Ag-Ventures: Appalachian Sustainable Development

Their motto: from field to table. In the case of agricultural work, this means the food that goes on the table. For the logging and forestry portion of the enterprise, it means the table itself. Appalachian Sustainable Development first came together in 1995 to address the question of jobs versus environment, and the solutions that…

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New river organic growers find themselves growing

Organic farming is one of the fastest growing markets in the agricultural industry, and the New River Organic Growing (NROG) cooperative wants to fill this niche. “The demand is here,” Charles Church, an original member of NROG, said. “People eat everyday and somebody has to grow food. That’s one thing you know people will buy.”…

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New perspectives on a platter

The lofty vision of the Harvest Table Restaurant in Meadowview, Virginia can be served up in two different ways. One, you can catch the drift by reading some of the comments on the menu and getting into a heated debate with the restaurant manager. Or two, you can read the runaway bestseller, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,…

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Editorial – End Game for King Coal

/images/AppalachianVoice/Mar_2008/Edit.cartoon.jpg The American coal industry has never been more profitable, and yet paradoxically, has never been more vulnerable. With the rise of coal prices to unprecedented levels, new coal mines of marginal quality are being forced online. The owners are squeezing small profits from big risks. Experts who have observed mine safety budget cuts expect…

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Book review – Lockjaw by Holly Farris

Lockjaw by Holly Farris Gival Press, Arlington, VA The language is fresh, the stories stimulating. Holly Farris’s first short story collection, Lockjaw, offers poignant glimpses into the interior lives of an array of diverse characters that linger in the reader’s mind. Her Appalachian narrators, though deeply rooted in Southwest Virginia, exhibit characteristics universally human. As…

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Hiking the Highlands – Beech Mountain falls

At nearly a mile high, the water on Beech Mountain doesn’t really have any place to go – but down. Here, Pond Creek tumbles, slipping over ancient rock formations beside thick nests of rhododendron and laurel. Talk about tranquil. Listen: That’s about all you could call the rippling waters of the Lower Pond Creek Trail.…

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Hillbilly Stereotypes make me wanna holler

When I saw the clip of the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart aping a misinformed West Virginia voter in May, I had a flashback to a Saturday Night Live “Appalachian ER” skit, which featured rocker Neil Young embroiled in a mess of incest and depravity. How the media loves its hillbillies. Makes me wanna holler: The…

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Hanging Out in Hanging Rock State Park

By Joe Tennis Among the picturesque plains of the North Carolina Piedmont, the Sauratown Mountains rise north of Winston-Salem. Capped by cliffs, these peaks on the east side of the Blue Ridge are known locally as the “mountains away from the mountains,” and take their name from the Saura Indians, who lived in this area…

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Greenest Holiday Gifts You Can Buy

By Sarah Vig and Melanie Bianchi It’s enough to turn anyone into a Scrooge! So many potential gifts ignore concerns about natural ingredients, fair labor, the carbon imprints of production and shipping, wasteful packaging, and so on… Enter Appalachian Voice’s Green Gift Guide! With nine suggestions for eco-conscious giving, your Christmas tree won’t be the…

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