Appalachia can learn from other regions and states that are already well into economic transition...

Central Appalachia is certainly not the only region of the country that has ever faced an economic transition of the size and scale of the one we’re facing now. Almost all rural regions of the country are trying to figure out their best path forward. The lucky thing for Appalachia is, we can take a look at what other regions are doing, and have already done, and learn from their successes and failures. The perfect example is Kansas, a state that has seen its rural population decrease almost exponentially since 2000. To try and reverse this trend, Kansas governments and local residents have started several initiatives aimed at helping rural areas survive. The state government started the Rural Opportunity Zones program in 2011 in 50 rural counties that had at least a 10 percent decrease in their population since 2000. The program entices recent college graduates to move to the state’s rural areas with the promise of forgiving $15,000 of their student loan debt if they stay for at least five years. It also “abates income taxes for up to five years for anyone who lived outside of Kansas for more than five years, hasn’t earned more than $10,000 in Kansas-based income for five years and moves into a ROZ county.” Just two years after the start of the program, 73 of Kansas’ 105 counties are enrolled, and 83 people have claimed the ROZ tax credit on their 2012 returns, meaning the program seems to be picking up steam....

Conference report: The Rural-Urban Connection

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter (as you should!), you'll know that lastweek I was in West Virginia for a conference hosted by the Central Appalachian Network on "the Rural-Urban Continuum," or how to better connect rural Appalachia with urban markets in and around the region. This is a challenge for our region, as many of our communities are far from urban centers with their increased buying power. Often we hear that the cities are the economic engines of an economy, with surrounding rural areas being a drain on resources. However, the research presented at the conference, by Brian Dabson of the University of Missouri, found that this isn't necessarily the case. The chart to the left shows that, with the exception of Louisville and Cincinnati, the rural areas (labeled "periphery") surrounding the urban core actually generate more revenue than the cities. The problem is that the wealth doesn't stick – it flows back into the urban areas and tends to stay there.  So how do we fix this problem? Dabson offered seven strategies: Expand intermediation. Replicate current intermediation approaches from one part of Central Appalachia to others, such as the Regional Flavor concept in Ohio. (Intermediaries are those entities – non-profit, for-profit or social enterprises, that help connect rural businesses to urban markets.) Capture regional markets. Explore regional markets, focusing on main urban centers, by conducting market development research through regional business schools. Connect to urban procurers. Develop connections with procurement offices in urban-based businesses by collaborating with urban-based economic...

Lack of Farm Bill Hurts Rural Development

In case you hadn't heard, we are currently operating without a Farm Bill. It expired at the end of October, and Congress didn't get their act together to pass a new one before the recess. While provisions were made to keep many commodity programs up and running, many programs supporting small farmers, conservation, local foods and rural development have been left without funding, or without the authority to use the funding they do have.  The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has been running a series of blog posts that show the impact that the shuttering of these programs has. Their latest post features an Appalachian business that was helped by the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP), a program that helps small, rural businesses improve and expand – and which is currently on hold until we get a new Farm Bill. From the blog post:  Eight years ago Wayne Patrick was operating Science Hill Tool Works out of a 1,000 square foot, three-car garage.  Science Hill Tool Works provides tools to and manufactures replacement parts for businesses in the area.  As the company grew, Wayne relied on Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC) not only as a lender, but also for business support and guidance.  KHIC helped him consolidate his business and provided valuable business advice. With the support of funding from the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP), KHIC’s microloan program allowed Wayne’s business to expand from that 1,000 square foot garage to a 30,000 square foot facility.  Science Hill Tool...

Solutions Journal Turns Eye Towards Appalachia

Solutions, a publication “devoted to showcasing bold and innovative ideas for solving the world's integrated ecological, social, and economic problems”, has dedicated the platform of its fourth issue to highlighting needs and opportunities related to Central Appalachia’s economic transition. Featuring stories from legendary Kentucky author Wendell Berry to seasoned local activists and organizers like Vernon Haltrom of Coal River Mountain Watch, Solutions gives space to an incredibly pertinent dialogue. Solutions advocates for “a sustainable and desirable future” – and that’s something the involved community members in Appalachia certainly know something about, so the joining of the subjects and the medium seems a good fit. The journal includes features written by nationally-recognized experts, who draw upon experience from areas outside Appalachia to share examples of possible ways forward for the region’s long-time and capable local heroes, with examples of home-grown transition efforts already making progress throughout the region. One such example lifted up is the work of Dawn Coppock and Pat Hudson, of the Church of the Savior in Knoxville, TN. Through their participation in their church, and in tribute to a friend of theirs that passed away, the two women joined together to form LEAF – Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship, named after the late Kathy Lindquist. The group has moved from providing information they describe as “coal-mining-for-the-mildly-informed” to providing messaging and materials to over 2,000 churches throughout Tennessee, as well as to legislators in Nashville and Washington, DC. More about their Tennessee-based efforts, as well as their partnerships with...

Building and Birthing Human and Social Capital in Central Appalachia...

When people begin to feel like and be considered investors in community building, we will begin to see our region transform. —Gerry F. Roll, Community Foundation of Hazard & Perry County In her CAPP/ATI essay, Gerry Roll, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County, calls for major investments in human capital and in community endowments through Rural Development Philanthropy. She sees potential for leveraging community ownership to overcome persistent poverty and hardship in Appalachia’s most distressed counties. Roll calls for an investment in human capital through quality early childhood education and care. She envisions new and extensive programs that represent a true investment in the future of the region. This is not likely to happen, nor should it, just through traditional public school systems or simply through current Head Start initiatives designed decades ago to address this very issue [high levels of persistent poverty]. The multi-generational problems of the region have far surpassed the capacity of any one local, state or federal program. Roll recognizes that her proposals will require significant resources. Local, state and federal entities have a role to play, but so do private citizens. The Community Foundation encourages the investment of regional wealth in community development philanthropy through estate planning. Gerry Roll wants to build a culture of community investment among residents as well as those who have left the area but will inherit regional assets when their parents pass. Community foundations have a key role to play in facilitating such investments...

Prospects for an Appalachian Recovery

As recent data point to the beginnings of a recovery for much of the global economy, many segments of the American economy show signs of a more permanent strain. In his December article “Prospects for a Rural Recovery,” Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas officer Jason Henderson stresses the increased importance of entrepreneurship, innovation and access to capital in rural areas in particular, writing “entrepreneurship and innovation may become even more important to the economic revitalization of rural America”. This is particularly true throughout Central Appalachia, where poverty rates are consistently higher than other regions of the country.While rural regions as a whole have generally fared better in terms of employment numbers than cities, the rural Midwest and Southeast face particularly tough times, according to Henderson. Structural challenges afflict rural economies in general, and those of Appalachia in particular, including continued outmigration and farm consolidation.Access to capital is another significant hurdle for rural communities, but one rural community banks have often met through community-based lending (See Local banking boosting local communities). Henderson points to signs that rural America may be well positioned to recover from “the steepest and longest contraction since the Great Depression” pointing out that in addition to sustaining fewer job losses than urban areas, the housing crisis has generally been less severe in rural areas. One of the sectors likely to drive recovery, Henderson says, is food processing.Given the high concentration of food processing activities in rural areas, this is likely to be a “relatively bright spot”...