It's been some time between posts...I guess a reflection of the amount of activity that has been going on. We now are working in 4 communities; Goomalling, Toodyay, Lake Grace and Northampton. We're actively seeking funding for the projects, apart from Goomalling, where we have been operating for some months now.

We've managed to build a new website. Check it out here: www.livingcommunities.com.au

We've also managed to get the support of Rural Press, Radio West and Fairfax Media to help us attract sponsors to fund the projects. I'm posting the radio interviews on our site here if you're interested in listening: http://www.livingcommunities.com.au/guiding-principles/news-and-issues/

Scroll right to the bottom and you'll see the links. There will be 26 radio interviews in all and some 12 major features in about 10 regional newspapers. I'll post links to them all on the website so if you don't live in the regions we are operating in you can read and listen and keep up to date.

We've also managed to recruit three new board members. Steven Stanbrook, Tony Ciallella and Alison Dalziel. You can check out their bio's here; http://www.livingcommunities.com.au/home/our-team/

And most importantly the project in Goomalling is rocking along nicely. The community has launched its very own community cinema. It's still in its infancy but its already proving that doing things locally keeps more money in town and improves everyone's business. After the launch a few weeks back, 60 odd kids and their parents descended on one of the eateries in town, who reported a much busier Saturday afternoon than usual.

We're also developing the business plan for what will be a fantastic Community Garden and Community Supported Agriculture project. I'll write a special post about this in the coming weeks.

Also, we've finished our economic audit of the community and although the data crunching is not complete, we've discovered that the small town loses over half a million dollars each year from lost fruit and vegetable sales. There's a business opportunity the garden can tap into!

So, with Christmas around the corner and perhaps a little more downtime, I might get to post a bit more often and share some stories and learnings from our pilot projects...talk soon!