"Malls, franchises, strip development, TV advertising, and cheap gasoline are making life difficult for small communities all across America," writes Elizabeth Hunter in Small Voices, Big Songs: A Story of American Renewal. "Empty storefronts, deteriorating buildings, and a spirit of malaise haunt many once-vital main streets."

Trends such as these have undercut the economic basis of small towns across the country. But in western North Carolina, HandMade in America—a local community development corporation—is working with residents and local community leaders to revive dormant downtowns. Originally concerned with promoting the region's 4,000 artists and artisans, HandMade expanded its mission in 1995 to include the development and administration of its Small Towns Revitalization Program, bringing lasting change throughout the region.

The program assists places like Andrews (with 1,770 residents), Robbinsville (794 residents), Chimney Rock (138 residents), and 8 similar small towns. Most of these towns are too small to hire planning staff or even to participate in the North Carolina Main Street program. HandMade's Small Towns Revitalization Program uses the state program as a model to provide these towns with technical expertise and proven techniques at no cost.

The training and strategy generation process allows for incremental growth depending on each community's situation. By working together, sharing resources, and creating an atmosphere of cooperation, not competition, between towns, HandMade is helping build communities from within, without relying on outside investors who may not be sensitive to the historical concerns of the local residents. HandMade also partners the communities in the Small Towns Revitalization Program with "sister" cities, usually larger towns that have undergone or are undergoing a successful Main Street transformation.

Beginnings. A 1994 study by HandMade documented an economic asset in the region's tradition of arts and crafts. It found that handmade objects contribute approximately $122 million a year to the economy of southwestern North Carolina. More than $70 million a year came from retail shops and galleries, $26 million came from full-time professional artists and artisans, and $23 million came from part-time, second-income producers. HandMade's executive director Becky Anderson characterized this economic activity as "the invisible factory," and wanted to provide more visibility. But promotion of crafts quickly expanded into promoting the area itself. "Promoting development in one area required buy-in from local communities, and they wanted to know what was in it for them," states Patricia Cabe, director of HandMade's community development corporation.

In 1996 HandMade published The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina, a guide that maps seven trails looping on and off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The guide lists local galleries, artist studios, retail shops, historic inns, bed and breakfasts, and area restaurants offering regional cuisine. "HandMade wanted to draw people into the places where the region's craftspeople work," states Cabe.

Many area communities began to see similar possibilities for development. Some of the towns, lacking craft producers, proposed to be listed as places to experience the hospitality and heritage of the western North Carolina mountains. First, however, they would need to revitalize their small downtowns. With funding and support from the Kathleen Price Bryan Family Fund and the Appalachian Regional Commission, Anderson organized the rural Small Towns Revitalization Program to assist in planning, training, and project grant assistance.

According to Cabe, there are seven factors that lead to a project's success:

• Local motivation and commitment.
• Realistic community assessment.
• A plan for renewal.
• Key partnerships.
• Early successes and credibility fostered by completed projects.
• Increased capacity including leadership, knowledge, skills, and mentorship.
• Continued learning through doing, teaching, and reflection.

The community first establishes a planning team that undertakes a realistic assessment of the community's assets. The assessment, along with recognition of the community's desires and cultural heritage, provides the foundation for renewal plans. "We make sure that we have a strong understanding of the interests and wishes of the larger community before moving on," comments Cabe. "We continually invite and engage new people in the process as we develop a common focus around which the community can become engaged."

Building on Strengths. The success of the program can be seen across the region. New residents, shopkeepers, hotels and bed and breakfasts, and restaurants now occupy once-dormant downtowns. Maintaining their character was an important goal of the partner cities, and building on their history has been a key to success.

In 1994 residents in the town of Andrews learned of plans to build a new highway interchange within a mile of the city. Concerned about the characterless growth that typically springs up around such interchanges, Andrews residents asked HandMade to help. Following the "cookbook" approach of the Small Towns Revitalization Program, Andrews developed a plan tailored to its specific vision, highlighting the restoration and renovation of the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center, which is located in a former church. The town began with the development of a master landscape plan and two community tree plantings, completing 13 redone facades and 27 renovated buildings by 1998. The town accomplished the work through 4,300 volunteer hours, attracting more than $5.5 million in private and public investment.

Chimney Rock residents adopted a master landscape plan and planted trees, which improved the entryway into the town. Volunteers have worked on expanding a riverwalk along the Rocky Broad River with new access from Main Street. A strong partnership has been formed with the privately owned Chimney Rock Park for improvements to the town park.

In Hayesville in tiny Clay County, the all-volunteer Clay County Communities Revitalization Association has created a series of summer and fall festivals to draw visitors and locals back into downtown. The association is also raising funds to restore the landmark courthouse in the middle of the town square.

For additional information, contact: Patricia Cabe, Director of Community Development, HandMade in America, P.O. Box 2089, Asheville, NC 28802 or (828) 252-0121; e-mail: patcabe@aol.com; Web site: www.wnccrafts.org.

Or see: Small Voices, Big Songs: A Story of American Renewal, Elizabeth Hunter and Kim Yeats McGill, HandMade in America, Inc.