Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
I participated in a WealthWorks learning journey with the Deep South Community Agriculture Network (DSCAN) in October 2014. The learning journey was hosted by The United Christian Community Association (TUCCA), located in Marengo County, AL, and The Cottage House in Ariton, AL and included an overview of the Network’s work, visits with area farmers, tours of local processing centers, strategic discussions with Network participants, and a community-wide dinner and celebration.
We had a chance to tour the Deep South Food Alliance Facility and see for ourselves the progress that’s been made in putting in place the infrastructure needed to clean, chop, cool, and store collards as well as other produce and the new enterprise of producing fatwood kindling that is just getting underway on the same premises. This facility has been repurposed with support from the local economic development office. We were also able to attend a day of on-farm educational activities for youth at the Rose Hill Family Farm and observe as students experienced the causes of soil erosion and planted their own seedlings.
One of the most interesting interactions was with the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture who suggested that farmers might want to farm a large plot of land collectively instead of trying to aggregate produce from many small parcels. As it turns out, that is something the women of the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative in Mississippi, members of DSCAN, are already doing!
When asked, “What do you know now that you didn’t know in June 2011 when you began?” participants said:
"When we started as a network we were a lot of people in the room with interest in the same thing. Now we have ownership and we’re like a family."
"We found a lot of internal wealth that just had to be highlighted and discovered. It’s not just the dollar amount; it’s the transformation that has taken place in my mind."
"I’ve gathered understanding of how much we need each other to make this work, being able to come and see the different ways people are making things work; the lessons we can share with each other."
For more information on the great work DSCAN is doing check out their website www.deepsouthcan.org.
