AgReCulturing the WORLD

RURAL TRANSFORMATIONS, INC.

Rural Transformation, Inc. (RTI) was created as a joint enterprise between the Rural Learning Center (RLC) (http://www.rurallearningcenter.com/) located in Howard, SD and TrueFarmer, Inc. (TFI), a South Dakota subsidiary of As It Is, Inc (Ai3) (http://www.asitisinc.com/) located in Buffalo, NY. RTI development is an outgrowth of the RLC’s desire to develop and market new learning and community development practices and Ai3’s interest in augmenting these practices through the integration of its virtual synthetic intelligence (http://www.truethinker.com/) technologies in rural communities. TFI is focused on the Ag(ricultural) aspects and RTI on the ReCulturing aspects in AgReCulturing the WORLD. To this end RTI staff are also engaged as consultants with the RLC in communities across the region conducting rural economic development/community revitalization activities. It is from this community work that the concept of “social satisfaction” as an economic development strategy was developed by the visionaries behind the RLC.

RTI Blog: building a deep conversation about the future of rural
http://www.reimaginerural.com/, an outgrowth of the Rural Learning Center (see below), is a blog for rural residents who want to be a part of building a new future for their communities. It’s no secret that most rural communities have struggled in recent decades with outmigration, poverty, and general decline. We belive this downward slide can be turned around by the people who take time to reimagine and work towards a different future.

A movement of change is rolling across the rural landscape as many communities pioneer a new future. Rural communities are coming alive with big ideas and people are connecting to each other and to the world of opportunity.

We hope to be a part of these connections. In fact, we hope that by sharing ideas on this blog, we will inspire rural residents to “reimagine” their communities and become a part of this changing rural landscape.

RLC VISION: renewed hope is the driving force
The Rural Learning Center (http://www.rurallearningcenter.com/) is a product of visionaries. Both organization and place, it is a platform for rural people to discover, teach, share and reimagine--together. In the midst of Miner County, South Dakota's quiet, remarkable transformation from dying town to place of hope and opportunity, this small rural community has become a living learning laboratory for innovative and sustainable solutions.

Now, as a centerpiece for the work in and out of Miner County, the RLC and dozens of partners are building a learning and demonstration center in Howard, SD (http://www.opportunityhoward.com/). The Maroney Rural Learning Center facility will be a one-of-a-kind conference and training center - a living showcase of innovations in rural sustainability, a gathering place to share and experience rural community learning, and the home of an innovative workforce development experiment.