Job creation programming at STARworks is entrepreneurial in nature and designed to serve the creative, agricultural, and alternative energy sectors of our regional economy.  The STARworks project advances the Central Park strategy by providing a focused means of growing and developing creative enterprises and individuals for placement in the downtowns of our small communities and to develop agricultural entrepreneurs to replace the farmers that are retiring.

Creative－A report released by the North Carolina Arts Council showed that nearly four percent of total employment in North Carolina includes creative workers who generate almost $4 billion in wages.  According to the study, “Clusters of Creativity: The Role of Arts in North Carolina’s Economy”, nearly 159,000 people are employed in creative industries across the state ―surpassing traditional employers, such as textiles and furniture manufacturers. The study also found that counties with higher proportions of workers in arts-related occupations are more likely to retain current residents and attract new ones.

Agriculture－Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects benefit communities by keeping food dollars in the local communities; connecting local farmers with local consumers; helping to develop a regional food supply and strong local economy; maintaining a sense of community; encouraging land stewardship; and honoring the knowledge and experience of growers and producers working with small to medium farms. Yet there are very few CSAs in our region and none within Montgomery County.  STARworks will soon be the site of an entrepreneurial community garden. The garden will benefit the local community by providing high quality, locally produced food, stress the cultural diversity of the community through connections to food, and help develop sustainable farming skills as well as new culinary skills using fresh, seasonal foods.  The community garden will eventually develop into a full-fledged CSA.  The project will also be a social enterprise benefiting the broader sustainable development of the Central Park NC organization.

Alternative Energy －According to the NC Biofuels Center, “almost 5.6 billion gallons of petroleum-based liquid fuels are consumed by North Carolinians each year.  Every gallon is produced elsewhere, yielding main economic return elsewhere.  Each gallon verifies further that citizens are dependent upon fuels produced in other places, not all of which are reliably attentive to State or national security.  No gallon contributes to the agricultural, forestry, or production economy of North Carolina.”  STARworks Center aims to capitalize on the knowledge that there are many new business opportunities within “local living economies” － local food systems, renewable energy, alternative transportation, and recycling and reuse.