Sara Day Evans, a sixth generation Kentuckian, tells the story of the people and places that inspired her to found Accelerating Appalachia, a new business accelerator that is nurturing natural and entrepreneurial capital to appropriately scale a post-extractive, regenerative economy in coal country.    

People are turning to one another and, to quote my colleague, Sandy Maxey, saying, “No one is coming to save us. We have to do this on our own.”  We know we “can’t build on broken.” Even though we know there is plenty that is broken, we are working to support a post-extractive, post-coal economy for Appalachia and beyond, by building on our region’s assets. It’s about sharing inspired stories of the strength, persistence, creativity, and resilience of businesses that work with nature – food, farming, forests, fiber, fuels -  developing a place-based economy.

I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and central bluegrass Kentucky, and spent a lot of time outdoors – literally from sun up to sun down. The first conversations about Accelerating Appalachia began in 2011, but came out of the trajectory I have been on personally for all of my life and professionally for 20 some-odd years, always nested in people, place, and prosperity. Besides my parents, I’ve been heavily influenced by Wendell Berry and his daughter, Mary, who are my lifelong friends. 

Mary launched the Berry Center for Farming and Agriculture about the same time I launched the accelerator, so we’ve conspired and collaborated. Mary has beautifully taken up the charge of her father, uncle, and grandfather, but with her own unique voice. When I question my own purpose (and I often do), my parents, my children, and Wendell have always been solid barometers – and if I can reach her, I call up Mary and ask her opinion. We don’t always agree on everything, but we know we are in this together. 

For 13 years I worked on establishing Kentucky’s groundwater and solid waste programs, and then started looking at ways to support sustainable economies in rural Appalachia, with a people/place-based sensibility. 

See the following:

Accelerating Appalachia – THE FIELD GUIDE TO INVESTING IN A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY

http://fieldguide.capitalinstitute.org/accelerating-appalachia.html