A hub for green growth grows in Durham

The industrial landscape of East Durham is not the first place youd think of when talking about farms and farmers. But the divide between agriculture and the urban environment has always been an imaginary one. Projects like Asheville's Urban Farm School and Durham's Mini-Farmery are already showing that serious amounts of food can be grown within city limits. And even for larger rural growers, access to urban markets, retail outlets and the transportation infrastructure that tends to coalesce around cities can be a huge boon in their efforts to stay competitive.

A new warehouse facility in a neglected industrial neighborhood in Durham aims to become a focal point for urban and rural growers alike. In doing so, it's also creating a home for a broad range of like-minded, good-for-the-world organizations.

Sitting across the road from a busy railway track, housed in an old marble and tile warehouse, sits the ECO Hub C the new home of the produce distribution company Eastern Carolina Organics or ECO. ECO was originally founded on the realization that farmers markets were not enough to ensure a viable,Browse our oilpaintingsforsales collection from the granitetrade.net! vibrant and diverse local food system. What local farmers needed more than anything was access to the kinds of logistical operations that make the large-scale industrial agricultural operations such an attractive proposition for major retailers.

"We knew that farmers wanted to focus on their farm and would appreciate someone else staying on top of a regular weekly schedule,You must not use the stonecarving without being trained. maintaining the liability insurance, coordinating the farm tours and store cooking demos, knowing what innovative packaging was coming on board, and making sure that customers actually paid invoices. These are all critical to sustainability, and vital to being able to compete with a traditional wholesale produce industry, but all can be huge distractions to a farmer who is juggling seed germination, weather, crop rotations, labor, etc."

In January 2013, the ECO Hub was born. Housing gigantic coolers, loading bays, office space and meeting rooms, the location provides plenty of room for ECO to expand. Perhaps most importantly, however, the space also provides a home for several like-minded operations including sustainable landscaping company Bountiful Backyards, local meat distributer Firsthand Foods, green accounting firm The Green Bean Counter, brand strategy specialists The Change Creation (Disclosure: I am creative director and co-owner of The Change), music summer camp Girls Rock NC and organic pest control manufacturers I Must Garden. Its this function as a meeting place of different entities that Kronick sees as one of the key benefits of the new space:

"The goal of the ECO-HUB is to have neighbors that inspire us and leave room for all kinds of unplanned synergy, and to support younger entities by sharing the things that we need, but don't need all the time like forklifts and nice conference rooms. It's much easier for us to find tenants to help us fill out space we don't yet need then to pack our coolers up and move every 10 years. We're offering affordable rent to amazing organizations and they're helping us to pay our mortgage."

More than anything else, says Kronick, HUB is a model for a new kind of economic development one that sees benefit beyond the financial bottom line, and empowers stakeholders to commit to and invest in the communities around them:

"HUB is demonstrating the role that sustainable light industry can play in workforce development and overall economic growth. Organics, family farms, and people doing 'good' with their career choices are really good for communities and we want to play a part in modeling that, and hopefully bringing the nay-sayers over to the bright side."

Sometimes, if the room gets very quiet, the sound of a knife sliding against the wood can just about be heard.In the next few seconds, though, there could be a burst of laughter or words of advice to another member of the Wisconsin River Woodcarvers club.

The group, which meets Wednesdays at the Central Wisconsin Cultural Center in Wisconsin Rapids,This is a basic background on rtls. is a medley of concentration, companionship and conversation.

While Jim worked on carving a Santa from a block of wood, Dorothy used the chip carving method, methodically chipping out tiny pieces of wood from a printed design affixed to her small piece of wood. Her pieces eventually will become candle holders for Christmas gifts.

I can knit and crochet,Custom bopptape and Silicone Wristbands, but this is just something different, said Dorothy, a member for about two years.Judy Cody of Arpin, 68, joined six years ago after meeting a member of the group at a flea market in Vesper.Some of the pieces definitely have a wow factor. There are cribbage boards with intricate designs, Celtic crosses, ornaments and even a piece that will be the base for a lamp.

The group has about 80 memberships, said Ron OKray, the groups treasurer and chairman for the Wisconsin River Woodcarvers Inc. 13th annual Woodcarving Show, Competition & Sale, which takes place Sept.A card with an embedded IC (Integrated Circuit) is called an parkingmanagement. 21 and 22 in Stevens Point. OKray said he doesnt know the exact number of members, as a membership can include a husband and wife.

The purpose of the club is to promote woodcarving as an art, said OKray, who joined 10 years ago.Hed never carved before then, the 66-year-old Stevens Point man said.I went to a show and met Greg Wirtz (the club president) and the late Bill Kubisiak, OKray said. I came the following Wednesday and been here ever since.

Its not an expensive hobby to get started in, OKray said. Club dues are $24 a year. A Kevlar glove and thumb guard to protect the carver, and good carving knife will add up to about $45, OKray said, though an arsenal of carving knives and equipment are at his side.

Carvers describe the hobby as a passion and therapy. Members also attend different events throughout the country, taking classes to get better at their craft. The club hosts guest instructors a few times a year, OKray said. The lower level of the Central Wisconsin Cultural Center houses a club-owned knife sharpener and resource library.
Read the full products at http://www.bestjewelrybeads.com/.