Growing a living economy can be described as supporting a local marketplace which consists of goods and services provided by people who live within your community. These local producers are often the backbone of a local culture that is defined by a sense of place.
In the Okanagan our local culture is influenced greatly by the retail marketplace which is fed from two similar but yet conflicting sources: the first feeds popular consumer products considered mainstream, often available at low cost and sold from big box retail outlets; and the second, locally made products from local producers often more unique and handmade, but with a higher price tag.
One certainly dominates the other in the overall marketplace, but both depend on a common element that will determine success or failure, and that element is “creativity”.
No matter what the product or service, its beginning is defined by a sole original idea made by an individual which marks the beginning of a navigation process that may or may not lead to success in the marketplace.
Invention and innovation is at the core of the human experience, as a species it has been our salvation. Our survival over the ages has been dependent on our ability to create, to transform and to adapt. Our strength has been our ability to imagine. Human societies that have lost such ability have faded into extinction or have been conquered by others who have imagined better.
Today, our communities are very dependent on a global economy where the production of goods are created offshore and then transported into North America. Under this economic framework local economies play secondary roles as facilitators of goods and services that feed global interests.
However, a new emerging economic engine is surfacing where local consumers are beginning to exercise a choice to “buy local” and support a more living economy.
There are many new ways of understanding and supporting the workings of a local marketplace and it requires an innovative approach to support local producers. By defining support for local culture and putting into place certain building blocks that connect a community with local food, art, craft, music and stories a sense of place will emerge in the lining economy that could be described as a sort of “terroir”.
The French term “terroir”, is a word that has no exact English equivalent. Loosely translated, it means ''place'' or ''sense of place.'' In practice, it refers to the natural environment in which a crop is grown, as well as any cultural and historical influences that contribute to the process of growing and preparing that crop as food or drink.
For terroir's most ardent promoters, it is axiomatic that the finest fruits and vegetables are those truest to their roots; those whose taste reflects the interplay of soil, climate, topography and ritual. For them, centuries of trial and error -- identifying the choicest sites, experimenting with different methods of cultivation -- have taught the French how to achieve this connection between food and the land.
Expanding the idea of terroir to include the things we produce can link our local culture with the act of creating, with a sense of place in mind, and thus creating a community of creative people linked to that place.
Made in the Okanagan represents a service portal that helps individuals, businesses, non-profits and communities build a living economy by supporting efforts to link the local economy with a sense of place.
We invite you to explore our different programs and the leading edge research that will help you create a stronger and healthier community for all of us.
