Welcome to the February Renewing the Countryside newsletter, designed to provide a monthly toolbox of resources, ideas and inspiration for your own efforts and interests in rural revitalization.

Thank you for your continued support of Renewing the Countryside.

Jan Joannides, Executive Director
Renewing the Countryside

At the turn of the twentieth century, a small farmstead country store opened in Carters Valley, Tennessee, to the rattle of horse-drawn buggies, functioning as a means of trade and barter for local and traveling customers until the Great Depression closed its doors, seemingly for good, in the early 1930s. Today, thanks to the efforts of Bill and Deborah Davison, this building blooms again with a new era of farmstead trading through Davison's Country Store, selling seasonal produce from their family-run farm, a business venture motivated by the Davison's interest to diversify from tobacco crops.

Read the rest of the story...

Hampton Square
Blue Ridge, GA

When local customers first pull up to Hampton Square in Blue Ridge, Georgia, they may not see the fresh start-up businesses housed in the newly renovated building right away. They may be remembering the Pontiac dealership, the International Harvester tractor showroom, the poultry factory, the skating rink and the antique store that had all, at one time or another, taken up residence in the large warehouse-style structure in Blue Ridge, Georgia. But quickly enough, even locals realize the special revitalized value of Hampton Place, housing a range of locally-owned businesses under a cooperative, community focused philosophy from various artists to a popular restaurant to community theater performances.

Read the rest of the story...

Unit One of RTC's new Local Food Curriculum, "The Innerworkings of the Food System," is available on-line for free downloading and use by educators everywhere. This 24-page guide helps students discover the complexities of our food systems and solutions to creating more sustainable options through interactive activities, worksheets and case studies. Designed for sixth through ninth grade classrooms, this innovative curriculum can readily be adapted for related non-profit groups looking for educational activities.

Download Unit One here.

Register Now for Green Routes Workshops

Green Routes is sponsoring six workshops across Minnesota during the months of February and March, providing opportunities to learn more about sustainable tourism and what businesses and communities can do to keep things local. Workshops feature George Wilkes from the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais, MN, and showcase real life examples of what is working in sustainable tourism in Minnesota.

Workshop dates and locations are as follows:

Tuesday, February 20, Tofte, Bluefin Bay, 7192 W Hwy 61

Tuesday, March 6, Rochester, Olmstead County Ext Office

Wednesday, March 7, New Ulm, Rhein River Arts Center

Thursday, March 8, Granite Falls, JB Yates Supper Club

Tuesday, March 13, Bagley, Fireside Grill, 16734 US Hwy 2 W

Wednesday, March 14, Baxter, Prairie Bay, 15115 Edgewood Dr

Click here for Green Routes workshop registration information.

Busy Month of Conferences for RTC

February continues to be a busy month of conferences for RTC. Come visit RTC at our educational booth at the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, WI, from February 22 through 24.

That same weekend, February 23 through 25, RTC will help organize the Minnesota Cooks stage at the Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience at the Minnesota Convention Center, a celebration of regional chefs showcasing local foods. Co-sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Farmers Union, Food Alliance Midwest and RTC, with Whole Foods as the stage sponsor, Minnesota Cooks brings together the region's best chefs to demonstrate how they use locally grown ingredients to create their award-winning, inventive cuisine. Read more about Minnesota Cooks here.

Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko presented workshops on farm diversification and public relations at the Future of Farming Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture and local, seasonal eating at the Illinois Food For Thought Conference and the Wisconsin Garden Expo.

A web-based portal to community arts across the country, the Community Arts Network (CAN) provides news, documentation, communications, research and educational information. A program of Art in the Public Interest (API), a nonprofit organization based in North Carolina, the resource-packed website can be searched by "social context" categories -- from the environment to spirituality -- providing fresh and unique perspectives on the power of community art within our society.

For more information about the Community Arts Network:

Learn more about the Jubilee Project:

For more about The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael Shuman:

See FamilyFarmed.org EXPO for more information.

After successfully drawing enthusiastic audiences in San Francisco and Washington D.C., Green Festival launches in Chicago in conjunction with Earth Day, April 21 and 22, sponsored by Global Exchange and Co-op America. Dubbed a "huge party with a purpose," the Green Festival brings together over 200 speakers and 400 exhibitors, providing a jam-packed day of eco-education blended with fun.

See Chicago Green Festival for more information.

RTC staffers Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko will be moderating an "Organic Eating on a Dime" panel at the FamilyFarmed.org EXPO and serving as panelists at a green entrepreneurship session at the Green Festival.

Read the Renewing the Countryside story about The Final Go Around Supper Club:

As always, you can support our work by making an online donation or purchasing books from the Renewing the Countryside store. We're grateful to the Beim Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Emma B. Howe Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation, the Bush Foundation, The Brico Fund and North Central SARE, for contributing to our work.

Find out more about Renewing the Countryside .

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