Cenla Org

Louisiana Central

Cenla Org

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Regional Prosperity

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Regional Economic Development

Regional Economic Development, for our purposes, refers to the way the economy tends to organize itself, what Michael Porter has described as areas that have a “distinct composition, business environment, and relationship to neighboring regions.” North Carolina researcher and economist Trent Williams says, “We begin the process of defining a region by identifying an economic activity hub and then we assume that anyone within an hour’s drive is in the market area.” States have sometimes imposed a top-down approach to the designation of regions and other times have allowed regions to be formed organically. Louisiana’s approach is a hybrid of those two approaches.

We define the Louisiana Central region to be the ten parishes that we serve, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Sabine River. Our functional approach echoes work done by Southern Growth Policies Board in 2005, calling for regional alliances that are “Multi-disciplined, collaborative, flexible, and inter-jurisdictional.”

All of the initiatives that are described on this website are intended to be carried out through that approach and meet those criteria. And all exist to help us achieve our central, intention-driven, benchmark: median family income that is rising faster within the region than is true for the nation as a whole.
Alexandria Farmers Market

We need nutritious food and friendly faces. Alexandria Farmers Market exists to help connect people with the hands that grow and raise our food. Connecting to our local food goes hand in hand with connecting to our community. We recognize the Alexandria Farmers Market as a gathering place. We are a gathering of local Farmers, Ranchers, and Artisans excited about our products. A gathering of neighbors and families from all around Alexandria making up the market-goer community. We offer programs like Kids Club, SNAP Match, and Senior and WIC FMNP bonuses to give everyone a reason to come. We love fresh, healthy, and local food and sharing our love for it with those around us. Our love of okra, mustard greens, pecans, purple hull peas, and cushaw squash is strong because it is an Alexandria tradition. In Alexandria, we share a culture of a place, food, and community that is our own.

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Food Policy Council

The Food Policy Council engages the community in driving long-term changes to create a healthier community and economy through vibrant local food systems.

Knowledge

Louisiana Central operates on a premise that driving up the levels of educational achievement in the region is both necessary and doable. We believe that collaboration among educational institutions and our civic and business partners is the best way to pursue both our individual and collective goals.
Makers

This is where “good stuff” is made: Tide^TM pods and tank cars, two-by-fours and OSB sheets, electric substations and fishing lures, letterpress stationery, and automated pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems. The region’s most recent Inc. Magazine 1000 company is a maker who designs, fabricates, and markets metal home goods across the globe. The coders of one of the region’s boutique software firms make the world’s most downloaded ticketing app. Here, residents work with their hands, hearts, intelligence, and creativity. The region’s identity as makers is the thread that weaves through and binds the community.
Leadership

Local leadership is the foundation for a resilient region. Louisiana Central’s leadership programs engage regional residents around some of our core initiatives, including Food Systems, Outdoor Recreation, and Entrepreneurship. With programs offered annually with workshops that help individuals become empowered to engage within their community on issues of importance to them.

Current Programs:

Louisiana Food Fellows – introduces food systems from a grassroots perspective. Offers workshops in community food systems, policy, outreach, and community organizing. With more than 50 graduates across the state, our longest-running leadership programs ensure that participants become more confident local food leaders in their community and gain a better understanding of their role in the food system.

Entrepreneurship – Entry-level entrepreneurs learn all about the mindset of success in the skill-building leadership program designed specifically to take participants from side hustle to growth-oriented business. Learning the ins and outs of how to think and act like an entrepreneur with a program that emphasizes accountability and action!

Outdoor Recreation Fellows – introduces outdoor recreation from a grassroots community growth perspective. Offers workshops that introduce outdoor recreation possibilities, community organizing, asset mapping, outreach, outdoor recreation entrepreneurship, and community projects. With the inaugural cohort formed in 2021, this program will lay the groundwork for grassroots development of an outdoor recreation economy in central Louisiana; home to the state’s only National Forest, only federally designated wilderness area, multiple national wildlife refuges, the state’s longest hiking trail, and only designated wild and scenic river.
Civic Engagement

Robert Putnam brought a sharp focus to discussions about social capital and civic engagement in his book Bowling Alone. He described how changes in technology and communication had eroded social capital in America. For our purposes here, we think of “social capital” as the quantity and quality of human interactions within the region. And we think of “civic engagement” as the quantity and quality of interactions among humans and institutions within a region. The past few years have seen new and harsher challenges to social capital and civic engagement as a result of the increasingly toxic nature of politics and media, both of which thrive on divisions.

By focusing on rebuilding trust and rebuilding civic engagement, Louisiana Central can become a leader, a case study, a model for other rural regions in repairing the damage created by political and media polarization.

Louisiana Central commits to use practices and research developed at the Kettering Foundation and Southern Growth Policies Board to convene conversations at the parish level throughout the region. These conversations and the concerns, needs, and aspirations of our people will ground and enlighten our economic development work in the region.
Rural Prosperity Tour

The ten central Louisiana parishes offer distinct and abundant opportunities to enjoy rural living and southern hospitality. Every year we at LAC endeavor to highlight a parish in our region with a bus tour that draws guests from across the state. We highlight farms, restaurants, local businesses, outdoor recreation, industry, health care, and much more. Giving our stakeholders the opportunity to take painting classes from local artists, paddleboarding lessons from local athletes, tour hidden gems like the Cottonport History Museum, and much more. We always share a meal and leave plenty of time to talk with locals wherever the bus takes us. The Rural Prosperity Tour shines a light on the wonderful culture and opportunity that are right around the bend across the entire region.