Appalachian Transition Blog

Caperton FurnitureWorks is located in Berkeley Springs, WV and has been for nearly 40 years. When most furniture factories have gone out of business or moved overseas, Caperton is producing high-quality pieces using local wood and local skills for national companies like Crate and Barrel and Room + Board. (See the photo at right for a taste of the products, ready for shipping.) Demand for American-made furniture is growing, said owner Gat Caperton, and they're meeting that demand right here in Central Appalachia. A recent trade magazine article about the growth in American-made furniture featured Caperton:

"Three to five years ago, when I told people I was a U.S. manufacturer, they looked at me with a sense of puzzlement, disdain, or just felt sorry for us," said Gat Caperton, president of solid wood bedroom, dining room and occasional furniture producer Gat Creek Furniture "I was almost apologetic telling people I was a U.S. manufacturer. They felt I was doomed to failure."

Now, he said, the attitude is different, with people "looking to you with appreciation and even praise," he said. "This Made in America revival has been absolutely critical to our business and important to our country as a whole. We appreciate and feel fortunate people see the value in buying American products again."

MicroFest USA is an innovative arts and theater event that is "part festival, part think-tank" to explore the impacts of the arts in creating thriving, successful communities - and it's coming to Appalachia! Knoxville, TN and Harlan County, KY will both be hosts to MicroFest, which includes performances and hands-on learning opportunities. According to their website, MicroFest aims to: 

• have fun, create art, and strengthen communities;
• offer a field-wide learning exchange to strengthen cross-sector, civic-engaged work;
• expand how we view and discuss creative placemaking;
• foster collaborations among local and national artists and community leaders;
• document learning and best practices for art-based community revitalization; and
• advance ensemble practices as tools for community development

This is a great opportunity for both Harlan County and Knoxville. MicroFest will be in Knoxville on October 25 and 26, and then in Harlan County on October 27 and 28. Check out the jam-packed schedule here, and learn more about registration here.

Balancing Nature and Commerce in Rural Communities and Landscapes:"Thriving, Not Just Surviving"

February 4 - February 6, 2013 in Shepherdstown, WV   

During this three-day course, community-based teams will focus on the economics, community-character, natural resources, and partnership building skills necessary for creating sustainable communities.  Teams will identify opportunities to differentiate their communities based upon their unique assets, have the opportunity to hear the latest trends in bringing alternative energy or transportation or sustainable agriculture practices to their rural communities, and develop specific action plans for implementation when they return home!

For all the talk about the local food economy, it can be difficult sometimes to really imagine what it looks like, in practice, in Appalachia. One of the folks who's been a part of the very successful 30 Mile Meal Project in Athens, Ohio, just published an article for the Rural Futures Lab that explains how each part of the local food value chain works in their community. From producer to processor to consumer and everything in between, the article explains how it works and who's involved - a great read. 

One thing I find particularly interesting is this diagram that represents the parts of the value chain: 

I'll admit, even though I love to travel, I'd never heard of "civic tourism" before I saw the information about this upcoming conference. Curious, I looked into it a little more and found that it encompasses most of the other types of sustainable tourism many of us are already familiar with, like eco-tourism, agri-tourism, adventure tourism. Here's a great explanation from this Appalachian Ohio-based Civic Tourism website:

[Communities] protect, promote and share the unique assets of their landscapes and communities for themselves first, because they define who they are through the places, stories and local practices they love and respect.   As time goes on, these inspiring local assets and the people who tend to them attract others who wish to experience and support their special character, often times supporting the local economy and its ability to sustain itself over time because of the lasting qualities of unique, treasured places.