Often “capital” refers to money, but there are so many other resources that are important to maintain and grow in a community. Recently, community members from across Central Appalachia and MACED staff learned about a more holistic way of seeing capital in communities: WealthWorks.
WealthWorks is a framework that identifies and measures other types of resources that are present in communities. These are called the eight capitals: intellectual, financial, natural, cultural, built, political, individual, and social. WealthWorks encourages people to recognizes all of forms of capital as equally valuable– a rich cultural heritage or a robust social connection is as important to keep strong as financial resources.
Changes in a community—a new business, a cleaner park, new educational courses, an election—can contribute to wealth. They change the amount, quality, and flow of wealth.
One example of a change that contributes to community wealth in Kentucky is becoming a state-designated Trail Town. The process to become a Trail Town takes many hours of a community working together, assessing their assets, planning and creating trails, and organizing test runs of trail related events.
This summer, Estill County held Weekend on the Water as a test run for Trail Town designation. Weekend on the Water was a 2-day event that consisted of an inner tube float down the Kentucky River on Saturday and a kayak paddle and race on Sunday. There were food vendors both days and a place for camping. This event increased individual capital by having organizers step out of their comfort zone and do tasks they have never done before. Examples of this were that individuals reached out to companies in the region for donations and got media attention for the event and other events in the community. Social capital increased with the event itself and the ongoing opportunities for people in the community to share experiences on the water trails. Natural capital improved by having more attention paid to the importance of a clean river and banks, as well as increased attention to the park where the event was held. Estill County turned in their event results and hopes to get designated as a Trail Town soon!
MACED works to find ways to help strengthen multiple forms of capital in eastern Kentucky communities. For example, our Enterprise Development team works to increase financial capital available in communities, while also supporting intellectual capital through coaching and consulting services. We also sponsor individuals to undertake other learning opportunities, like the WealthWorks course at the Brushy Fork Institute, specialty baking classes for new restaurant owners, and more.
