So Much Rural Tech Geekiness…

…and so little time to soak it all in. Yeah, it’s been a busy few weeks.

First, I was able to teach a class about Online Marketing to a group of 10 farmers. I hope they gleaned some useful tools from it. Since they all work in different types of business models, I tried to include several different tactics for using social media and websites to reach customers. Sometimes they apply and sometimes they don’t. Here are a couple I’ve seen:

  • Food truck tweeting: I wrote about how food trucks are communicating with their audiences in an earlier posting. Farmers can use this model to remind their customers that they should stop by the farm.
  • Web Sites for Everyone: By using templates, many companies are offering inexpensive, quickly set-up, convenient web sites for small businesses. They include GoDaddy, Intuit, and my lastest fun find, Vistaprint, which offers a whole range of services.

So, then I was off to the Mother Earth News Fair, to discover the latest in sustainable living. I saw Dan from Earthineer again and got to see some of the new things he’s doing with the community. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy had information on some interesting draft horse breeds. There were quite a few farmers showing their heritage breeds, including goats, sheep, and cows. (Chickens were simply everywhere!) A fun new visitor was the group from the town of Hope in British Columbia, introducing us to their lovely place in Canada.

I met John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist and chatted with them about their book, “ECOpreneuring“, which I really enjoyed reading. It’s one of the first “how-to” manuals I’ve seen that addresses the financial side of a sustainable business. I’ll write more about it later.

When you meet an accomplished actor, director, and producer like Ed Begley, Jr., what do you talk about? Why, sanitation, of course. (Sometimes, I am a bit dorky.)  We chatted briefly about Envirolet composting toilets and how they can be used in guest cottages, outbuildings, and other places where plumbing doesn’t necessarily reach.

I came home with seeds, plants, goodies for the puppy, some new contacts, and tons of new ideas. I think I need to go plant something now.

So Much Stuff, So Little Sleep

Yes, yes, yes…I know. I’m terribly, horribly, so far behind in blog postings, it’s practically criminal. Lots has been going on. I went to the Mother Earth News Fair last weekend, where I learned so much, met so many people, and was so incredibly inspired, I’m still in a bit of a fog. In addition, I’m seeing an uptick of interest across most all media in food issues. Young farmers are working together to create greater opportunities and change the laws that limit small farms. It’s all pretty exciting.

At the Fair, I had the priveledge of listening to Will Allen of Growing Power speak. I’ve talked about him before, after he was awarded a genius grant from the McArthur Foundation. (He is, after all, a genius.) From Growing Power’s 3 acre urban farm in Milwaukee, almost 10,000 people are fed fresh, organic food, including eggs, fish, and produce. Across all 3 farms in  Milwaukee and Chicago, he employs 250 full-time people, paying them living wages, and is changing the destiny of countless inner-city youth by showing them the joys of growing food. This model is now being replicated across 17 cities.

His presentation had almost 1000 pictures of all of the projects currently running within Growing Power. It was amazing to see. However, the most incredible thing was what he said last: (I’m paraphrasing here) “They say that this is impossible. I’ve found that in order to prove to people that something can be done, you just have to do it.”

He didn’t think about why it wouldn’t work. He just did it.