The Ties that Bind: An Inquiry in the Perseverance of Farming, Fiber Arts and Rural Ways of Life in the Face of Suburbanization

Abstract

While rural communities are on the decline, some small farmers are holding tight, and traditional skills are being sought after. How and where do these major trends in American society meet? And most importantly why are these realities here and now? The best way to measure the answers to these questions is to talk with those individuals still working small farms and participating in the fiber arts. That is the purpose of this study, to find out why these people are still holding on to rural life and tradition, even in an area that epitomizes the aforementioned "new suburbanization."