Pick of the Month: Association for Enterprise Opportunity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It isn't easy running a small business in America,
but having a strong support system can make a big
difference. The Association for Enterprise
Opportunity is just that-- a national
microenterprise support system. A business is
considered a "microenterprise" if it requires less
than $35,000 to start up, and requires fewer than 5 employees.
Focusing on the microenterprise development industry, AEO provides trainings, conferences, technical advice, connections, and countless other useful tools to microenterprise development organizations, the folks who assist entrepreneurs in starting and growing a business. The AEO website is also a great resource to learn more about the microenterprise industry and the impact that microenterprise businesses have on our economy. |
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Partner Pick of the Month: Food Alliance Midwest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next best thing to knowing who grows your food--is
knowing that it's been approved by a reliable third-party
certifier. If you see the Food Alliance Midwest seal of approval
on an item, you know that it was produced using
environmentally friendly and socially responsible agricultural
practices. A joint project of the Land Stewardship Project and Cooperative Development Services,
Food
Alliance Midwest is a coalition of farmers, processors,
distributors, grocers, and consumers that promote sustainable
farming through a certification program. The program
rewards integrated pest management, soil and water
conservation, habitat preservation, safe working conditions,
and humane livestock care.
Food Alliance Midwest also strives to educate the public about the benefits of sustainable agriculture. They were our partners in the production of the 2005-06 Minnesota Local Foods calendar. Food Alliance Midwest is the regional affilate of Food Alliance, based in Portland, Oregon. |
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What We're Reading: The New American Farmer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feeling down about the future of rural America? This book is a
great antidote. The New American Farmer profiles 60
American farmers who are proving that the future of small-
scale agriculture is bright. Arranged according to region, the
profiles take a thorough, clear-headed look at why these
innovators are doing what they're doing, and how it's making a
difference. The book, published by the Sustainable Agriculture
Network (SAN), the national outreach arm of SARE, is truly an
atlas of the alternative agriculture movement.
The recently-released 2nd edition features updated profiles and
14 new entries.
To order from SAN ($16.95 + $5.95 s/h), call (301)374-9696 or send check/money order to Sustainable Agriculture Productions, PO Box 753, Waldorf, MD 20604-0753. |
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Where We're Going: Murphin Ridge Inn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While traveling this summer, two members of the RTC staff
visited Murphin Ridge Inn at the suggestion of a colleague.
Nestled in Southwestern Ohio's Amish country, on 142 acres of
rolling woodland and farmland, Sherry and Darryl McKenney
have created a bustling enterprise--an inn, a restaurant, and
most recently a beautiful new teaching kitchen where they
offer cooking classes.
Guests can stay in the simple and elegant rooms in the guesthouse or in cozy, secluded cabins. They can spend their days hiking trails, visiting nearby sites, lounging in one of the many rocking chairs found on the property, or learning how to bake delicious breads and sweets. One of the highlights of Murphin Ridge Inn is its kitchen, or more accurately, the delicious array of foods that are served to guests. Many of the delicious dishes are available in the Inn's own cookbook: A Taste of Murphin Ridge Inn. The McKinney's entrepreneurial spirit, combined with their commitment to supporting their local community, being good stewards of their land, and making their guests feel at home, puts them at the top of our list of places to visit in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. |
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What Does RTC Do? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Renewing the Countryside is a 501(c)3 non-profit
that strengthens rural areas by championing and
supporting farmers, artists, entrepreneurs,
educators, activists, and others who are
revitalizing the countryside through innovative
endeavors. We build awareness and support for these
initiatives by collecting and sharing stories of
rural renewal, providing practical assistance and
networking opportunities for those working to
improve rural America, and fostering connections
between urban and rural people.
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
andi@rtcinfo.org
phone:
1-866-378-0587
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