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Settlement Heirachy Used to Classify Our Communities Click here to show/hide the table

Learn about Windhorse Farms

  • Creative Food Movement

    Creative Food Movements are excellent ways of diversifying local tourism. Annual festivals that highlight and promote local products, chefs, restaurants, and collaboration amongst businesses are fundamental in sustaining a healthy and ethical local economy that attracts and retains people wishing to leave the city behind.
    Click here to learn more

  • A Local Institution

    Farmer's markets are staples of rural life and often showcase the region's best in produce, meats, and dairy. These markets become an institution of the community and often support and promote local farmers and artisans.
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  • Overcoming Barriers and Creating Jobs

    Communities often face enormous amounts of pressure in terms of employment, living standards, and services. Areas that once solely focused on struggling industries for survival are now finding other opportunities to create and sustain growth. Community development finincial institutions offer an escape from the barriers of economic exclusion, poverty, poor housing, and unsecure employment.
    Click here to read more.

  • Rebirth and Revitalization

    What were once vacant and neglected properties now have the oppurtunity to become beautifully restored private homes, affordable housing units, vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, pubs, and restaurants. This becomes an attraction to people unhappy with urban life who crave culture and a community rich in heritage.
    See what Millenials are saying

  • Sustainable, Responsible, and Beautiful

    Creating beautiful pieces of art and furniture from sustainably-grown trees is a continuously-growing industry that highlights and promotes the value and unique character of the tree itself. Using solely naturally felled, infected, or damaged trees for artistic purposes gives the wood new life and a new purpose, strengthening the bond between humankind and the forest.
    Read about Windhorse Woods

  • Old Ways, New Beginnings

    The outports of Newfoundland have always been important for the health of the nation, the province, and their communities. Finding new ways to ensure their survival built on cultural and economic resilience brings hope and investment to these quaint, historical outports and the people that depend on them.
    Read more about this

  • Agri-Tourism

    Agricultural tourism offers city-dwellers, yearning for an escape from their fast-paced urban lives, an opportunity to reconnect with the Earth and experience an agrarian lifestyle. This offers prospects for generating and diversifying revenue for farmers who benefit from urnban tourists.
    See how it works

  • Unique Culture = Unique Brand

    A strong perception of quality of place can be found almost anywhere. In rural communities, this can be their saviour when it comes to long-term viability. By embracing uniqueness, culture, arts, and heritage, rural communities can etch out a profitable existence in an age of modernity and urbanization.
    Read more

  • Waste Knot

    Trees that are naturally felled or are slated for removal to make way for urban expansion can indeed enjoy a new life as one-of-a-kind furniture pieces with a unique identity. Harvesting reclaimed urban trees is an increasingly popular, sustainable, and trendy way to promote a more responsible attitude towards nature. Giving these trees new life also encourages communication between arborists, artists, and their communities.
    Check it out on the 'Gram

  • Artisan Products from Heritage Centres

    Preserving local heritage and encouraging co-operation amongst businesses and entrepreneurs has succeeded in forming creative home-grown economies that thrive. A unique product with a unique history can be a catalyst for success.
    Read more on CBC.ca

  • Artisan Communities

    The lure of small towns has a magnetic effect on artists and their communities. There they can practice their art while simultaneously contributing to their local economies through exhibitions, galleries, and workshops.
    See what Almonte has to offer

  • Buying Local

    The best and freshest produce comes from your own backyard. When you buy and sell locally, everyone benefits. Healthy local economies thrive on the business and interactions between growers, sellers, and consumers. The lack of a middleman brings people closer to their food and to their communities.
    Read about buying local

Key Concepts

Creative Local Food Movements

Creative local food movements form strong connections between consumers, retailers, and producers and between urban, commercial, and rural areas. While a popular buzzword, the “local” food trend is the way people want to be eating. Training and education play a key role, as creative chefs, brewers, and distillers take humble ingredients and create products that are deliciously gourmet. People can get closer to their food source and learn more about what is available in their region. Food and wine festivals and farmer’s markets promote these products and redirect money back into the local economy, promoting a healthier cycle, both physically and economically.

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The Allure of Heritage and the Importance of Place

People will always love to be immersed in culture and history, and this is a huge benefit for communities that boast their unique heritage. Businesses and developments that adhere, contribute, or adapt to the unique sense of place are often successful, reinvesting within their communities. Discovering and endorsing local arts, history, and heritage can provide a community with ample materials to attract people and businesses. Local and volunteer labour can greatly improve the appearance and impression of these communities, and with proper restoration, preservation, and promotion, their architectural gems can help spur both tourism and economic development.

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Value-Added Production

Using sustainability-conscious materials, skilled woodworkers, metalsmiths, artisans, and craftsmen are able to produce unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that are sought after by both businesses and consumers. This breathes new life into these products, which are often beautifully unique with a rich history or story. Regularly, this is done with the help and collaboration of local arborists, park officials, or non-profit organizations that ensure the harvested practices are responsible and ethical. Local produce can be produced into spirits and wines by cideries, wineries, and distilleries in the vicinity, increasing their export value over raw materials by a significant margin. .

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