Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links.
Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live on Sundays at 3pm Central time on Blab.im; Deb tweets the links from @DebWorks
This week’s stories include business tools, population trends, and community building ideas:
- Agritourism Toolkit – Oregon Tourism Commission http://buff.ly/1RnaZNZ Focus on business fundamentals first, then a strong marketing effort.
- 5 reasons small towns should think regionally http://buff.ly/1OqMsmJ Another winner from Katy. Reason 4: “Small towns are inter-connected by family ties.”
- Three rural Australia population trends that should be on your radar http://buff.ly/1Qk1gcg – just like in the US, reports of rural’s death in Australia are greatly exaggerated. “The RAI’s research shows that widespread decline is a myth, the regional population is growing and there is much more to the story.”
- Whitehorse greenhouse teams up with local artists, food co-op http://buff.ly/1oSY653 Greenhouse as biz incubator!
- How to Build a Better Neighborhood http://buff.ly/1oSWI2t Written for small neighborhoods inside big cities, so the ideas work just as well in small towns.