Rural Innovation Shorts
In the summer of 2006, Tufts University student Mackenzie Rawcliffe interviewed several rural innovators in Maine. Here are her short reports. If you’d like to suggest or submit your story of rural innovation for this section, e-mail us.
Making It Work In Hancock and Washington
‘Economic Development’ has long been a central, but also vague, concept in the fight against poverty and decline in rural Maine. This vagueness means that every non profit group has a different opinion of what the nuts and bolts of development should be, with varying results. In Hancock and Washington County they seem to have found an approach that…
Crafting Creative Opportunities
Often when Mainers try and tackle the economic problems facing the state Tracy Michaud Stutzman, Director of the Maine Highlands Guild, thinks they overlook a valuable cultural and economic resource, local artisans. Through her Guild, Stutzman has begun to address…
School is in Session
Sometimes going back to school is just what a community needs to get back on its feet. That is the idea behind the Washington County Leadership Institute. The founders hope that by educating citizens in the theory and practice of leadership skills, they will foster a more involved, informed and engaged population. After working with 163 local community members…
Finding Common Ground
Just off the Main Street in Farmington, stands a recently refurbished, beautiful brick building that houses a unique blend of non-profit and for-profit organizations. The Church Street Commons is…
Spruce Mountain Blueberry: Adding value to traditional Maine products with a touch of the exotic
Many believe that reinventing traditional Maine industries and adding value to the raw material rural Maine produces, is the key to revitalizing the state’s economy. Making that change successfully is not always easy and requires a lot of creativity, but…
Mapping a New Future
What goes into making a map? And how important is it who makes it? According to Roger Merchant, with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, a lot. He recently finished working with a diverse group of organizations who collaborated over the course of two years to create…
Sugar Wood: Making art work with networks
…local wood workers have begun to work together towards a more profitable and sustainable future. With the help of a national conservation group The Wilderness Society, they formed Maine WoodNet…
The beauty of Beau Chemin farm
Compared to industrial farms their operation is quite small, but they are nearing their goal of being a sustainable and profitable farm. That is one thing JoAnn says is hard for many first time farmers, realizing how…
Taking aim at a new future in the County
A group of social entrepreneurs has been able to reimagine the natural resources and historical traditions of Aroostook County into a new and creative economic model. The Maine Winter Sports Center, seeks to…
Discovering the delights of rural Maine wines
Michael and Joan Anderson have taken their hobby of making wine for family and friends and turned in into a thriving business that is now expanding…