The Well-Fed Neighbor Alliance has launched a new web site for the County Restoration Handbook, promoted by the Well-Fed Neighbor Alliance and hosted by the Statesmen for Our Constitutional Republic. This is an effort with many collaborators, compiling information written and assembled by dozens of organizations, but we are proud to be a part of it.

There is already much excellent information available on the food localization movement, the Made-In-The-USA efforts to jump start local economies, efforts at grassroots emergency response, citizen self-reliance, good stewardship of the land and resources, homesteading, and so forth, but for anyone starting out learning about these issues, it is a confusing jumble. What do I need to know to get started? How do I get involved in my community? What works? What doesn't? What policy and legal issues exist? The problem is organization.

The County Restoration Handbook is an attempt to create a central resource which actually organizes this information, identifies best practices, links to further, existing, resources, and provides a customizable blueprint for getting your community and your county on the road to healthier, stronger economy, more sensible emergency response, and effective disaster preparation. Our initial handbook will focus on Lawrence County, Missouri, and we fully intend to offer a resource customizable to the needs of every county in the United States. The Handbook will be designed in a collaborative online environment, but the final intent is to have three-ring binders with critical information in every community.

A portion of this effort is work on customizing the Neighborhood Watch program and manual for managing Rural Watch Areas. The needs of farm communities for crime protection and citizens watch activities are simply different than urban, block-oriented communities. As a result of early experiments with the SCR-CERT program, we believe a new approach is needed. A portion of the County Restoration Handbook will therefore be instructions, materials, and best practices for rural Neighborhood Watches. Forums for discussing and documenting these efforts in Lawrence County will be hosted on the same web site.

If you are interested in contributing to this project, please sign up at countyrestorationhandbook.thestatesmen.org.