Let’s say it’s Friday evening and you get a knock on your door. Your ReadyMart Order has arrived! You open it up and look inside. Fresh mushrooms, bay leaf, onions, flour and lastly one ox kidney right from your local butcher store, all right in time for that perfect kidney and pie steak you plan to cook on the weekend.

In an increasingly globalized and integrated world, we often forget to appreciate the importance of having a strong community.

Communities play a crucial role in our lives. A sense of strong community is essentially the very fabric of human civilization. We derive this sense from our families, friends, colleagues, neighbors and many in so many other places. From artists to food, to sports clubs we humans have been programmed to unite with people with a common goal. Being part of a community allows us to contribute so much more than we could as individuals and instills a feeling of purpose which is much greater than self desires.

A strong community is really a cradle of opportunity. Big or small, a community can provide countless opportunities for growth and experience. With a community of people looking out for your best interests and working together for a common goal, there is no shortage of opportunities to strive for something that you want. Whether that is looking for your first job or starting your own business, a strong community can give the support you need to succeed.
When you support a local business, such as Al-Amir that buys from other local businesses, what is the effect of each pound spent? In the above example, the Al-Amir store provided the ox kidney, which was purchased from another local farmer. That money then went towards expenses like inventory, feed, rent, transportation, all these services being provided by local businesses as well. Apart from inventory and maintenance, it also went towards employees who in turn went on to spend money within the community.
It may seem insignificant at first, that a mere 20 pounds spent with a local business could have any effect at first. However, when you account for the multiplier effect that such capital has on a local economy, the ‘new’ revenue created as a result of that initial spending can start to add up quick.
The multiplier effect of this original money spent creates vast ripples throughout the local economy, especially when that money is used to support goods and services that originate within the community.
Now when you decide to take your money to one of the big four supermarkets in the area. The majority of your money goes into supporting the big farmers far away in the countryside and once that money leaves the community it rarely ever comes back. It leads to excessive capitalism and favors’ a hand full of wealthy individuals and has absolutely no effect on the betterment of the local economy.
Unless we wish to live in a world dominated by massive distribution centers and big chain retailers, we need to make an effort to support the producers in our local community. This will not only lead to better resilience in times of economic recession but will also oftentimes provide the consumer with a higher quality product at a minimal price difference.