These days, America’s breadbasket is the Midwest. But in the mid-1800s, American grain production flourished in a different and perhaps unexpected place.
“Maine used to be considered the breadbasket of New England … a lot of wheat and barley was grown here,” says Harvard College alum Betsy Biemann, A.B. ’86, a seasoned nonprofit leader and a resident of the state for the past 17 years. But as railroads and waterways enabled the export of cheaper crops from the Midwest, milling moved westward and Maine’s grain production dwindled, leading to the shuttering of mills and the loss of a local trade.
Grain production is among a number of Maine industries that have seen a decline over the past century, a reality that Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) — the social enterprise nonprofit Biemann leads — is looking to change by investing in local businesses, one by one. Since its founding in 1977, CEI has focused on building resilience in rural communities by revitalizing their local economies. Biemann describes CEI’s mission as geared toward growing “good jobs, green businesses, and more broadly, shared prosperity across Maine, but also across rural New England and rural America … Small businesses transform rural economies and communities.”
A child and grandchild of immigrants, Biemann saw firsthand how her family’s hard work — coming to the United States and making a home and life here — had paid off. And yet, on a post-college Rotary fellowship teaching in Kenya, she witnessed the hard-working community around her struggling to secure that same basic quality of life. It became clear to her that many of their struggles were rooted in place, race and economic circumstance, something she found distressing — and motivating. “I felt that everyone should have that opportunity to work hard and to earn a decent living and raise [a] family in a place that’s safe.”
Biemann brings that core belief to CEI. Under her leadership, CEI’s work today includes business coaching for local entrepreneurs, as well as small business financing (ranging from much-needed “microloans” as small as $10,000 to loans of over $1 million for catalytic projects that are a springboard for good jobs and more vibrant communities).
