Rural Success
Indigenous Tourism in BC — Welcoming Visitors, Preserving Culture, Growing Businesses
From the arid climate of Osoyoos in the south central part of British Columbia, to the misty shores of Kitimat on the central coast, the landscape of the province is full of exhilarating and unique Indoigenous tourism destinations. In keeping with centuries-old traditions of hospitality, the Aboriginal peoples of BC welcome thousands of visitors to…
Read MoreHopeWest Hospice
HopeWest Hospice is the only nonprofit hospice organization operating in Colorado’s Western Slope counties – Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Rio Blanco, and Ouray. It offers palliative care through physician specialist consultations, nursing homes, home-based care coordination, and their “Living with Cancer” program. Grief support is also available to children and adults. Founded in 1993, HopeWest emphasizes…
Read MoreAgri-Tourism Succeeds in the Central Okanagan!
The Challenge For the past 30 years, the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) has faced challenges common to many agricultural communities, including higher production and land costs. Farmers were forced to supplement farm income with off-farm employment. By 2011, however, the area experienced an increase in ecotourists, particularly those seeking life-enriching vacations that involve culture, nature, the outdoors and…
Read MoreKimberley Embraces the Great Outdoors!
Anyone who has visited the South Island New Zealand town of Queenstown knows that building a local economy around outdoor adventure activities can work — and work well — for a small mountain town, boosting the local economy and attracting large numbers of youthful creative types, some of whom decide to stay. Many alpine…
Read MoreCreating Community: Affordable Housing on the San Juan Islands
Creating community is a phrase that can describe and include many things — including ensuring everyone has access to a home. Community Land Trusts are uniquely positioned to provide affordable housing appropriate to the places where they are based. This report describes three successful Community Land Trusts (CLTs) operating on the San Juan Islands of…
Read MoreCreston Picks Its Future
Creston Picks a Fresh Approach It’s hard to know if you’re winning without a strategy. And a strategy is precisely what had been missing in Creston, BC, for years. When it was decided it was time to create a new Official Community Plan (OCP) for Creston, the first question was how to inspire enthusiastic resident…
Read MoreCafé Culture Comes to Rural Ontario
Café culture stirs the pot in rural Bath One of the first things young people look for when considering a move from an urban centres to a rural setting is the availability of great places to eat & drink. When Lauren Gamble returned to rural Ontario after working in Australia for a number of…
Read MoreRural Revitalization, Iowa-Style
Rural revitalization Iowa-style. There are plenty of small towns badly in need of economic and social renewal across North America. Earlham, Iowa was one of them. Through a combination of community resilience and tenacity, and newcomers of means who seem to have truly understood — and respected — the local culture, Earlham is poised…
Read MoreBC Community Forests Make a Difference
A report entitled Community Forests — Community Benefits: The Economic Contributions of Community Forests to Rural BC Communities, recently released by the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC), in cooperation with the BC Community Forests Association (BCCFA), underscores the fact BC community forests are playing a very significant — often critical — role in the…
Read MoreWestern Juniper?! ‘Why Not?’ Says Small Mill Owner
Western Juniper is a native species in Central Oregon. Over the past century, it has begun to outcompete other native vegetation and interfere with the balance of the local ecology. Because harvesting Western Juniper in Central Oregon is critical for grassland restoration, there is a tremendous opportunity to create an income stream for the region…
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