Edwards, James C.

Williams, Ronald L.

English

Research Papers in Economics

RURAL  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
FOR  COMMUNITY  SELF-RELIANCE
James C. Edwards
Florida  A&M  University
Ronald L. Williams
Alabama A&M  University
It  will come as no great surprise that rural communities in the South
are experiencing  severe  economic,  social and political crises.  Most  of
this nation's persistently low-income, nonmetropolitan counties are in
the South and those counties have a higher proportion  of nonwhites,
disabled,  low-income  and  female-headed  families  than  the
nonmetropolitan  average.
It  is  also  true that: there has been  an erosion  in farmland  values;
natural resource-based  industries continue  in a state of decline  (min-
ing, timber and petroleum); there has been a loss of light manufactur-
ing industries; the human capital base is shrinking due to the outmigra-
tion  of talented  youth and young adults; and,  most of the economic
development  efforts  in these areas,  especially  those implemented  by
governmental  agencies,  have  produced  inadequate  (and  often
disastrous)  results.
In other words, residents  in many rural southern  communities  are
experiencing  enormous  difficulties  in maintaining  a  stable economic
base to meet the needs of an increasingly nonagricultural  society and
economy.
Narrowing the focus to disempowered,  limited-resource  and, often,
minority communities,  the effects  of economic  and social decline  are
even more obvious. These communities have been inadequately served
by  traditional  economic  development  programs.  And  when  made
available, existing programs and subsequent delivery have often failed
to benefit  limited-resource  populations  in those communities.  After
many years of economic development "attempts" in disempowered com-
munities it is all too often the case that economic development profes-
sionals, including Cooperative Extension specialists and agents, develop
a prevailing  "why try?"  attitude.
The frustrations  encountered when attempting to work with disem-
powered and limited-resource communities and the resulting "why try?"
mentality  are  founded  in  the  approach  employed  when  attempting
184economic development educational programming.  The point is simple:
The economic development educational programs developed for use in
the "general"  public are usually incomprehensible and acutely unin-
viting to disempowered and limited-resource audiences. We may equate
American society to the "melting pot" analogy, but current sociological
and political thought  clearly contradicts this notion.
The reality is that we are probably more correctly analogous to a set
of islands, each with differing characteristics,  resources,  abilities and
opportunities.  Our standard  economic development  educational pro-
grams frequently  assume that communities  are somehow "alike"  and
that what will work in one will work in another.  The communities  in
question  would  be  better  served  by greater  emphasis  on  economic
development  strategies that recognize and accept the current commun-
ity base (education,  income and resources)  and focus initially on com-
munity self-reliant activities. Inherent in this approach is an awareness
that what worked  in another  community may be uninviting  and out
of reach  for others.
Background
The beginnings of Rural Economic Development for Community Self-
Reliance were founded in informal discussions by 1890 Cooperative Ex-
tension Program Community Resource Development Specialists. These
discussions centered  on the severe economic  conditions in the South
and  the  inability  of  traditional  "canned"  economic  development
strategies to adequately serve the needs of severely economically disad-
vantaged, disempowered  and minority communities. A component was
missing in the program delivery process;  our task was to identify the
critical elements necessary for successful economic development educa-
tion within  those communities.
The expressed  needs  of the  1890  Cooperative Extension  Program
CRD  Specialists  for innovative economic  development programming
methodologies  for disempowered, low-income and minority audiences
triggered an enthusiastic response from Beth Walter-Honadle, then Na-
tional Program Leader  for Economic Development,  who entered into
the discussions,  and became a key catalyst in the evolution of this pro-
ject.  Greater project  specificity  was  generated,  including:  audience
analysis, community profiles, current economic environment and future
prospects,  racial-ethnic  composition,  and the applicability  of such an
educational package  for the total Cooperative  Extension System.
The premise behind "Rural Economic Development  for Community
Self-Reliance"  was a consensus that current economic development pro-
gramming efforts assumed the existence  of a critical knowledge  base
inherent in the affected communities.  To point, most, if not all, tradi-
tional economic development programs assumed that the community
leaders (and most of the residents) had at least a working knowledge of:
1. how their community fits into  and is affected  by county,  state,
regional, national and world economic and political environments;
1852.  community analysis  skills;
3.  community leadership  and community  power;
4.  concepts  of cooperation  and intergovernmental  relations;
5.  existing and needed  resources;
6.  community planning;
7.  community  change and mobilizing for action;  and,
8.  evaluation  of community programs  and projects.
It should be further noted that audiences in these communities  are
different  in certain  other respects  from mainstream  America.  First,
these residents are encased in a perspective that dictates that they lack
power to affect changes in their lives and communities. They are used
to being acted upon by others outside  the community;  the notion of
participatory democracy is largely nonexistent. Second, the educational
attainment of residents is far below the national average.  The assump-
tion that people can read and write is often in error, and is a key factor
in the failure of other  attempts at economic development  (and other
types) of educational programs. Third, recruitment of disempowered,
low-income, minority and female head of household audiences is a vastly
different experience  from that  of recruitment  of mainstream  popula-
tions. Posting a notice in the courthouse or in the newspaper will not
achieve the desired end, and factors of transportation to meeting sites,
child care, work schedules,  and local norms all contribute to poor suc-
cess  in recruitment.
I would like to point out one other salient factor associated with this
audience.  Contrary  to what is often heard,  the residents in our most
disadvantaged communities  are not stupid or disinterested.  They may
be ignorant of some facets of life and lacking in educational attainment,
but I  assure you that, given the opportunity to express their ideas to
a willing listener, residents  of the communities in question would as-
tound you with their knowledge  and insights.  They often cannot ex-
press  their  thoughts  in  the  precise  language  of  academia,  but the
thoughts are just as good, and frankly, often less confusing. We should
note that these audiences  are, perhaps, the greatest survivors in our
nation, and they could not survive if they were as stupid or disinterested
as  some  assume.
Following a working meeting with selected Staff of the U.S. Depart-
ment  of  Agriculture's  Extension  Service  (ES-USDA),  the  need  to
develop an educational package which would provide low income, disem-
powered  and  minority  communities  the  educational  infrastructure
necessary to engage  economic development  activities was  solidified,
with an  additional observation.  Our original  emphasis  was  on com-
munities in the South, yet it was apparent that other regions had similar
communities  with  like  audiences  and  conditions.  Discussion  was
transformed  into a concrete  and pragmatic proposal to assist in the
acquisition  of the necessary  funds  to make this project  a reality.
We must,  at this point,  acknowledge  the tireless  efforts  of  Beth
Walter-Honadle  and Curt De Ville for their counsel and in "walking"
186our proposal to potential funding sources. Their efforts identified the
USDA Soil Conservation Service Resource Conservation and Develop-
ment  Program  as  an  appropriate  actor  in the process  of providing
economic development  assistance to disempowered  and limited-resource
clientele. The Resource Conservation and Development Program offers
technical and financial assistance (including loans to rural communities)
for measures that conserve and improve the use of land, develop natural
resources and enhance social, economic and environmental conditions
in rural America.
Ron Page, of the Resource Conservation and Development Program,
USDA Soil Conservation Service, expressed an interest in the proposed
training  project.  His  primary  motivation  was  a  concern  that  state
Resource Conservation and Development Coordinators faced a similar
plight in working with low-income,  disempowered  and minority com-
munities.  The Soil Conservation Service had very limited funds to assist
our efforts, but did agree to provide a small funding base to foster pro-
ject development  and testing.  The  Southern Regional  Development
Center, under the direction of Doss Brodnax, provided additional fund-
ing support.
Project Overview
"Rural  Economic  Development  for Community  Self-Reliance"  is  a
joint venture representing a positive and unique programming relation-
ship between two 1890 land grant universities, Alabama A&M  Univer-
sity and Florida A&M University,  and USDA Soil Conservation  Ser-
vice,  with technical assistance and guidance provided  by ES-USDA.
This project is the culmination of a shared recognition  of the need to
tailor economic development educational processes for disempowered,
limited resource and minority rural citizens. It is important to note that
the intent is not to recreate the substantial economic development pro-
gramming resources currently available. Rather, this project  seeks to
provide  supplemental  knowledge  and  skills  generally  assumed  as  a
prerequisite  to economic development  education.
The purpose of "Rural Economic Development for Community Self-
Reliance" is to empower limited-resource audiences in rural communities
to fully realize economic  development  opportunities. This will  be ac-
complished through an educational effort which will provide local com-
munity leaders, county agents and Resource Conservation and Develop-
ment Coordinators  with  information  and  skills  needed  to  generate
employment opportunities,  improve  services  and  facilities,  improve
leadership skills, improve the natural resource base, interact with local
governments and make use of resources  readily  available in the com-
munity.  The overall objectives  of this effort  are to:
1.  Raise the awareness of local leaders  and public decision  makers
in rural communities about economic development conditions and
trends;
2.  Motivate these decision  makers to use their skills and positions
187to  create positive changes  in their communities;  and,
3.  Facilitate  their  abilities  to  conduct  economic  development
programs.
Two key products derive from this economic development  project.
First is an instructional notebook/manual  for use by County Coopera-
tive Extension Agents and Resource Conservation  and Development
Coordinators  in  facilitation  of  the  project.  The  instructional
notebook/manual is designed as a self-contained instructional package,
divided into comprehensive subject-matter units. Each unit focuses on
a specific topic and provides reference materials, educational activities
and related handouts. The eight modules allow participants to generate
a world view of their community,  explore their community,  seek out
community  leadership  and power,  plan for change,  locate and utilize
resources and cooperative  strategies, explore comprehensive community
planning,  and learn and apply rural economic development strategies.
Second is a motivational videotape designed to show leaders what the
project  entails  and what  others  have done  to  develop  similar  com-
munities with comparable  resources.
We sincerely invite you to renew your interest in working with some
of our communities  most in need.  We think this project  will provide
a  workable  methodology  for  assisting  disempowered  communities
achieve economic development  successes.  Our model, when the testing
and refinement  stages are complete,  will be available  for your use in
whole or in part. We will be more than happy to assist you in any way
we can, for we are firmly committed to the notion that it is our respon-
sibility and consistent with our Cooperative Extension System mission
to help  those most in need.  Clearly, the total of this nation will gain
if disempowered and low-income communities begin to generate posi-
tive contributions to American society, and together we can assist them
in this process.
188TOWARD  A  NEW EUROPE

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR COMMUNITY SELF-RELIANCE

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Research Papers in Economics