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A Model for Rural Development: An Experiment from Fogo Island, Newfoundland is in searchable PDF format. If you plan to print this material and place it in a 3- ring binder, please note that the margins are formatted for double-sided printing. This work can also be purchased as a paperback book on Amazon.com. This page intentionally left blank. A Model for Rural Development: An Experiment from Fogo Island, Newfoundland We are committed to sharing what we know from our Fogo Island work so that others can hold onto the specificity of place that is so crucial to wellbeing. Zita Cobb, Founder and President, Shorefast Foundation Joe Batt’s Arm, Fogo Island, Newfoundland Underway today in the region of Fogo Island and Change Islands, Newfoundland is a bold and well-thought out experiment in contemporary rural development. It merits our attention because development intentions are being pursued in a manner that has practical lessons that are useful to those of us with stakes in advancing the prosperity and happiness of people in contemporary rural regions. The Fogo Island case embodies these proactive, strategic and intelligent development qualities that seem to be able to make a difference for attaining an increased measure of influence and control over a rural area’s future. Kenneth E. Corey, Mark I. Wilson with Marie J. Corey Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan A Model for Rural Development: An Experiment from Fogo Island, Newfoundland Kenneth E. Corey and Mark I. Wilson with Marie J. Corey October 2014 Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan USA Michigan State University Libraries 366 West Circle Drive East Lansing, Michigan 48824 © 2014 by Kenneth E. Corey, Mark I. Wilson, and Marie J. Corey. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, on acid-free, SFI-certified paper. (Sustainable Forestry Initiative, www.sfiprogram.org) ISBN 10: 1626100349 ISBN-13: 978-1-62610-034-3 Dedication We dedicate this monograph to ordinary folks everywhere. These are the regular people, who too often do not have their voice heard by the decision makers and the powerful. We are grateful to Professor John Friedmann for reminding all of us that ordinary folks need to be at the table so that they can be involved in expressing their stake in the development of their local place and its region. The lessons discussed from the Fogo Island and Change Islands re- gion are offered here in support of getting ordinary people to the table; staying at the table, and once included there to practice informed and intelligent decision making in planning that en- sures that their regional development priorities attract the respect and resources needed to bring satisfaction from having contributed to the advancement of the social well-being and happiness of their community. Contents Figures and Photo Credits .................................................................................................................................... xi Preface ........................................................................................................................................................................ xv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................ xvii Part I: Introduction The General Pathway of the Monograph ........................................................................................................ 3 Why Read This? ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Part II: Background and Method Background ................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Origins of the Monograph .................................................................................................................................. 10 Why the Fogo Island Rural Development Work Seems to Resonate ................................................ 11 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 A Role for Islands in Modeling? .................................................................................................................. 12 Effective Modeling ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Place, Place, Place and Specificity, Specificity, Specificity!!! ........................................................... 14 Our Job ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Part III: Pre-Existing Conditions to the Model: Merchant System and The Fogo Process Early European Contact ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Merchant Credit System ..................................................................................................................................... 20 The Fogo Process ................................................................................................................................................... 22 Background at the Provincial Level .......................................................................................................... 22 What Happened at the Fogo Island Level ............................................................................................... 24 Part IV: The Shorefast Foundation Model for Rural Development Development and a Participatory Process .................................................................................................. 32 Specificity of Operations ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Part V: Rural Development-Planning Elements Business Structure, Logistics and Distribution ......................................................................................... 37 Fostering Connectedness ................................................................................................................................... 39 Recognizing Our True Assets ............................................................................................................................ 41 Ocean, Land and People ................................................................................................................................. 42 Geotourism ......................................................................................................................................................... 42 Building on Inherent Assets of a Place – Optimizing for Place/ Community ................................ 43 Fogo Island Arts Program ............................................................................................................................. 44 Business Assistance Fund and Regional Economic Development ............................................... 45 Fogo Island Inn .................................................................................................................................................. 48 Building Culture into the Fabric of a Business .......................................................................................... 53 Community Ownership of Capital .................................................................................................................. 55 Holding on to Ways of Knowing ...................................................................................................................... 57 Part VI: Next Stages in the Fogo Island Rural Development Model Fogo Island Dialogues .......................................................................................................................................... 63 New Ocean Ethic .................................................................................................................................................... 65 Marketing and Business Development ......................................................................................................... 70 Part VII: Team Shorefast: Leader, Champion, Innkeeper, Teacher, Learner and Local Economy Diversifier – the Invention of a New Social Entrepreneurship Model Team Shorefast ....................................................................................................................................................... 77 Board Chair and Ocean Advisor Gordon Slade .......................................................................................... 79 Gordon Slade and Battle Harbor as Proof-of-Concept ........................................................................... 79 Founding Brothers of the Foundation: Anthony Cobb and Alan Cobb ........................................... 81 Other Members of the Shorefast Board of Directors .............................................................................. 81 Other Key Team Shorefast Members............................................................................................................. 81 Founder and President Zita Cobb ..................................................................................................................