Community Matters Local Economies Conf Call Notes 11.11.10

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www.communitymatters.org Local Economies Conference Call Notes 11/11/10

Local EconomiesConference Call Notes

Thursday, November 11, 2010, 4-5pm EST

We used a live version of this document to collaboratively add questions, collect thoughts, transcribe important talking points, before, during and after the Local Economies conference call. You can access this document via this link:http://bit.ly/cPkutv

Attending Many thanks to the > 65 people who were listening in and participating on the call. Your insight and feedback was invaluable.

Moderating • Bonnie Shaw , Partner, BYO consulting

Presenting• Charles Marohn , Community Growth Institute, Strong Towns • Christopher Markuson , Pueblo County, Colorado • Hamilton Simons-Jones , Operation REACH, Inc.

Agenda• 15mins – Introduction to Local Economies, call protocol, etc• 35mins – Open for questions/discussion.•

10mins – How can CommunityMatters continue to support this conversation?

Questions and Conversation:1. I hope we can talk a little about local food and local energy and innovative

ways of producing both. Here is a good example of a for profit (with a non profitsoul) that is doing value added products. http://www.chicagohoneycoop.com/ .Recycling of local natural resources is a good model http://www.citilogs.com/

uses trees that would go to a landfills and making local products and energy.Local for profit agriculture works even in NYC http://brooklyngrangefarm.com/

2. I can not attend, but as I believe we are entering what will essentially be ano growth phase of the global economy and local economies in the US , dueto collapsing ecosystems, what do they recommend along the lines of use lessand share more to develop community prosperity. Greg gerrittwww.ProsperityForRI.org

3. I would like to know how much of an obstacle the combination of thenature of debt-based economies, the Great Recession, and the shifttowards “thrift-as-a-virtue” poses to the mission of creating viable local




economies. It seems to me that consumerism, at least in its current incarnation,focuses exclusively on providing maximum value to the consumer whileminimizing the consumer’s cost. Hidden costs such as outflow of money fromthe community, loss of jobs, etc., are rarely considered, nor are latent valuessuch as community-building, sense of place, interacting directly with producer or skilled merchant/retailer, etc. --Jim Zack, www.sustainablesaratoga.com

4. Our organization has a Local Economy Committee that is looking at waysto bolster our region’s self-reliance through import substitution,complementary currencies, local banking, buy-local incentives, procure-local programs, and grow/make local programs. It often seems that we are“preaching to the choir” in that we are not reaching the majority of thepopulation that will be integral to create a shift to a more resilient economy.How would you recommend we “prosthelytize” our mission to the

masses? --Jim Zack, www.sustainablesaratoga.com 5. How difficult is it to start a Community Bank and a Community

Corporation? --Jim Zack, www.sustainablesaratoga.com 6. How can starting a Community bank or foundation be established when the

haves are hit all the time for support and the have nots are in that position?What talking points can be stressed as a tool for education? ~ Steve Beck,

[email protected]. What exceptional models for local food systems (e.g. combo of aspects

from production to processing to distribution to consumption - fromfarmer’s market to local food market to cert kitchens to restaurants) exist?What were the funding models? For profit/non-profit etc and what are the best

avenues to proceed for funding on this type of model? (Concept for our grainelevator in Hayden CO) - Tammie Delaney, Yampa Valley Feeds in Hayden, COand Hayden EDC

o At Community Matters, the session I participated in had a great speaker named Bruce Smith from an organization called Food to Table. He had aton of great examples and a solid model. You can read more about him at

the writeup I did for the session.http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2010/10/7/in-local-economies-we-trust-post-session-update.html . -Chuck Marohn

8. I have same questions as the entry above but focusing on our downtownreal estate development venture, which includes a 2,400 SF vacant former restaurant building and a 1500 SF new local and fresh foods grocery storein adjacent building which we’ve just developed within the past year. -Gene Aleci, Community Design Works, Inc., Lancaster, PA.

9. How about the fiber economy? There’s a lot of talk about food, but we allwear clothes and sit on/sleep on furniture. In Western North Carolina we arehaving some success growing the regional economy through developing the craftindustry...and are looking at ways to add value to the fiber produced in this

region. - Judi Jetson, HandMade in America o Absolutely - any product that fills a unique niche defines a non-commodity

focused good. By not attempting to compete with the large corporationswho produce their fiber goods in China, you’re creating a niche productthat is sustainable, has market potential, and when exported outside your taxable boundary, can be a primary dollar-generating item.

How do you efficiently and intelligently export your goods? We’vefound that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the key todoing this. Take a look at www.esri.com/bao for a simple,




affordable tool that provides a wealth of market information in amap-based format. There are numerous other resourcesavailable, too - some of which are mentioned in the link above(www.growinglocaleconomies.com). --Chris Markuson

10. Local Food – hard to compete on a price level – no magic solution – if you stepback and look at the world – becoming much more localized, cost of energy isgoing up and will continue to rise – makes the cost of transportation higher – geta tow hold in the market

o Local fuel in addition to food - non-profit model - work force trainingmodel, grants, not relaying on profit at the start - subsidize it in the firstfew years to get it off the ground

o It’s important to look at a couple elements when looking to develop thelocal food industry. They are:

Work together, via having community conversations, to develop alocal producer to restaurant & grocer program.

Find what attributes make your local food producers unique. If, for example, your soil and climate is conducive to growing specialtyonions, then focus on finding ways to target customers nationwide(or even the next state over) who want to purchase specialtyonions. (Chris Markuson)

11. You keep mentioning long-term, in my community Brandon, VT just southof Middlebury, long term is not an option for many people. They wantresults now, flip a switch. How do you educate people to accept that things taketime, sometimes a long time and that America is changing and changingdramatically? ~ Steve Beck, [email protected]

o Does Steve’s comment require that we move toward a more protectioniststance in our federal policies? If not, how do we “go back” to a 100 yearsago-type economy in the face of global markets and competition? Or arewe just preparing for a time, as Chuck says, where the global marketwon’t function as cheaply as it does today? For example, at what pointdoes local agriculture become more than just a “niche” market and moveinto actually providing most people with most of their staple foods?

Agriculture, at its core, is a commodity business, and focuses ondoing business at the lowest cost. Unless local agriculture candefine a niche customer base (and, local consumers might be thatniche), it will be out-priced by the large food producers.

Local food can compete on quality terms today. A changingeconomy (price inflation, higher oil prices, a devalued dollar) willexpand the niche market to a broader economy.

o I believe Steve has given voice to the key question of our time. In amacro-sense I would rephrase it as follows: Are we going to have aneconomy based on a lottery mindset where we can all get something for nothing, or are we going to do the hard work of building a resilienteconomy based on real economics at the local level? -Chuck Marohn

o Steve’s point is a key factor. Getting the economy up and running quicklyis a very difficult task. One of the key strategies of Economic Gardening isto focus your efforts on businesses who have what it takes to expandrapidly, building many jobs in a short period of time.

Littleton, Colorado emphasizes that entrepreneurs who are ready,willing and able to grow quickly have certain temperaments in




common. Littleton uses Myers-Briggs temperament measuringtheory to identify the entrepreneurs in their community who havegood ideas, and who are able to “roll the dice” in a big way,looking to make millions in a short time period. I suggest looking atsome of the studies relating to entrepreneurial temperaments, aswell as 2nd Stage Growth companies. The Kauffman Foundation(http://www.kauffman.org/Section.aspx?id=Entrepreneurship) andthe Edward Lowe Foundation(http://www.edwardlowe.org/index.elf?page=sserc) both have atremendous amount of information about these concepts on their websites.

o It seems that to “go back” and to get to a more locally focused econonywe need to be willing to give some things up, as a community agree tolive more simply... pick the best of the “old ways” while selecting the bestof the new technologies.

Actually, innovation and outside-the-box thinking is key. Findingways to help businesses who have a unique product or idea togrow and expand is were a local community can work to boosttheir economy.

Getting professionals together from different disciplines (Internet /search engine optimization / etc with an entrepreneur, a marketingexpert, a shipping company, a university, a library and others) totackle problems with unique, innovative methods is key.

12. Training - What type of funding do you get from the Dept of Labor? o We have had a few streams. DOLETA (Dept of Labor Education and

Training Administration) and WIA (Workforce Investment Act) being themain sources. This funding is attached to providing training for hard-to-employ people that lands them in a job at the end of the program.--Hamilton, Operation REACH.

o How many people can these funds support? 13. Sustainability

o Losing major manufacturing o Focusing on the arts o Focusing on what we have and how to grow that o People are very upset and scared about the direction

14. Local jobs need to be rooted in the community.o In any given human unit, there’s more work to be done than there are

people to do it. Communities need to sit down and assess what workneeds to be done that’s not being done and figure out how that work willbe paid for, whether through wages, bartering, time dollars, etc. CarolBragg, [email protected]

15. Economic Gardening sounds like the concept of organic gardening vs"conventional" gardening, in its shunning of use of external inputs (luringcompanies to locate in your community). In a global economy its easier than ever for a company to pick up and move - need to focus on local distinctiveness

16. What is one step folks would recommend to start their communities downthis path?

o Start conversations. find existing resources. build partnerships.experiment. energise supporters. not just fact gathering, build allies.




o We’ve had success with asset-mapping in small towns throughout theregion, which also mobilizes volunteers (to supplement the short-termorientation of politicians, businesses and grant-makers). Early victories isdefinitely the place to start, but large, visible projects (parks, buildingrenovations) provide lasting examples. See examples on our website athttp://handmadeinamerica.org/economic-development/small-town-revitalization

17. Raising the profile of local economy issues - how? o Requires more elbow grease, boots on the pavement, debunk myths!o Our Strong Towns Curbside Chat program can be found on our website,

www.strongtowns.org . There is a link to the Chat program right on the topmenu bar. -Chuck Marohn

o People need to be encouraged to think about “What is an Economy for Anyway?

o Bruce form Burlington - community generated strategic economic plan - having people talk

frankly, looked at jobs and people. created trade groups,neighborhood business areas, providing loan capital/advice,resources, provided a range of services to the businesscommunity, find out what people want and give it to them!”

create a plan and then follow it! Bruce said that when you help the local businesses, they become

your ally. AMEN! So many communities today try to get that newbusiness that will add 25 jobs. If you focus on growing those 25

jobs in your existing businesses, you will be more effective andpull closer as a community in the process. Our existingbusinesses are the key to success. -Chuck Marohn

18. Much of the discussion has focused on businesses. Are there goodexamples of successful local initiatives that include a strongconsumer/customer-oriented buy local component? Wolf Naegeli,Foundation for Global Sustainability, Knoxville, TN.

19. We are teaching farmers to network in the Champlain Islands. We aren’tquite ready for a food hub but are moving in that direction. Farmers areindependant so this is a challenge!

20. Would all communities take the same trajectory to achieve localrobustness/resilince? I live in Saratoga Springs, and our tourism industry, racetrack, and Global Foundries Nanolab (largest construction project in the country)make us rife with external inputs. What about sister cities co-mentoring wherecities/communities with same circumstances could better help each other than aone size fits all approach. --Jim Zack

• Absolutely not. Each community is very different and the approacheach will take has to be different. Interesting to note that our currentfederal/state approach is very homogeneous. It is not working. Thesolution here has to be customized to each locality. Great question. -Chuck Marohn

Resources: Projects, Additional Reading, Great Examples, that you recommend• General Local Economies Resources:

o Green Candidate for NYS Governor, Howie Hawkins’s review of Going Local! by Michael H. Shuman: www.greens.org/s-r/22/22-16.html




o Visual depiction of local economics from the UK-based New EconomicsFoundation (NEF), likening local economies to buckets:http://pluggingtheleaks.org/

o First post on Local Economies form CommunityMatters10 -http://communitymatters.posterous.com/local-economies-the-new-normal-part-1-of-3

o Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org - great resources!

o Surdna Foundation’s Strong Local Economies Funding Area:http://www.surdna.org/what-we-fund/strong-local-economies.html

o Yes magazine: http://www.yesmagazine.org/ • Economic Gardening:

o Growing Local Economies, www.growinglocaleconomies.com - resourceson economic gardening

o Small Business Administration’s report to President Bush in 2006 - detailingEconomic Gardening practices

• Local Currency programs: o article about Vermont programs;

http://planetvermont.com/pvq/v8n3/currency.html o Ithaca Hours: http://www.ithacahours.org/ o BerkShares (Berkshires): http://www.berkshares.org ;

http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/node/77297 • Local Food Programs:

o Local Food Systems.org: http://localfoodsystems.org/ o Farm to Table Co-Op, Montana/North Dakota:

http://www.farmtotablecoop.com/ o New Orleans Farm and Food Network: http://www.noffn.org/ o Breaking New Grounds http://www.breakingnewgrounds.org/

• Local Energy Programs: o Acorn Energy Co-op, Addison Cty, VT http://www.acornenergycoop.com/ o Co-Op Power, MA/VT: http://www.cooppower.coop/ o Baltimore Biomass: http://www.baltimorebiomass.com/ o Windustry (community wind power): http://www.windustry.org/




(from Chris Markuson)

How can CommunityMatters continue to support this conversation? More Techniques and Tactics

• structured round table• surface problems and develop constructive ways to solve them• workshop for our regional planning agency in Southeastern Massachusetts?

Carol Bragg• learn from other people• crowdsourcing solutions• models• what do you do next?• data base solutoins• projects that are working• reaching out to government and elected officials




• co-mentoring - for support for cities to go through the process together - bounceideas off each other

• conference calls• share resourcing and conversations• mentoring from each other • weekly or monthly call - adds a sense of urgency and responsibility• a list of mentors for communities• opportunities to inspire communities to get started• weekly podcast/video• Check out the Strong Towns Podcast http://www.strongtowns.org/strong-towns-

podcast/ -Chuck Marohn• Reach out to government and elected officials, e.g., through ICMA, which

recently published a couple of articles on economic gardening.

Community Matters Local Economies Conf Call Notes 11.11.10

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