C'ville Entremom

Locallectual: a person who is knowledgeable in all things local and uses this knowledge to have the drive to shop local, eat local, buy local

Localvore: a person who eats only locally-grown and produced food

Localtarian: a variation of localvore; one who cares about the environmental impact of his or her food choices, someone who finds the majority of what they eat from within a certain radius

Tired of supporting the big box stores?  Tired of eating foods that have been shipped across the ocean before they get to you?  Lucky for us, we have Locallectual (www.locallectual.com).  When you first log onto Locallectual, you see their all encompassing mission statement:

“Are you looking to shop locally? To buy local products and to eat local foods? Has it been a challenge to find domestically and locally made goods? Welcome to Locallectual: Your tool to assist you in your “buy local” mission. Live a local lifestyle by supporting local producers. It is no longer a challenge to buy local when you use the Locallectual database to find products made closer to home. Shop at local stores, buy local goods, eat local food. All of this just became a little bit easier thanks to Locallectual, so buy local today!”

This statement more than sums up the goal of the site…. BUY LOCAL.

Locallectual is a web-based consumer resource that allows people to search for goods according to where they are made.  This includes local, regional and domestically produced consumer goods and locally grown foods.  On the site, you can find a directory, by city, of all categories of consumer goods as well as locally-owned and operated retailers carrying these local and domestic goods.  Locallectual also features independent restaurants that utilize local foods.

Locallectual is free to both the user and the qualifying companies that are listed.  As a local company, Locallectual makes it very easy for you to list your business on their website.  It is a great resource for publisizing your business to those who want to buy local.  (I found a couple of great businesses that I wasn’t aware of and have since been to check out!)  As a registered user, you have access to a database of local shops as well as access to coupons and discounts from select local retailers.  One of the most beneficial services that Locallectual provides is an affordable web page service for those companies providing local goods that may not yet have a web presence.  It also offers reasonably priced ad space for producers and retailers looking to advertise to those interested in a locally-supported lifestyle, both on the website and its iPhone application (iLocavore).

Karen Beauford co-founded Locallectual with Jessica Meehan in April 2008 when they found that a master local resource was noticeably absent.  They set out to create a master directory of everything according to point of origin.  It was something that they both would use and needed.  They also thought that others may find such a directory helpful given the growing interest in where things are made and grown.

Karen, trained in healthcare, became interested in holistic living after a stint as chapter leader for the Holistic Moms Network.  Karen believes that a major reason for caring about where things are made is because sourcing items made closer to home can lower one’s carbon footprint.  Karen has always had an interest in human rights and supporting regional and local economies, two other big reasons for knowing where and how things are made.

So how does Karen juggle raising a family and providing us with local intellect??  She finds it easier now that her kids, Nadja (7) , Marcus (4) and step-daughter Breana (22), are in school… This actually makes Locallectual possible.  She tries to get as much done as she can during the day when they are gone, but then also finds herself working after they are in bed for the night.  She also has the help of Jessica, Locallectual’s only full-time employee.

If you would like to learn more about Locallectual and living a local lifestyle, visit www.locallectual.com.  Locallectual can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and IPhone.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am and is filed under Local Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.