Amy Stratton is the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Rural Communities Organizer. She works to find viable solutions to economic and environmental challenges rural communities face. "In the Field" is Amy's blog from her travels throughout the Midwest.
I forewarned you that I would have more to say about Willmar. The citizens of Willmar have spent a great deal of time and resources planning for their future, and then setting their plan to action. Willmar Area Multicultural Marketplace (WAMM) is one of those plans for success.
Kathy Schwantes, Assistant Director of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission, excitedly explained the WAMM project to me at her office downtown. A WAMM Committee formed in 2003 to develop this concept into a reality. The Mid-Minnesota Development Commission conducted a survey of residents for WAMM and found the following.
- 90% of respondents would frequent a multicultural marketplace
- 43.5% of respondents would like to open a business in Willmar
- 51.3% of respondents would like to start a business in a multicultural marketplace
Based on these survey results, the success of the Farmer's Market, which is entering its third year of operation in 2007, and support from the community the WAMM Committee moved forward with the project. Several volunteers, Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development, Willmar Design Center, West Central Integration Collaborative and other organizations are now working to secure a building and financing.
WAMM, when fully implemented, will include about 25 businesses housed in a downtown building that is owned and governed by a board of WAMM business owners. The project keeps dollars local, attracts customers and tourists, creates employment opportunities, diversifies the local economy, provides an outlet for locally produced ethnic products and connects the diverse populations in Willmar. Kathy even thought this could be a place for high school Spanish classes to come and visit on a field trip.
WAMM will be the first of its kind in a rural area. I can't wait to start shopping there!
More about the Willmar Area Multicultural Marketplace:
Market project enlists minority support
Multicultural market: Study finds if could be successful in Willmar
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