Social Impact at Amish Country

Attention to the social impact of a business affects how founders design it and customers engage with it. Whether or not it was intended, a business will have social impact. I was intrigued by the range of models and possible social impacts of businesses during a visit to Amish country in Berlin of Holmes County, Ohio. The experience emphasized the need for deliberatively seeking positive impact through social ventures. But does social impact lay in a spectrum or a clear cut dipole of opposing positive and negative ends?

Aiming to visit home of the world’s largest Amish settlement, my wife and I educated ourselves about Amish traditions as we prepared to travel. We try to avoid setting expectations of a destination so we can take in the place as it is. As we approached Sugarcreek and Walnut Creek on OH-39 West, we noticed a pleasant local embrace of Amish tradition as an attraction for tourism. When we passed through, however, we were startled by a sign for Burger King. We wondered if all we saw was a growth of tourism businesses riding the community’s fame as “Amish country” at the expense of the Amish themselves. We speculated as we visited various businesses during our couple days there.

I had already come to expect businesses to attach themselves to popular tourism themes having studied my undergraduate years at New Orleans. There, tourists find the words they expect peppered on store fronts, like “Creole”, “Cajun”, “Voodoo” and “Mardi Gras”. At Holmes County, there is a tradition of Swiss and Austrian descent not limited to the Amish. So when Guggisberg Cheese, founded by a Swiss immigrant, invents a product and brands it “Amish Cheese”, that is expected. Obviously, not only Amish live in Holmes County. However, promoting it as “Amish Country” and naming stores and products as related to Amish could lead to a positive social impact. For example, it could interest tourists to engage with Amish way of life and reinforce our embrace of diversity. If we think about it, just about every business could have a social impact, though as a byproduct. “Amish Cheese” could be an award-winning product innovation, but not a social innovation. It is absolutely delicious, but does not accrue value primarily to society as a whole. Guggisberg Cheese is not a social venture. To me, this is “ambivalent social impact.”

Some businesses seemed to enable tourists’ appreciation for the Amish experience they were seeking. For example, Amish Country Lodging allows immersion into a relaxed countryside experience, close to Amish living places but not interfering with them. The website makes it easy for visitors to explore the Amish experience. The new Berlin Woods Tree Houses add a kick of modern amenities, but if the social impact was more intended, the wood and furniture works could have been made by Amish.  To me, this is a “sympathetic social impact.”  

Some business promoted tourists’ interaction with Amish individuals or products. For example, one can find Amish furniture at Sol’s in Berlin and similar stores. The Dutchman Hospitality group runs several restaurants of high standard where one can “savor the bounty of genuine Amish kitchen cooking among the faithful farm community of our homesteads.” Many who work at the restaurants are Amish and the premium-designed food products/gifts made by Amish.  To me, this is “supportive social impact.”

Then there are those businesses with an apparent social element that just overtakes your perception of it. At one point, we were driving aimlessly in the Amish byways. We found a sign on the road about egg sales. We bought 2 packs from an Amish home. Then we stumbled upon Hershberger’s Farm and Bakery. Beyond the unforgettable taste of fry pies, this is a place where local Amish actually went to shop for local products and bakeries. Likewise the Walnut Creek Cheese retail store and food products. Its vision is “We are in the food industry to make life better for each other and those less fortunate.” The mission includes not only team members, customers and consumers, but also “Those Less Fortunate- we offer our time, money and other resources to help those in need.” These are, indeed, “social ventures” where the impact is accrued to the society as a whole.

Yet, there were many disturbing business models, whether a negative social impact was not anticipated or, indeed, intended. There were many complexes, branded as Amish, which offer shopping for furniture, quilts and food. We entered to a candle maker’s store and were fascinated by an Amish-inspired designed candle. As I waited for it to cool to take it home, I inquired to the candle maker about whether the complexes took away Amish land, raised an Amish brand, and negatively affected the Amish. He said that the first generation who sold property on the main road got rich, and the next generation lost track of the right values. He had advised the property owner not to put up huge fancy lit signs because it would alienate tourists coming to explore Amish country. But he gave them credit, there is only that one Burger King whereas big chains have been generally kept away. Moreover, multistory hotels are being built on more of what was Amish land, disturbing the features of the area in close proximity to places like Walnut Creek Cheese and the Dutchman Restaurants. To me, such hotels represent “regressive social impact.”

We took a ride in an Amish buggy with an elderly man. As tourism in Amish Country took over Amish farms and sources of livelihood, he told us that many men found work in making furniture for other companies. But he was brutally injured by an accident with a car which left him unable to work. That is how this business innovation came to his mind: to generate revenue from his only resource (the buggy) by taking tourists on rides in Amish byways. He was the first to do this and the community agreed because of his condition. As more cars took to the rode, his daughter was also injured in an accident. He believes she was cheated by insurance companies. The recurrence of accidents with cars is probably why buggies install battery-powered headlights and rear lights even though they do not otherwise use electricity. He lamented how the Amish were bearing the brunt of Amish Country tourism.

While designing various businesses, products and services at Amish Country, the notion of social impact was probably present in various degrees. Regardless, the businesses yield social impact in a spectrum of positive and negative.  It is incumbent to the social entrepreneur to begin with an end in mind to affect positive social impact that accrues to society as a whole. At Amish Country in Holmes County of Ohio, current businesses can improve their social impact. Furthermore, social entrepreneurs have a wide range of opportunities to design social ventures focused on specific challenges. Interestingly, the buggy required change of battery almost 3 times a month. But when switched to LED lights, a single battery survived 3 months. I don’t know if it was a social venture that refitted Amish buggies with LEDs, but that should light an LED in our social venture thinking! 

What social venture do you believe would be suitable to introduce at Amish Country?