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Some towns in AK are desperately trying to attract families and businesses to avoid having their towns die. Enrollment falls below a certain number, they lose their schools, then the towns tend to dry up.
If someone can provide needed goods or services at competitive prices, they may be quite helpful. For instance, fresh produce at decent prices, can be a problem in many remote communities. Many towns have one store that price gouges or has a lack of selection. If someone can beat their prices and selection, they can be a success. Some areas could use more trapping, which in AK can be profitable if planned well (with marten especially).
Of course no one should assume their ideas are what will work. What works in one area may fail in another.
Also, there are a lot of things in wilderness areas that people want but cannot get. You mentioned goats. When goat milk and cheese is available, people tend to want it and seem to be willing to pay a premium for it. When it is not available, they don't move, they just do without.
and not a single remote resident of Alaska has thought------" gee, if I had a goat I could get goats' milk. I sure hope some outsider moves here and raises goats. "
and not a single remote resident of Alaska has thought------" gee, if I had a goat I could get goats' milk. I sure hope some outsider moves here and raises goats. "
That's the beauty of capitalism. I'm sure no one in San Fransisco was sitting around saying " . . . gee, I sure hope someone moves here and sets up a taco stand . . . " But, sure enough when someone does move in and set one up they have a business.
I'm all for it. Of course it wouldn't be me with the goats I can tell you that.
Some remote Alaskan residents work in jobs that don't allow them to have their own livestock or gardens because they need to be away from home frequently or for long durations. Some remote Alaskan residents cannot afford to purchase, house and feed their own livestock; or do not have the necessary skills/experience and have no practical way to get them. Many remote Alaskan residents are happy to have a newcomer show up and provide goods or services that are lacking in the area because they have had to do without for long periods of their residency or incur great expense and accept limited selection. Yes, they knew all this when they moved here, but they certainly aren't going to be averse to a little fresh produce or a skilled carpenter if it becomes available.
I have people who ask me everytime we see them whether I have my chickens/goats/gardens yet... they want my produce and I haven't even gotten my house built yet! Yes, most of those folks hunt/fish/trap and have small gardens of their own... but they still want the additional variety I may provide, without having to drive 4 hours into the nearest city to get everything frozen/canned/shelf-stable at premium pricing. And NO - I'm not farming for a living, not even thinking about it, anything I provide to my neighbors off my homestead is just surplus of what I'm already doing to keep myself alive... because you really can't grow only 2 zucchini or stop a chicken from laying more than you can eat.
We've also had a steady stream of "customers" who need computer and electronics help since we got here (actually before we even really got here)... we're the only folks within a hundred miles with that skill-set. I don't have some of the mechanical equipment I need, and my mechanic doesn't know how to fix his laptop... fair trade and no one is keeping score.
I live at the "end of the road", 156 miles from the nearest city that offers any stores. There is a small village (+/- 100 summer population) 30 miles from me that has a trading post with a small selection of staples, which they either fly or drive in, which they sell at nearly 150% mark up. There is another small village about 30 miles in the other direction, it's native so outsiders aren't usually welcome and they don't usually trade with us... I personally know the farmer who supplies most of their produce.
I do not live in the bush by Alaska standards because I do have access to a road no matter how crappy and impassable it may be. But I guarantee that by Lower-48 standards I live in the middle of freaking nowhere.
No one NEEDS my produce, they just want it because they are tired of having to spend a whole of money in gas and a whole day of travel just go into the city for things that they can't grow themselves in their own gardens for whatever reason. The smae could be argued for any farmer anywhere. No one needs their produce, they could always grow their own (but they don't).
Not everyone in every village has equal skills. Some folks built their own cabins, while others relied on the locals (or outside contractors) to help out; and some of those self-sufficient folks who set up homesteadds 20+ years ago are now too old to do everything for themselves... including managing a large garden, greenhouse, and livestock in the arctic.
So, most folks don't NEED my farmstead or any of my other skills, but they sure appreciate it.
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