Localism... A friend of mine died in about 1980 at the age of of 78. She had led a reasonably hard life, including homesteading with her first husband near Gilbert, Arkansas. Having grown up in an east coast sophisticated southern home and as a newlywed in a new community in the backwoods of Arkansas, she was surprised when her new neighbors sorted through her things, selecting things for themselves. When she protested, they explained their tradition... "What you bring is ours, what you make while you're here is yours." In essence, the price of admission to the local community was to give without condition. To be accepted required that you give of yourself totally and without reservation.

I've never heard this tradition described by others with regard the backwoods, so perhaps it was an isolated tradition, and someday, when I drive through the vicinity of Gilbert, I plan to ask.

It does make a difference, what things, what skills and resources you bring and give to your local community, and it is best when these things are given freely and without reservation.

There is a saying that when a dollar is spent in a community, that it can circulate many times, building the personal resources of all. But when a dollar is spent outside the community, the local effects of its circulation cease.

One of the best ways to reinforce your local economy is to put your dollars in the hands of local craftsmen and local food producers.

Here in Eureka Springs, we have a farmer's market on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and one of our favorite local farmers is Patrice Gros. If you were ever to visit Eureka Springs, Patrice and Karen Gros' Foundation Farm might be one of those special places you would find meaningful to visit. It is no museum, but a place where the wisdom of the hands is placed in practice and service, from the planting and harvest, to the wonderful lunches prepared there each day.