Photo Stories

Changing the picture of rural Missouri is the vision behind Rural Business Photo Stories, a project of community development organization New Growth with support from Missouri Humanities.

Every day, small businesses across rural Missouri put their creative energy into providing goods and services that their communities want and need. They are not waiting for outside companies to do it for them; they know they can employ themselves and each other to make their places great.

Yet these enterprising rural entrepreneurs and resourceful communities are largely invisible to those looking for the innovation and entrepreneurship that Missouri needs to thrive.

We hope the Rural Business Photo Stories series can be a start in the direction of making rural entrepreneurs and innovators more visible and inspiring to policymakers and others with resources, as well as to rural youth and rural communities themselves.