APRIL 2013 BACK ISSUE by Lana Slezic In 2001, while studying photojournalism in Canada, Lana Slezic stumbled upon a community of Mennonites one Saturday morning at a farmer's market in St. Jacob's Ontario. Intrigued by their simple way of life, she drove up every weekend and began a project documenting how they live. She was invited into their homes, to their meeting place on Sundays and to see how they sustained their livelihoods. In an environment of elegant simplicity, where water was fetched from the well, oil lamps were used in place of electricity and horse and carts instead of cars, Lana found them to be a remarkably content people though not without their own obstacles. What was clear was their love of the land and sustaining themselves almost completely without the need for outside resources. They grew their own food, made their own clothing and built their own homes. The sense of community was paramount, something Lana found and still finds lacking in the world today. Brother and sister play by the river on their farm in St. Jacobs, Ontario. A Mennonite girl pushes her old bicycle through a field to get home. Mennonite children spend a lot of time in their barns, working and playing. Boys at a farmer's auction for tractors and other machinery. A Mennonite girl at the St. Jacob's farmer's market selling plants and flowers from her family's cart. On Sundays, Mennonites in St. Jacobs congregate at their meeting place for about 300 people to worship God and meet together. Mennonite communities do their own barn raising. Here they are building a new barn to replace the one that burned down in an accidental fire. A Mennonite farmer checks the machinery. Mom airs out the cushions and rugs. Brother and sister play in the corn field behind their home. A Mennonite girl cleans up the kitchen. The boys out on the land, running home for lunch. Mennonite girls on the swings in the backyard. A Mennonite girl on a swing in the barn. Boys jump through the window to get outside. Back to current issue