After Coal: Welsh and Appalachian Mining Communities is a documentary in progress. This article, published in the Daily Yonder, offers context to the project. Enjoy! by Tom Hansell and Patricia Beaver “Communities always change, industries come and go.  It was foolish of us to think at the end of the 1985 miners strike that it was the end of the world – it was an opportunity for a new beginning” – Hywel Francis, Member of Parliament representing former Welsh mining valleys. What happens when fossil fuels run out?  How do rural communities reinvent themselves as natural resources are depleted? In the Appalachian mountains, where coal mining is projected to decline dramatically this decade some people are looking to Wales for answers.  The challenges to Wales and Appalachia in recent decades are tragically similar. The Welsh coalfields were mostly shut down in the 1980’s, with a loss of more than 85,000 […]