+- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com)
+-- Forum: Culture (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-49.html)
+--- Forum: Communities & Social Networking (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-57.html)
+--- Thread: New Zealand town has too many jobs & houses available + Build a community garden (/thread-2647.html)
New Zealand town has too many jobs & houses available + Build a community garden - C C - Jul 21, 2016
“We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people.”
http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/offbeat/new-zealand-town-too-many-jobs
A small town in New Zealand has a big problem: They have too many job openings, and not enough people to fill them. Kaitangata, near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, has launched a recruitment campaign to entice people to come to their town of 800 residents. There are more than 1,000 vacant jobs, according to mayor Bryan Cadogan, many in dairy processing plants and freezing works. “We have got youth unemployment down to two,” said Cadogan. “Not 2 percent — just two unemployed young people.”
Kai, as it is known to locals, is so eager to welcome visitors that the town is offering housing and land packages for sale for about NZ$230,000 (about US$160,000). The local bank, lawyers, and community services are on standby to help interested parties with relocation. “This is an old-fashioned community, we don’t lock our houses, we let kids run free,” Cadogan told The Guardian. “We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, we are waiting with open arms.”
Build a Community Garden
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Community-Garden/
EXCERPT: If you love gardening but you live in an apartment building in a city, don't despair! Just look around you and you just might be able to find a neglected piece of land you can claim for yourself or, even better, for your community. I was very lucky. After living in my apartment building for several years I looked out the window from the common laundry room in the basement and realized there was a strip of land, about 12 feet wide, which ran the length of the building (about 400 feet). It faced south, and the growing conditions were clearly excellent because the weeds were growing lustily, five or six feet high. Sometimes it can take a while to see what's right in front of you nose, but even if you don't discover a hidden acre of prime land on your property, chances are you DO have a roof. So use it....