Sometimes a step back in time can be a step into the future. At the Michigan Folk School in Superior Township, back-to-basics living isn't just seen as nostalgia for arts and crafts, but rather a community-based counterbalance to the alienating advances of technology.

Nonprofits are on a mission to become more enterprise-focused: entering business plan competitions, even seeking start-up cash. Repeat blogger Amanda Edmonds, executive director of Growing Hope, reflects on her nonprofit's social enterprise role and on the value of diversified funding sources.

In 2003, Ann Arbor residents voted to support the Greenbelt, creating a patchwork of protected area parks and farmland. It was a pretty progressive policy for Michigan, but is it delivering what was expected? From securing local food sources to curbing sprawl, Concentrate reviews the program's goals, impacts, and consequences.

Food, glorious, food... as long as it's local. Jeff McCabe is all about the stuff you put in your belly - where it comes from, how it's grown, and what you know about it. It's why he started the Selma breakfast salon and why he's involved with the Local Foods Summit and the Homegrown Festival. If you can't guess what Jeff will be blogging about you haven't read a thing we've just written.