Relishing the Rural

Photo by Lee Langstaff

A few weeks ago, my fiance and I spent a Saturday out in a rural area of the county we live near visiting farms.  This area is known as the agricultural reserve for Montgomery County in Maryland.  What's awesome about this area is that it is fairly close to the city and suburbs of DC, but the farms located in this reserve have thrived amidst city sprawl.  I'm a friend of the agricultural reserve because I treasure this open space and successful farming and I'm proud that this area has remained in tact as the precious farm land it is.  On the website that celebrates this reserve, it states,

The Agricultural Reserve has been called "the country's most successful farmland preservation program."

During the Saturday we spent in the agricultural reserve, we visited an animal sanctuary that rescued farm animals that were neglected, abandoned, or unwanted.  You could pet many of them, which is always fun for city folk!  We also visited a farm that had the yummiest blackberries available for picking!  It was a wonderful day and helped me reconnect with the earth and God's creation.  It's also always a good reminder that food doesn't grow in the grocery store! :o)  I'm a huge supporter of buying local produce as much as possible, so I dutifully purchase as much of my food as I can at a local farmers market every Sunday, but it was nice to spend a day visiting the farms that grow the food I eat.

On a different note, but on the rural theme, the Washington Post had an interesting article today on rural poverty in China.  In the last few decades, China has made significant progress against hunger and poverty, but this article is pointing out that while progress has been made, rural areas of China are still experiencing significant amounts of poverty.  This article also illuminates again why women's empowerment is such an important component to development.  The end of the article was a little disturbing for me, but I thought overall it provided an interesting perspective on poverty in China and poverty in rural areas.