rural communities
maine sail freight: cargo and farms (photos by lawrence braun)
For the first time in over 100 years, agricultural freight has been transported by sail from Maine farms into Boston Harbor. Maine Sail Freight is both an art installation and a platform for an important discussion about trade and how a look into the past might give us a glimpse into the future of trade […]
down east: photography by noah david smith
Noah David Smith is an award winning Director, Cinematographer and Photographer. He creates beautiful and evocative images with his natural aesthetic, distinct composition and elegant style. His technique is deeply rooted in strong portraiture, storytelling, natural light, and city streets. Check out his photos from Down East Maine HERE and follow his Instagram
have you heard about regroup farm?
ReGroup.Farm is the tale and reality of a group of Boomers, Gen X-er's and Millennials found themselves on a farm in the Midwest. They recognized that something very interesting was happening in society at large, that in spite of all the division and decay of rural towns, that these phenomena can be reversed. In fact this […]
great article about the social implications of pesticide use
"We live and die by chemical agriculture". In the age of rampant use of chemicals such as the dreaded dicamba, truer words have perhaps never been spoken. Zachary Michael Jack, Iowa View contributor recently writes in the Des Moines Register about stark contrast between pesticide and herbicide spraying in the 80's during his childhood versus the […]
watch: rodents of unusual size
A new documentary tells the tale of the hunters waging war against an invasive swamp rodent species, the nutria, in Louisiana. There is a government bounty on the heads (or tails) of the 20lb, orange-toothed critters - $5 for each severed 12-18in tail collected. Nutiva grazing habitats adds to coastal erosion in a region whose land […]
transnational corporations, factory farms and the economic colonization of rural america
John Ikerd, August 3rd, 2017, In These Times "The sense of impotence and dread in rural America is a consequence of decades of economic extraction and exploitation carried out in the guise of rural economic development. Rural areas are suffering the consequences of prolonged “economic colonization”—a term typically used in reference to neoliberal economic development […]
what an english sheep farmer has to say about rural america
"The future we've been sold doesn't work."
the conversation continues: hydroponics divorce people even further from the stewardship of the land
This recent submission to our series on whether or not hydroponics should be considered organic comes from Joanna Storie, a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of Estonian University of Life Sciences. She takes a similar stance on hydroponics to our last contributor, adding that hydroponics are not sustainable […]
great reasons (and three well- paid positions) to move to the Catskills (for)
Tianna Kennedy presents a compelling argument to lure agrarians to the Catskills. She also includes three great job postings.
reinventing the commons, montague, ny, jan 20
Reinventing the Commons: Social Ecosystems for Local Stewardship & Planetary Survival A Friday evening public talk and Saturday one-day workshop With David Bollier and Dave Jacke Montague Common Hall (“Grange”), 34 Main St., Montague, MA 01351 Friday, January 20, 2017, 7-9 PM, $10 @ door or in advance. Saturday, Jan 21, 2017, 8:30-5, $85-125, includes Friday evening […]
helping rural kids!
Social obstacles faced by the youth of San Luis are many for a small town. Since traditional ways of life have been eliminated by loss of land rights, youth are challenged by poverty, northbound drug trafficking, and alcoholism. Costilla County has the highest rates of diabetes in the state. The 2012 Census states 37.3% of […]
so(/e)wing hemp in Kentucky
[vimeo 165600324 w=640 h=360] "In the end there is more than just fiber that tears and fades when you use cheap goods to hold things together." Harvesting Liberty, about Michael Lewis (of Growing Warriors) and Rebecca Burgess (of Fibershed), who have received a grant from Patagonia to support their incredible budding hemp projects in Kentucky. Like most […]
declaration against the criminalisation, persecution and judicialization of the struggle for the defence of life, rights, land, water, seeds and mother earth
International Conference on Agrarian Reform La Via Campesino, The Peasant's Movement Marabá, 15 April 2016 From 13 to 17 April 2016, in Marabá, Pará, Brazil, more than 130 delegates from 28 countries around the world were brought together as part of La Vía Campesina and allied movements, as part of the International Conference on Agrarian […]
march for farmworker justice continues
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdY2jAJfARI] Read our blog post from yesterday for more info! Today the walkers are walking from Garrison to Wappingers Falls.
new york farm workers rally and walk for bargaining rights and decent working conditions
Walking the 200 miles from Long Island to Albany, protesters stopped at City Hall in New York City last Saturday chanting si se puede. According to Democracy Now!, the protesters are walking in support of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act (more about this from the ACLU), asking that farm workers have the right to collective bargaining, an optional […]
new documentary on wendell berry premiers at SXSW festival
The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, premiered yesterday at SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. The film spans four seasons; revolving around Berry; his muse of Henry County, Kentucky; and this pivotal contemporary moment in agrarian America. Barbara J. King did a great piece on the film yesterday for NPR, ripe with great Wendell Berry quotes and some contextual food for […]
america's rural poor
Earlier this year, 45 year-old Matt Black embarked from Santa Maria, Calif., his birthplace, and drove 18,000 miles across the country and back again, stopping every 200 miles to photograph cities, towns, and rural areas, where like Santa Maria, more than 20 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. That is the point […]
rural perspectives on the farm bill
Farm Bill out of touch with Rural Americans by The Center for Rural Affairs, 26 July 2013 The US House of Representatives’ farm bill is out of touch with rural America in its disregard for protecting the small town and rural way of life. If and when a conference committee meets to produce a final […]
rural wealth creation
an interesting concept... Creating Rural Wealth For too long, the resources and assets of rural communities – their natural resources, agricultural bounty, workers, and young people – have flowed out of rural areas. Low-wealth areas, in particular, have struggled to create wealth that stays local. Rural America needs a new way forward.
mini history lesson
Rural Electrification In the 1930's the rural electrification strategy was brought by Roosevelt -- looks like Obama is starting to source some of his ideas from FDR times. Let's keep up the pressure.
rural alabama
Mockbee is a late great genius concerned with the dignity of rural architecture and rural people. He made ultra modern green buildings for clients in the deep south, and took his practice to the logical conclusion by building practically for free.