SEED is a community organizing project designed to connect residents of the Coal River Valley to one another and with the outside resources they need to make their small business and renewable energy ventures a reality. A team of eight Coal River Mountain Watch organizers are laying the foundation for the work ahead with a listening project to learn directly from residents about their dreams and identify the assets, as well as barriers, to realizing those dreams in the Coal River Valley. By conducting over 50 interviews in the coming months we will begin to forge collaborative relationships with community members intent on creating economic solutions for themselves and their communities.
We first conceived of the project over the summer, and to kick it off we met with twelve community members, then identified three inspiring projects to pursue. Two families are in the beginning stages of putting wind turbines on their land. One group of local woodworkers are building a wood kiln to dry sustainably forested lumber. The entrepreneurial spirit is spreading– a group of community members are now meeting on their own once a month to generate new ideas for community revival and economic diversification.
This blog will keep you updated on SEED’s developments and share some of the stories we hear along the way.
Aurora Lights is partnering with SEED volunteers to bring projects to fruition and map community resources on the award-winning web site Journey Up Coal River.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
