Economic development

Over last fifty years, economic policies have been based on the promise that rural economy will grow in dependence on the growth of urban/industrial economy. The main thrust has been to invest primarily in industry - both heavy and light, but always big or urban structures, i.e. those sectors which are assumed to provide higher returns than investments in small, decentralised initiatives. At every step more energy was consumed, and more entropy was created concerned the traditional peasant family tilling land and breeding animals. 

The objective today is to produce goods and services for the local,  low cost market, private and decentralised and more responsive to social and natural constrains than industrialised and globalized industrial agriculture. Their primary problem is their need of certain  kinds of support tools for small and medium entrepreneurs having access  to credit and financing to be profitable, sustainable and competitive. The villagers would be able to get information about commodity prices, land records, or bylaws.

    Venture at villages 

There is approximately 148,000 population in the Vsetín district, settled in five towns and 55 villages with average population 2,000. Average density of  population  is 230 people for squared kilometre.  After World War 2 the industrialisation was not limited to towns but sprawled to countryside. Village Halenkov is known for furniture production, Valasska Bystrice for toy production, Zubrí for rubber goods, Jablùnka for weapons ans exposives, Hostalkova for light industry.

After 1950´s there were established more that 80 plants including wood industry (31%), metal working (25%), leather working and haberdashery (14%), polymerism and rubber (10%), building material (9%), wool , yarn, cotton (5%), software production (6%). There are many small and middle enterprises, craftsmen, services and facilities for tourism and winter sports. 

Most of the soil and property were given back to the owners, part was left to co-operatives or to forestry. It seems to be just a question of renewal and adaptation of the production potential and restoration of the balance between production and consumption. The light industry should ger more support in various ways (investments, co-operation with foreign partners to solve the main problems (small volume assets and non-solvency of the firms).

Vsetín district map including landslides.

Vsetín district map - zonning ecoding to regional map.

Vsetín district map including landslides(colored points) and zonning ecoding to regional map.

    Industrial development of the villages (see Table 1 for population)

The post-war revolution altered the appearance of many towns. Before the war such industrialisation only occurred in three or four towns but afterwards many factories were built or expanded in small villages. For example: Halenkov ([JP company), Karolinka (glassworks), Valašská Bystřice (toy manufacturer), Zubří (rubber factory), Jablůnka (pyrotechnical factory) and Hosťálková (knife-factory).