When to Do ER The timing of your Economic Renewal effort is crucial to its success. Choosing the right time to start requires intuition and a knowledge of the inner workings of the community. In general, though, a community is probably ready to work toward bettering itself when one or more of the following conditions … Continue reading »
Eight Steps to Economic Renewal
Economic Renewal is a process by which community residents from all walks of life work together to find and develop projects to strengthen their community and its economy. With the exception of the first preparatory step, it’s a series of town meetings, each designed to build on the results of the previous session. At first, … Continue reading »
Nine Tools of Economic Renewal
The preceding four principles are the foundation of a smart community’s development efforts–they offer a framework for thinking about how to approach development sustainably. But case studies of successful community development efforts compiled by Rocky Mountain Institute reveal a number of other specific tools you can employ as your community considers ways to strengthen itself. … Continue reading »
Four Principles of Economic Renewal
Think, for a moment, about the economy of your community. What makes it work? In many ways a local economy is like a bucket that the community would like to keep full. However, economic buckets invariably have holes in them. Every time someone buys something from outside the community, dollars leak out. To balance the … Continue reading »
RMI’s Economic Renewal Program
I have been a student of Small Town Economics for some time, ever since I ran the Town of Leinster, became a Councillor on the Shire of Leonora, sat on the Board of the Goldfields Esperance Development Commission and in 1997 spent time on a Committee for the State Planning Strategy. The State Planning Strategy … Continue reading »
Microfinance a New Found Interest
For Christmas 2010 Scott Farmer gave Kay and Me a present that will last forever – it was a gift card, inspiration, education and access to one of my new favourite websites – http://www.kiva.org/ – the US-based not-for-profit micro-lending sensation. Also see Microfinance at a glance. This site (and others like it) allows you to … Continue reading »
The Durrant Epistle For 2008
21 December 2008 To all our dear friends and family, I have just been reading some of the many cards and letters we value so deeply each year and felt a tinge of guilt that I haven’t written yet. So time to chronicle the year that was, for the Durrants – as usual Wow! Where … Continue reading »
The Durrant Epistle For 2006
8 February 2007 To all our dear friends and family, we wish you a very Happy Chinese New Year and a Most Prosperous 2007. Yes you well may ask why the Durrant’s haven’t sent their annual letter until now. The simple reason is life just got too busy prior to Xmas. So I decided we … Continue reading »
The Durrant Epistle For 2004
15 December 2004 To all our dear friends and family, Season Greetings, a Happy New Year and A Most Prosperous 2005. From Kay, Well it’s another year gone and wow what changes have happened in the Durrant household. We are still living across the road from Kings Park enjoying the Subiaco way of life, minus … Continue reading »
The Durrant Epistle For 2003
18 December 2003 To all our dear friends and family, Season Greetings, a Happy New Year and A Most Prosperous 2004. Where did 2003 go and what does 2004 hold for us all, as we grow more knowledgeable! 2003 like the many years preceding years (50 of them now!!) have been packed full of “stuff” … Continue reading »
