I think it’s the remoteness, the small villages, surviving independently, yet within a community and its own identity. Communities like the ones I’ve been reading about exist because of the challenging geography and the physical proximity of the tough, independent people who live there. They exist because of things like the harsh weather, or the location which makes it difficult to travel there. Not a lot of people want to live there. But to those who do, it’s worth the challenges.
Advancements in travel and modern conveniences have made it easier for the very remote places to become more easily reachable, habitable, and therefore more populated. An increase in population can be good as it provides more people to contribute to the community to produce basic necessities, and in many ways enhance the beauty or uniqueness of the region, especially a community in a remote area with built-in challenges. But at what point does the community’s growing demands cause them to become dependent on other communities for basic needs, which in turn might have a negative effect on their own community?
When money is spent outside a community, even to bring in goods, it doesn’t really benefit the community economically. The wealth of that community is going elsewhere. (I suppose you could argue that if money is spent on things like tools to produce a higher quality product or work more efficiently within the community, then it might be worth it).
Those who grow food, raise livestock, catch fish, or become plumbers, electricians, road workers, teachers, doctors, etc. contribute something invaluable to a community. But as the community grows, competing businesses will look for ways to stay in business. While I’m all for healthy competition, when quality is sacrificed by importing cheap goods or materials to try to have the best prices, and the people buy those cheap products, then the entire community becomes cheapened, while at the same time losing something important—their own ability to produce what will help them survive and thrive. The same thing happens when services become sloppy—people will look elsewhere for someone who does a good job; knowledge and skill degrade.
Right now, where I live in Michigan, if I want to eat grass-fed and finished local meat, it’s more inconvenient for me. I have to drive forty-five minutes to another city. But I can get grass-fed and finished meat from Texas by only driving two miles to a local chain grocery store. This is fine, until it’s not. Until something interferes with that meat being shipped hundreds of miles across the country. Yes, my local (chain) grocery store is profiting, along with the shipping companies, and gas companies, and the business in Texas, but the benefit would be greater locally if I purchased locally. The farmers closer to home would stay in business and would be there if the business across the country couldn’t be accessed. Is it wise to grow dependent on businesses across the country for basic needs? It seems convenient, but how inconvenient would it be if that supplier became unavailable? Food especially, is fresher, healthier, and cheaper if it’s supplied locally.
When we support our local businesses, it’s good for all of us. How many local businesses have companies like Amazon put out of business? Look at how many things you used to be able to find at a local store, which you no longer can. How much is this cheapening our local communities? How have our community identities been affected? How much has this left our kids without a sense of community identity? I think there’s a modern-day message in the biblical year of jubilee. We just might need a reset and return to our own land. I think we can learn from the Amish.
It’s not one-size-fits-all. It’s about supporting the gifts of the locals in our communities. Helping them to become they best they can be. That might mean learning from others in other communities, and then bringing back that knowledge and skill to their own. The same is true in families and churches. As we support and encourage one another to learn and grow into what God has gifted and called each of us to do, then it benefits all of us, and we function as one body in Christ.