Video
Local Manufacturing Big in Rural America
Local manufacturing matters in rural America, employing more than 3.5 million workers. As rural America’s second largest sector, manufacturing employs 14% of rural civilian employees and produces 15% of total rural US earnings – that exceeds the retail sector, and is more than double agriculture’s presence in the US rural economy. After an era of…
Read MoreIs There a Doctor in the House? Attracting Physicians to Rural Towns
Is there a doctor in the house? Rural health care is a pressing challenge for many small, often isolated, communities in rural BC. The challenges facing small communities struggling to provide an acceptable standard of care for their citizens are legion, ranging from long distances to major care centres to dangerous roads. Often the most…
Read MoreAffordable Rural Housing — the View from Yorkshire, UK
Affordable rural housing is often at a premium in small communities and rural regions. While rural housing prices may appear a bargain to newcomers and second home buyers from overheated urban real estate markets, they are often anything but for long-time residents, often saddled with relatively low-paying jobs. In this video produced by by the North…
Read MoreRural American Fairs & Festivals
It’s Fall, and across rural North America, festivals and fairs are in full swing, celebrating everything from the harvest to local history. These celebrations play a number of important roles in the communities that host them, including providing local farmers and ranchers with an opportunity to showcase their products, generating a significant economic impact on…
Read MoreRural Youth Engagement Showcase
In this brief video produced by the Rural Ontario Institute, we’re introduced to Emily Morrison, a young woman working to break the cycle of youth unemployment in rural communities.
Read MorePeter Kenyon, Founder, The Bank of I.D.E.A.S., delivers an inspirational keynote
Peter Kenyon, renowned Australian rural development expert, delivers an entertaining — and inspirational — keynote at the KEEPING IT RURAL 2017 conference hosted by SIBAC/BC Rural Centre, on June 20 in Kelowna. Click here to view a PDF of Peter’s Powerpoint.
Read MoreSeabird Island First Nation showcases its capacity for partnerships
The Seabird Island community is well positioned within British Columbia with natural beauty, abundant natural resources, and sound agricultural and light industry business sectors. The community has a population of 850 people and is located in the Upper Fraser Valley, three kilometres northeast of Agassiz, British Columbia. The following video introduces viewers to Seabird Island,…
Read MoreHow to create a community investment vehicle
These video modules comes to us courtesy of the Alberta Community & Co-operative Association. Each video provides useful information for rural community leaders interested in raising local capital for community-based investment. While the investment vehicle highlighted here — Opportunity Development Co-operatives — is specific to Alberta, there are lessons and advice here applicable to any…
Read MoreUnleashing Local Capital
The Alberta Community & Cooperative Association’s Unleashing Local Capital project empowers communities to invest locally, direct their own economic development and reduce dependency on government supports by directing outward-bound investments toward local businesses, keeping local capital flowing through local communities. This project also educates rural communities on how to establish an Opportunity Development Co-operative – a co-op…
Read MoreDecent health care, an ongoing rural challenge
It’s difficult to imagine a functioning community without access to a school, basic infrastructure, and a critical mass of businesses and services — chief among them, decent rural health care. For most communities, the standard by which local health care is judged is relatively simple: “do we have reasonable access to 24/7 emergency rural health…
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