The Mart Community Project is an attempt to restore cultural, historical and economic life of this small town. I think this is fantastic and very much parallel to the theme of the article. By restoring buildings and creating space for businesses and local entrepreneurship, Mart will not only experience growth in commerce and aesthetics, but will also see development and cohesion as a community. The Mart Co-op project and restoration of the Masonic Hall can be a good examples of this.
2. In a historically segregated community like Mart, community gardens could play a key role in interracial interaction and dialogue. The case study of community garden projects in St. Louis showed that community gardens helped bring blacks and whites together. The contact theory argues that face-to-face interactions in leisure setting can increase positive interracial attitudes and relationships. This makes sense. During my semester abroad in the Middle East (as an undergraduate), I had a first-hand glimpse into how the WALL was creating a divide between the Palestinians and Israelis. The lack of contact and relationships only led to dehumanization and hostility.
Adrienne, Amy and I are going to be working on the Mart community garden project. When we were meeting with community members at the library to discuss the project, I noticed that older white folks overrepresented the community. There were two African American ladies present, but we did not get to hear much from them. Reading through the article, I became curious to know what the Black community has to say about the proposed project. I'd like to get their point of view and ideas. What kind of garden would they like to have in their community? Their was a consensus among the white folks that the garden should be strictly aesthetic (as in, not a vegetable garden) and somewhat "conservative." Do others in the community feel the same? I realize that we are in the beginning stages of community development. We are establishing CONTACT and are doing some RESEARCH. Perhaps, it would be helpful to have a community event in Mart to discuss the topic with diverse community members. It could be a great opportunity to build further relationships and "get their story".
It is my hope that when the garden is established, it can be utilized by all members of the Mart community. It would be wonderful to see the young and old, black and white, the poor and rich to come together in a place of beauty and growth to learn, grow and live together.
3. Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to meet with young African American girls during my visit to Mart. In fact, I did not meet any young people. However, I'm going to make an assumption that young girls of Mart probably experience societal pressures to be thin and "barbie-like", not unlike most other young girls, whether black or white or brown. The Girls Empowerment Project in Mart will be a great way of reaching out to the youth and having an open dialogue about body image, self-esteem and the media.
The article discussed the traditional image of femininity in the Nigerian culture. Traditionally, femininity represented intelligence, strength, and beauty, among other qualities. Their idea of beauty contrasted the kind that barbie represents. This brings us to question what ideas of beauty do the youth of Mart hold and how it compares to the more traditional ideas held by the African American culture.
4. The success of Fjaerland, Norway to become a creative and positive community, attracting outsiders through their Book Town project can be an inspiration for us and other community builders in Mart. The community members of Fjaerland took the image of books - an image so universal and flexible - that it could be easily identified with and could pertain to diverse individuals. The Art Co-op in Mart has attempted to use art as a central image that most individuals can be a part of or support. I think this is incredible. From quilt-work to handmade mocassins, an array of art work and artists in Mart can be showcased at the Co-op. I believe that art is a great medium to build optimism and a sense of community. Mart residents don't need to be artists to be involved, they can be mere appreciators of art. The art theme will also extend to the Community Garden Project and hopefully other places in the community through restoration. I'm sure that the image of Mart as an art town will attract many tourists, visitors and potential residents, especially considering it's close proximity to Austin.
5. Participation is central to success and sustainability of rural development projects. In the article, the government run program used a model that was more "comprehensive, process oriented, focused on institutional building, based on local sociocultural values and economic structure, having exit strategy and applicable in nearly any socio-cultural setting" (p. 182). This model led to more participation. I think a key aspect of the strategy was it's emphasis on the process along with sociocultural values. Community residents should be involved in deciding what changes they want to see in their communities and taking steps to do so with the guidance of organizers. In Mart, without the decision making power and hands on involvement of community members, our projects will have to long-term effects or sustainability.
