Attracting Young People to Rural Communities

Attracting young people is important

Attracting young people is one of the toughest challenges facing rural communities. The outflow of young people from rural to urban hits small towns and rural regions in a variety of ways, including stripping communities of badly needed tax revenue, threatening the viability of local schools, depressing local and regional economies, and stripping fraying towns…

Read More

Café Culture Comes to Rural Ontario

Cafe 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 More

Rural Revitalization, Iowa-Style

Rural renewal is well underway in Earlham, Iowa

  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 More

Ants in your pants? Red Ants Pants founder Sarah Calhoun speaks out!

  Do you have ants in your pants? Sarah Calhoun does. Or rather Sarah has created a successful clothing business, foundation, and music festival, all under the catchy title of Red Ants Pants. Sarah has nearly two decades of leadership experience in both the non-profit and small business sectors, working in the outdoor education industry…

Read More

Peter Kenyon to speak at Keeping It Rural 2017

We’re delighted that internationally recognized rural development leader Peter Kenyon will be joining us at this year’s Keeping It Rural conference, in Kelowna (June 20-21). A community enthusiast and social entrepreneur, Peter has worked with more than 2,000 communities in his homeland, Australia, and 59 other countries, seeking to facilitate fresh and creative ways to…

Read More

Mobilizing Rural Investment Capital

The Need for Rural Investment Capital in BC Access to investment capital is crucial to business and economic development anywhere – but is especially important in rural areas. However, research completed by SIBAC and others has noted that it is often difficult to access business financing – and specifically patient equity investment financing – in…

Read More