Two Boone locals discussed their new grassroots advocacy group focused on connecting community members and speaking out for Appalachia in a meeting Saturday.
The organization, Appalachian Reclamation Alliance, held its introductory meeting at Crop & Trade Co-Op at 5 p.m.
The creators, Caleb Hignite and Ashlynd Scavotto, are two App State graduates who found each other while doing supply runs for Watauga and Mitchell counties following Hurricane Helene.
“It’s a community based organization focused on uniting the local community, trying to bring together the artist, the musicians, the people who are interested and passionate about this region and want to see this region flourish,” Hignite said.
The meeting consisted of around 15 people with a mix of App State students, Boone locals and people living in the surrounding High Country. They discussed the ongoing problems facing the High Country and potential solutions.
“I come from a more cultural background, focusing on the music of this region and by doing this project, we want to find other folks who have more of that environmental and political understanding of this region,” Hignite said. “We want to create a big alliance of everyone so we can address as many issues as we can.”
One of the issues addressed at the meeting was Hurricane Helene and the counties still facing challenges from its wake 10 months later. The group discussed the FEMA funding cuts for relief programs and anxiety toward the upcoming hurricane season.
Diane Price, owner of Mollie’s Branch Farm and one of the founders of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, spoke on the impact of the non-profits that came to Boone’s aid during Helene and shared her fears for future storm surges.
“Organizations that came in to help either no longer exist or had their money cut off so if we get hit again we’re unsure if we’re getting help,” Price said.
ARA was officially created on July 19, while the idea for the organization started soon after Helene. Their goal is to provide a space for people — App State students, Boone locals and other advocacy groups alike to come together and discuss change at a local level. According to their Instagram page, they wish to create “a community organized group, cultivating a meeting ground for like-minded individuals.”
(Ashton Ahart)
Their current meeting location, Crop & Trade Co-Op, is an indoor farmers market that is a “One-stop-shop offering everything and anything grown, created, or crafted locally,” according to their Instagram page.
As one of the co-founders of the Co-Op, Scavotto said the market was the ideal meeting spot since both it and the ARA stand for community and local culture. As a studio art major and local artist, she found her passion for Boone through her artistic career after graduating from App State.
“I have gotten to learn about this area’s history and I wanted that as a student but I didn’t know where to get it,” Scavotto said.
The ARA is also focused on educating and speaking out about Appalachian culture. Hignite hopes to use ARA to link incoming students to the history and cultural side of Watauga.
“Students come here for four years, get their degree, and completely miss the culture around them,” Hignite said. “This is a prime time to acknowledge our cultural roots.”
While ARA is currently focused on the Boone area, Hignite and Scavotto hope to expand its reach to other counties, working with local town councils and other advocacy groups to further connect the High Country, Hignite said.
“Especially in response to Hurricane Helene, we’re at a turning point, not just a new chapter but a new era in this region’s story,” Hignite said.
