Well … not really in my backyard, but just down the highway from me in rugged, beautiful Drumheller Valley.  Recently, Volkswagen Canada was around to shoot two new commercials for their ‘Sunday Drive’ campaign. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I love the results … especially as I recognize, visit, and drive by many of the sites myself.  There’s always more to rural than meets the eye!

Click here to view the embedded video..

Enjoy the Labour Day weekend, everyone.

Related Posts:

• Cool Little Towns Collaborate for Success
• Exploring Rural Development: Rural Brain Drain
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm … and Ventured into Tourism!
• Exploring Rural Development: Rurban Recreation Land Use Conflicts
• Leverage Local Tourism Efforts With ‘Locals Know’ Campaign

Becky McCray over at Small Biz Survival drafted a recent post about using cooperatives as an alternative business model.  Once thought to be strictly the domain of agricultural producers, the cooperative model is enjoying a slow revival, with 2012 already declared the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations.  Basically, cooperatives are owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit (Wikipedia).

Cooperatives have, for ages, helped communities economically, creating local jobs while providing essential goods and services. 

Within Canada, a Cooperatives Secretariat exists to spur economic growth and social development of Canadian society through cooperative enterprise.  The Cooperative Development Initiative even offers funding for innovative cooperative applications.

Along with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, other successful examples include tourism (Yukon Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund), retail (TruServ Canada, Co-op stores), film (Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative), child-care (Turtle Park Cooperative Childcare Centre), education (Tender Years Co-op School) along with a smattering of large financial services institutions and producer co-ops.  It’s clear that even today, cooperatives continue to offer a practical option for the provision of products and services.

Rurally speaking, cooperatives can emerge as a model of choice to offer area residents health services, education, power/electrical services or even retail options (e.g. coffee house, farm supply, clothing store).  When properly managed, cooperatives can provide greater control over destinies, by supporting smaller, regional communities in ways that a corporate enterprise cannot. 

Further information about what a cooperative is and does can be found on the Canadian Co-operative Association website.

Please feel free to share any other cooperative examples in the comments section below!

Related Posts:

• Tips ‘o the Economic Development Trade
• Breaking Myths About the Economic Contribution of Rural Communities
• Volunteer Power Tool – A Basic Recruitment Plan
• Budget 09 – Where’s the Rural Stimulus?
• Highways and Byways

Much of the conventional wisdom about how to succeed at community-building seems to center around saying yes.  You’ll hear that you’re supposed to market your cause constantly in as many different ways as possible, network with everyone you find, and engage as many people as possible in order to spread your message.  The assumption is that you should say yes to every opportunity.

But in my experience, pursuing all opportunities isn’t the proven path to success … saying no can increase your odds of achievement.  Think of it like this, saying yes to everything is like opening too many windows on your computer; eventually, you run out of resources and crash. 

Saying yes to every suggestion, action, request or invitation allows other people’s agendas to drive your mission. 

Consider saying no to …

People and organizations who ask for your time but do nothing for you.  Serving as a volunteer in order to give back to your community is a worthwhile activity in itself.  But volunteering excessively, without so much as acknowledgement from the group’s members or within newsletters, for instance, does nothing to help promote or advance your cause.  Where appropriate, a little give-and-take can help your mission take-off.

Ads, promotional schemes, etc. that doesn’t fit your budget.  The moment you start promoting your cause, you become a prime target for people selling print and online space, directory listings, search engine optimization, trade show exhibits … the list goes on and on.  Their offers may be appealing but consider this – if these promotional avenues were as good as the offers say, would they really need to have an army of commissioned salespeople pushing them on you?  Before enrolling in any paid promotional scheme, compare its total cost to the value of any sales/donations/etc. you could conservatively expect to gain as a result.  Say no to any offer that may cost you more than it brings in.

Networking with people who have no connection to your niche.  Your networking time is precious.  Say no to attending events that aren’t a good fit for your cause, or to meeting with people whose niche has no relation to yours.  Just because someone invites you to a meeting or coffee doesn’t mean you have to go … plus, you should be spending some time making your own invitations to folks who will be much more likely to offer support or resources.

Don’t be afraid to just say no … saying no puts you in charge, instead.

Related Posts:

• The Art of Community Building
• Kick-Start a Community Group
• Community Schools Get Celebrity Backing
• Calling All Communities to Celebrate Canada!
• Volunteer Power Tool – A Basic Recruitment Plan