No Bananas for 80 Years

Imagine not eating bananas for 80 years!

The story starts out at a Growing Rural Tourism Conference in Camrose. A dynamic, vibrant, and very energetic key note speaker threw bananas at the delegates. She was using bananas to link to change and working with your best customer: your staff. The speaker shared a story about an elderly man at one of her speaking engagements who had a story about bananas. At seven he peeled an banana and found a worm. Ever since then, this almost 90 year old man has never eaten a banana. He would peel them for his children and grandchildren, but at arm's length.

The speaker bridged the story to change and how some people find change so difficult. Change is one of those processes where some embrace it and others hide from it. Change is inevitable and change happens constantly. Why is it so hard then?

I believe it has to do with attitude. Checking our perception about change is a start. Change for the sake of change is not appropriate. However, helping people understand why the shift has to happen while honoring the past is important.

Rural communities are going through tremendous change. To name a few evident examples of change in rural areas: population shifts; demographics; resource fluctuation; lack of employment or lack of employees; limited internet access; rural culture changes; and lack of diverse volunteers.

But what do these changes mean in terms of community development? It means rural communities need to check-in about attitudes towards change. When communities apply a community development process where stakeholders are involved from the start, postive change can happen. Many communities are already embracing change while keeping the rural roots identity. Innovation is throughout rural Alberta and thinking outside the box is helping communities adjust to the pressures of change.

When you eat your next banana think about the next 80 years- what do you want your community to look like for the next generations?