I was told they had leased their settlement from the government and operated a self-sufficient and self-governing commune, where the Belizean government only got involved waswhen a murder was committed there.
They were strict about their dress, only wearing their
traditional black and white outfights, refused to use rubber or plastic,
made most of what they used etc.
A
distressing problem for the local people I was told, was that their buggies
with the metal wheels were damaging their roads.
The next time I saw any other Amish was at the farmer’s
market in Philly where some sold their products. This was about two years ago
and I recall how amused I was when one accepted a credit card,
considering how I heard about them rejecting anything modern so of course
electronic.
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Clothes drying in the sun. They can now wear other solid colors
|
One of the many confusions I had up to recently, was in
thinking that Amish and Mennonites were the same but when I googled it,
I was informed “Theologically, the Amish and Mennonites have many
similarities. Both are Anabaptist denominations and share ideals of
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| The chain at the back our guide called the "seat belts!" |
My most recent visit to an Amish establishment was in
Lancaster County, Philadelphia.
This trip of four fun-loving ladies from Florida, was
organized and led by champion hiker and leader Jenifer Weise
in mid-August 2019. This trip made me realize how far this sect has come.
(Anyway, I have been made to understand that they are not as dogmatic as I had
heard but what they do in each commune depends on how far their leader is
prepared to let them go.)
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| Men don't seem to use the pedals! |
We actually visited the town of Intercourse, (the
name does not imply what I and other outsiders would think. Also, to get there we passed through a place called "Gay Man town", but I jump to no conclusions about that either!) which is 85%
Amish, who at last count was 7,200. According to a guide Rachael, it is the
2nd largest Amish settlement in the USA.
In Intercourse, I got a much better understanding
about the sect.
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| Its a touristy town |
While most of the town of Intercourse is just an
everyday tourist town, we took the opportunity to go on a buggy ride and visit
a farm, a very enlightening experience indeed.
Our guide Rachael was excellent, answering our
questions forthrightly. For example, I wanted to know it the Amish practiced
birth control as I heard they loved to have lots of children to work their
farms. She however explained that it is something many probably practice, but
it is just not discussed! Further, I wanted to know if they paid taxes to the
regular government and used services like police and hospitals or were like
those in Belize they didn’t and was told categorically, yes. However, in sickness,
they tend to try home remedies before seeking outside assistance.
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| A 6 horse power plough at work (the guide's humor!) |
What I learnt too was that they are far more unconventional
than I thought as the plain black and white clothes are not mandatory as they
can make their clothes from any solid color. Also, some work outside the
homes and farms in professions where modern mechanical equipment is used,
whereas they can own the equipment, they must employ non-Amish or
English (as they call them), to actually use the equipment. Some also own motor
vehicles but they put them in others people’s names and get a driver as they
are not allowed to drive. Some even have indoor plumbing but not showers or
baths! I also noted that these at Intercourse had no problem using plastic,
rubber and even mechanical equipment powered by propane.
At the farm we visited where they did dairy, horse raring and grew acres of corn and soya
, we observed both mechanical equipment and a horse drawn plough which, since it had six horses pulling it, our guide quipped that it had six horse power.
For farm work, they seem to alternate between using horses and mules, which they breed themselves. Those were some mighty steeds I saw at the farm we visited and according to our guide, the two horses that draw tourists in the buggies, can do that work for up to fifteen years. They also appeared to be quite healthy and extremely intelligent.
From some strange activity I saw, I got the impression that male bicycle riders do not use the pedals or sit on the seats, but females do. Instead the men and boys seem to treat the bicycle as some kind of a pushmobile in that they run beside is pushing on one pedal and will only get on when coasting!
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| A model Amish farm |
From my own observations though, I gather that they
are extremely wealthy people who are mostly large farmers living in huge
houses. But they should be wealthy shouldn’t they, if they are not big consumers like the rest of the
society, shunning even electricity and making most of what they need?
Their wealth seems to be ploughed back into vast expanses of
land where they farm, use mechanical equipment and even refrigeration, also
powered by propane run generators, to keep their products fresh.
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| A beautifully laid out plantation |
While the Amish there seem to be moving quite rapidly toward
modernization, what was alarming to learn was how little they still value education,
since the children must leave school to go and work by age fifteen What a waste
of human resources.
However, our very informed tour guide Rachel did explain
that they are able to go into professions where they assist the community, like
firefighting and the medical services. I guess that too is progress.
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