ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the extent to which side activity entrepreneurs can make rural communities more viable and contribute to their social revitalisation. It addresses these questions by examining a case in the Northern Netherlands. The chapter also explores ways in which social capital and community resilience are formed and maintained in the case of Kiel-Windeweer. It examines within the Veenkolonin the village of Kiel-Windeweer, situated at the borders of the province of Drenthe and Groningen. The chapter explains the role of the small enterprises in Kiel-Windeweer in rural resilience. The respondents were asked questions related to the role of side activities in the development of the village as well as questions related to the characterisation of Kiel-Windeweer and its social structure. The chapter argues that side activities contribute to building and maintaining social capital within a rural community and thus play a role in revitalising rural areas.
