GO LOCAL

GO LOCAL Halifax entrepreneurs putting old adage ‘Think global, act local’ into practice By Stephanie Johns Lil MacPherson is co-owner of the Wooden Monkey in Halifax, a restaurant committed to buying local whenever possible and creating positive change in the community; she’s also dead serious about why buying local is so important to her. “When the s#*t hits the fan out there and the world economy gets shaken up, we’ll be like, ‘Thank God we have some business at home,’” MacPherson says. “If you spend it local, it stays local.” MacPherson’s enthusiasm is infectious and right now her efforts are focusing on reversing the trend of buying imported what we could buy locally. “When we spend one dollar on food, just 7.2 cents goes back to Nova Scotia farmers,” she says. “If households in Nova Scotia shifted just 10 per cent more of their annual purchases to local businesses, 1,700 new jobs would be created… $1.8 million would be poured into the local economy.” A shift like this may not be too far off. Both Nova Scotian business owners and consumers are responding to a sea change in regards to our local economy. Rising fuel and energy costs are driving prices up for imported goods; political factors are forcing consumers to consider the idea of the “true cost” of items; and environmental concerns are bringing our local economy to the forefront. Businesses are seeing increased support from consumers that are making educated choices to support their community and local livelihoods. Marla MacLeod is the food miles coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre and cautions that before we can effectively rely on Nova Scotian farmers for the bulk of our food, we need to improve the system. “We’re at this point where all of a sudden there’s a whole lot of interest in buying local, especially food. But at the same time, for so long we’ve been losing our farmers – the average age for a farmer is 52 – we’re not seeing young people start farms,” MacLeod says. MacLeod says that by losing farmers,Nova Scotians have lost infrastructure and we need a “critical mass of farmers to make distribution and delivery systems work, as well as processing facilities and that kind of thing, so we’re at this kind of crossroads where we need to rebuild a lot of that infrastructure very quickly; we need to reconnect.”

This reconnection of the customer to the farmer is the basis of the buy local movement. However, with the opportunities that movement has brought also come some unique challenges. Sourcing some supplies locally in Nova Scotia can be difficult and local businesses are also feeling the effects of higher energy costs. “There are farmers who are doing neat things and changing their energy use, such as using wind energy, or there are environmental farm plans, but obviously farming takes a certain amount of energy as well; it’s a tricky balance,” MacLeod says. “Commercial fertilizers, for example, are tied to energy prices because they’re made through a process that uses a lot of natural gas, and pesticides as well. On some level I want to say yes, transport and energy costs will effect how we’re moving goods and I do think they will, but at the same time it will effect the way we farm.” Jamey Coughlin works for the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture as a business development specialist and has suggestions for farmers who wish to provide for an increasing market. “I think the demand is there right now, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to make it work and make it work profitably,” Coughlin says. “You’re seeing it in the recent growth of farmer’s markets.” Coughlin calls it evidence of the trend, but also sees farmers looking at the fact that, while they’re very good at producing, if they hope to sell it locally they may begin looking at direct marketing. Farmers may consider selling more than one day a week, or looking into a community-supported agriculture system and collaborations with other farmers or businesses. “As an entrepreneur there’s a never ending stream of challenges and questions to wrap your brain around,” Coughlin says. Anna Gilkerson, founder and designer of the Deux fm label in Nova Scotia echoes the statement of challenges that present themselves to young entrepreneurs who want to keep things as local as possible. Especially in a field such as fashion. “As far as food and other things like that, I think we’re very prepared, but as far as clothing goes, I think we have a long way to go.” However, as a resourceful business owner, Gilkerson flips the challenges into opportunity. “I source Canadian as much as possible, about 90 per cent, and if I can source something locally I will.” Gilkerson plans to collaborate on her upcoming lines with Halifax-based designer Laura Chenoweth, who has started wholesaling high quality fabric from India. “It costs more money, so yes, it’s harder because I think the local suppliers have to charge a little bit more,” Gilkerson says. “But that said, especially if you’re in my business of eco-friendly clothing, with the green movement, the customer will pay a little bit more.”

A lot of the buying local appeal comes down to what else you get for your money. “It’s important to have those connections with the people who grow our food,” MacLeod says. “With climate change and energy costs, the future feels really uncertain. I think by making sure we have all of these skills in our society, that these skills are being passed on and that people are contributing to jobs that we absolutely need, it makes things more stable in the future.” Coughlin talks about “ands” – the extras of the local experience – which is how local businesses can appeal to a more human side of the consumer than big box stores. “I think people can also think of it in terms of ‘what else am I getting for my money?’ Whether that be value in terms of the quality ‘and’ how much I get out of it ‘and’ how little waste there is ‘and’ what’s the impact on my community in terms of my neighbours and jobs, or is it a really great experience ‘and’ a really unique product. It’s about connecting the dots,” Coughlin says. The decision to shop local either as a business or a consumer is a certainly a conscious one. It’s more than grabbing the cheapest item off a shelf. The savvy entrepreneur understands that most people’s time is at a premium. “Putting my hat on as an entrepreneur, it’s up to me to figure out what’s important to those customers, why are they going to shop from me versus the competition, or why are they going to shop at a place that all it has going for it is price? Can I connect at a deeper level? Can I understand what their needs are? Can I solve other problems for them too?” Coughlin asks. “Can I use the fact I’m close to my customers to understand what’s going on in their lives and can I figure out a better way to serve them, save them time in meal prep, save them time in shopping, make shopping a more pleasurable experience, less of a chore?” Gilkerson believes the general attitude of consumers in Nova Scotia is open to supporting locals. “I think we have a better chance than companies outside of Nova Scotia, because I think Nova Scotia has a very local minded sort of outlook anyway.

A lot of businesses here do want to support that. Once we have a little bit more industry and NSCAD students stay and open up businesses and realize this can be done – they don’t have to go to Montreal or Toronto or wherever – I think that things will grow.” Finding likeminded businesses for collaborations can be difficult in our province, because there has been no sufficient business network serving to connect services. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) hopes to change that. Described as “an international movement in which local, independently-owned businesses are working together to build sustainable and vibrant communities,” it’s a new Nova Scotian initiative committed to “sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy, community capital, zero-waste manufacturing and independent retail.” MacPherson is the founding chair of BALLE and describes them as striving to “create a ‘real Nova Scotian phone book’ – a phone book with integrity.” The BALLE goal is to become a sort of Better Business Bureau for an exclusively local network, bringing together urban and rural businesses in a mutually beneficial way. Before BALLE, The Wooden Monkey was already attempting to work with locals exclusively. It gets its oil, cleaning supplies, food, milk, cheese, sodas and more from local businesses. MacPherson describes the “ripple effect” and the simple reasons she ensures Nova Scotian dollars stay in Nova Scotia. “You know who you’re buying from. I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never felt this sense of community until I owned (The Wooden Monkey). That’s because we’re dealing with so many farmers and so many families and there’s something about helping them stay alive and helping them make a living. Just something right about that and that’s what life is about.