Shorten the supply chain
The supply chains in the food and the bio-based sectors have been...
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Let the community be part of your business
Background
Societal development spur more and more discussions about the importance of food security, community building and sustainable agriculture. Community building is one way to solving local problems and to build a prosperous local community. There are several different types of business models that include the community, e.g., Community supported agriculture (CSA), businesses who integrate work rehabilitation in their operation, and educational activities for the community on how to cook healthy food.
CSA is a development of the earlier family farms, where CSA are based on shared values of community members rather than family members. The CSA concept includes dimensions of food security, community building and sustainable agriculture. Members in a CSA see fresh and chemical free vegetable as one of the most important reasons to be a sharing member. Secondary is environmental concern and in a third place is the support to the local farmer and economy. In the CSA-model, risks, planning, cost, work, harvest, and celebration are shared among shareholders and owner. Often values are shared as well, for instance the importance of growing organic and local food or helping to support the community by promoting healthy eating habits. By sharing costs, the owner is less reliant on loans and has a more predictable income, even in case of a bad season. In return, the members are provided with products during the whole season. In more developed CSA´s the shareholders may be more involved, for example in pricing, planning, and working in the production.
Providing work rehabilitation is another example of how rural business models (e.g. gardening, café and farm work) can help improve their community and diversify their business. Spending time in nature and working with animals can help provide a sense of calmness and well-being, which can help people with psychological stress, for example burnout. Persons with physical limitations can also contribute to rural and agricultural businesses since there are many different types of tasks.
Educational activities are something else that rural businesses can do to work together with their community to do good and create a resilient business. For instance, in areas with a high degree of people with unhealthy eating habits, arranging cooking classes to teach healthy cooking can be very beneficial to the community and highly appreciated. Ideally the educational activities ties in with the rural business other activities, for example cooking classes combined with locally sourced food products produced by the business.
Requirements
It is easiest to integrate the community in the business if you have a business and facilities that are suitable for inviting the community into your business. For example, it is easier to have the community participate in running a farm than in running a nuclear power plant. It is also beneficial to have good relationship with societal interest parties such as municipalities and NGOs.
An essential requirement for a CSA-structure is access to farmland, machinery and facilities. Those could be quite expensive requirements; it is therefore primarily farm owners that consider become CSA farms rather than people interested in CSA start a farm. However, in some cases, well-motivated communities can lead the process successfully (Lapland Vuollerim).
In addition to a farm, a CSA requires an interested community and people that want to participate in a CSA-farm. This may already be the case, or interest of CSA could be developed in the community. Different farmers do also have different requirements and expectations on their members. Some of the farm owners want a more interactive and regular engagement while others prefer their members to only pick up the products on a regular basis.
Benefits
Integrating the community into the business often has multiple benefits to both the business owner, the participating community members, and the community as a whole. One of the most prominent benefits in a CSA-farm is the shared risks which in this case are distributed between the farmer and the members. Another great benefit is a common approach of sustainability within CSA-farms. The sustainability approach could affect consumers to want more knowledge on sustainable production methods and get educated at the same time.
Another benefit is how the strategy to a certain extent contribute to creating a local “ecosystem". By involving the community and especially the local community, different types of resources stay local and is in that sense reinvented in the community. In this case, both consumers and the business owner reinvest their resources in the local society.
Challenges
One challenge when it comes integration of the community is the relationship with other interest parties which need to be built up. One example is when it comes to work rehabilitation which ties interest parties such as municipalities, medical service, and regional social insurance office tight together.
If a CSA-farm is supposed to be started, the community needs to be informed and have an interest to participate in the production, but also have a demand for production methods in line with the CSA-farm.
Working together with passionate members of the community can have many benefits, but can also be problematic and also result in conflict. Especially if the business owner wants to make changes that the shareholders or participators may not agree with or may feel conflicts with the stated goals of the integration. This is especially true when the participators are shareholders as they are financially and/or emotionally invested in the business. Thus, this type of integration may require great interpersonal skills and diplomacy.
Working with people that have psychological and/or physiological limitations, and/or people with specific needs can be rewarding, but also demanding. It may require that you and your staff are trained in how to meet their special requirements.
Extra readings
- • Access to land - Network of grassroot organisations securing land for agroecological farming
- • Newbie - Platform for new entrants
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