It's not something that we should be surprised by.

So this is a story of a place that I now call home.

Only 6.8 percent of all our philanthropic giving in the U.S. right now benefits rural communities, and yet 20 percent of our population lives there.

So there's only 27 people per square mile, which comes down to about 10 people per square kilometer.

Some of the things that emerge from it are local food projects,

It's a SaintJulien, Château Léoville Las Cases, '53.

Now, I'm sure a male reporter in Kabul can find women to interview.

It has one in three of its children living in poverty, and it's what is referred to as a rural ghetto.

We set up a foundation.

African farmers only use some 22 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared to 144 in Asia.

The quiet country road is a road to danger.

So while this is a very small story, we hope that it represents a step in the right direction for the future of rural communities and for the future of public education and hopefully also for the future of design.

In olden times, serfs ran away from their landlords and settled on the Don.

like many communities similar to it, is that there's no shared, collective investment in the future of rural communities.

The real question is, how can markets be developed in rural Africa to harness the power of innovation and entrepreneurship that we know exists?

Now, the next impact is on farm families, their neighbors, and rural communities.

We had fallen in love with the place and the people and the work that we're able to do in a rural place like Bertie County, that, as designers and builders, you can't do everywhere.

Once there was a poor farmer in the village.

There were once poor farmers in that village.

The third thing is again cities.

Some areas reporting an increase in wind activity...

Third, they are often creating markets.

We've seen lots of excitement from these people, who can now start a construction business, parts manufacturing, organic CSA or just selling power back to the grid.

It hardly ever rains in the area.

She did it for the good of the community.

So that's what this figure shows you.

But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes.

(Music) I used to sit with the ordinary village man because I am from a village, and suddenly you turn around and seem to be in contact with his inner being, you seem to be one with him.

And I should say that these are three things that we've done in Bertie County, but I feel pretty confident that they could work in a lot of other rural communities around the U.S. and maybe even beyond.

It is now many years that men have resorted to the forest for fuel and the materials of the arts the New Englander and the New Hollander, the Parisian and the Celt, the farmer and Robin Hood, Goody Blake and

(Laughter)

Now, this is a conversation that often calls up a lot of guilt.

So in many cases this is not so much about making change as it is creating the conditions under which change is possible and the incentive to want to make change, which is easier said than done in rural communities and in inside the box education systems in rural communities.

In every village there's an LRA officer or somebody senior in the LRA.

How much livestock do you need to produce this?

Very big red flag of fallout from these materials are pH changes to the forest floor.

And you can participate.

If you are a local guy, girl, a local group, a church, or a municpal leader, who sees the benefit of community power and you want to build community resilliancy.

I want to tell you a story first, before I begin.

Population growth meat consumption dairy consumption energy costs bioenergy production stress on natural resources.

And then I thought out of curiosity

Once there was a poor farmer in the village.

Region

My uncle has a farm in the village.

Is the work interesting?