After becoming a member of the Latvian Young Farmers` club and visiting a few RYEurope seminars, I realized that there is not many people in my country (and maybe in yours too) who would like to take care of rural areas as we do. Young people with a huge passion, with some great ideas and a skill to “think outside the box” and, what is even more important, – with an invaluable power in our hands and heads.
Every time when I start to doubt my plans and goals, I ask myself – “if not me, then who?” And after realizing that there is nobody else around me with the same faith in the countryside, I start to dig deeper and fight harder.
My family has a plant production farm of which I’m slowly taking part in as an agronomist, and usually I’m the one who says to my parents that there are plenty of young people around us and we need to give them an opportunity to work. Otherwise they will move to the city.
In my opinion, we (as rural entrepreneurs) are the ones who should take care of our “future neighborhood”. At the moment I’m trying to find employees for a shop, which I’m planning to open in our village in June, but im stuck! There is nobody! So now parents are teasing me like – “where are your youngsters with a will to work?” and I can`t really understand – am I really THAT blind? Is my faith in development of rural areas baseless? Is the future of rural areas in uninhabited houses and overgrown fields? Oh no. There should be something more.
I do believe that situations are similar in many European countries, so I challenge you to think and talk way more about your love of countryside! Show those city guys and girls why you love to be where you are! Tell them about those quiet, wonderful mornings and the night sky full of stars, about skinny dips with wildlife around you and those real working sweats at summers, which fatigues and invigorates you at the same time. People don`t know what we have. It`s important to talk about it and fight for it. If not us then who? If not now then when?
Every countrygirl and countryboy who reads this – just stay strong! We are the lucky ones.
Best wishes from Latvian countrygirl, Alma Spangere
