Local Investing Explored at Author Events

A lively and interactive discussion of what’s possible in local investing will be the focus of the upcoming event with Carol Peppe Hewitt, author of Financing Our Foodshed: Growing Local Food with Slow Money, and Lyle Estill, author and local-investing entrepreneur.

Financing Our Foodshed describes person-to-person lending examples that have made it possible for food and farm businesses to start, succeed and grow. Whether funding a precision seeder, a walk-incooler, a new well, or the purchase of chicks and ducklings, each loan from one person to another enriched the local economy. Hewitt’s book focuses on food-related efforts, but the lessons in local investing are relevant across all areas of business.

As a local investor, Lyle Estill spearheaded the start-up of a distillery that uses sorghum molasses to make spirits and turns local wine into port. He was also involved in the local re-financing of a co-op grocery and the purchase of a 75-acre farm for a community arts center. 

“We invited Carol and Lyle to speak because they have worked together on a number of projects in their home state of North Carolina, in rural communities that are a lot like ours,” says Lisa Dawson, executive director of Northeast Oregon Economic Development District (NEOEDD).

The events are part of a series of programs that explore local investing and give citizens the knowledge and examples of how diverting money from the stock market and investing it in local businesses can create substantial economic and community benefits. Hewitt and Estill are the first presenters to be hosted by Local Impact  Investing Opportunity Network, or LIION, groups in Baker, Union and Wallowa
counties. LIIONs are not investment funds or clubs, but a program of education and networking with the goal of enabling individuals and businesses to enter into investment arrangements of their choice.