development news - Virginia State University

Coalfields
Folklife
Festival
In Buchanan, Wise and Dickenson
counties in far-Western Virginia, coal
mining remains a vital part of that
region’s culture and economy.
Because most of the farmers in the
area operate small farms with limited
resources, Virginia State University
Cooperative Extension lent a hand
to assist the area’s underserved, rural
communities celebrate the cultural
heritage and natural resources of Virginia’s
coal mining region through a
three-day Coalfields Folklife Festival.
Governor’s office, a post she’d held
since 2006. She continues to work
under her old boss, Governor Timothy
Kaine, who was named by President
Obama as Chairman of the
Democratic National Committee.
It has been a dream come true for
Benavides to be able to oversee the
community outreach efforts of the
Democratic Party. Benavides, who
served as the immediate past president
and founder of the League
of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC) Council of Richmond, says
people’s stories, wisdom and desire
to contribute to society serve as her
motivation.
“We still face many challenges and
have much work to do,” she says,
“yet I am filled with a sense of hope
that as we move forward, we will
continue to listen while acknowledging
our heritage and tradition
as a nation.”
Since the region was first settled,
mountains have served as a
geographical barrier between the
region and the outside world. In
isolation, a unique Appalachian
culture became established and
preserved. The Coalfields Folklife
Festival was organized to enlighten
people about the cultural
beauty of the region and to build
appreciation for the vital, natural
resources it harbors.
The Festival, which took place in
June in the Buchanan County town
of Grundy, not only celebrated the
rich coal-mining tradition of the
region, but also provided education
on the history of coal-mining
and the importance of the agriculture
and logging industry to the region.
The Festival was cosponsored
by the United States Department
of Agriculture.
Festival speakers discussed the
variety of produce grown in the
mountainous region, including
mushroom, American ginseng,
goldenseal and medicinal herbs.
Participants also learned about
the raising of pastured poultry and
meat goats, participated in bird
walks along local nature trails and
hiked through the forest. A variety
of local foods, stories, arts and crafts
were also on hand.
“The primary goal of Cooperative
Extension at Virginia State University
is to serve small, part-time and
limited resource farmers in Virginia,”
sayes Andy Hankins, VSU alternative
agriculture extension specialist. “All
of the farms in the coalfield counties
are small. There are many low
income landowners in this region
and there is a great deal of unem-
News from University Avenue
ployment in these rural, mountain
communities. It is important that VSU
is actively involved in the economic
development of these counties. We
see tremendous potential for development
of tourism in Wise, Dickenson
and Buchanan Counties.”
Brad Mullins, a small farmer, gave a
presentation at the Festival titled,
“Heirloom Vegetable Varieties
Grown in the Coalfield Counties of
Virginia.” Mullins, whose family has
been saving garden vegetable seeds
every year for several generations,
discussed the advantages of growing
different varieties of green beans
such as White Hastings, blue tip,
purple tip, nickel bean, turkey craw,
big greasies and little greasies.
“They taste great, have excellent
disease resistance and are perfect
for canning,” Hankins said. “None of
these open-pollinated varieties can
be purchased from garden centers
or from seed catalogs. Most of the
gardeners in Virginia grow hybrid varieties
that look fine but may not be
as flavorful as these heirlooms. This
is just one example of the unique
cultural heritage found in these
Southern mountains.”
VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
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