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FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- Brent Willett is the Executive Director of the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Association.

While unemployment is higher than officials would like it to be, he said manufacturers have worked hard to minimize layoffs. And he described a variety of projects as a means for creating jobs and alternative green energies such as "Cypress Villages" north of Fairfield, which was completed last summer and runs by solar panels.

Willett said that overall he predicts 2010 to be a challenging, but positive year for local businesses.

"We see some positive signs. We're very, very fortunate in our area to have a manufacturing sector which is strong, which is innovative and which has worked very hard to minimize layoffs and shift production activity," Willett said.

Willett also described another component of Fairfield's "Green Sustainability Plan."

"Our premiere demonstration project is the work that has been done at Abundance EcoVillage which is a subdivision of homes that live virtually off the grid. They generate their own electricity, they process their own waste and water and really do it without traditional utility usage," Willett said.

For more information, just visit the website for the Fairfield Economic Development Association and the Chamber of Commerce.