Ruby Country is the name given to the rural inland hinterland of north-west

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, UK. It covers 45

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es around the

market towns A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Cor ...

and

Hatherleigh Hatherleigh is a small market town in west Devon, England. It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for ...

. These two towns were at the centre of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, and although

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

was directly affected, most local businesses suffered considerable financial hardship. As a result, the Ruby Country Initiative was established, a

not for profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

, to help create a more robust and sustainable local economy, and to create an identity for the area. The project is supported by a number of organisations:

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

, Devon Renaissance,

Devon Wildlife Trust The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity, established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust, and its aim is to safeguard the future of the county's ...

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

, Hatherleigh Area Project, Holsworthy Market and Coastal Town Initiative,

North Devon's Biosphere Reserve North Devon's Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO biosphere reserve in North Devon. It covers and is centred on Braunton Burrows, the largest sand dune system (psammosere) in England. The boundaries of the reserve follow the edges of the conjoined c ...

Torridge District Council Torridge may refer to: * Torridge District, a local government district in the county of Devon, England * River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon f ...

and

West Devon Borough Council West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

References

Manning, S. et a
"Land Between the Moors"

Countryside Agency The Countryside Agency was a statutory body set up in England in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The agency was dissolved in 2006 and its functions dispersed among other bod ...

, Spring, 2004. Accessed May 25, 2008. Geography of Devon {{Devon-geo-stub