Instant | In the somewhat secret world of Hutteritis

(new Rededale) confusing. This is undoubtedly the word that best describes our visit to the Hutterite colony of New Rededale, in Manitoba.

Posted at 6:00 a.m.

Disputing because as much as this visit could have confirmed certain widespread ideas about the Hutteritis, as much as it shattered others. Let’s say that we oscillate here between tradition and modernity in a disconcerting way.

What? Tell yourself. Hutteritis are religious from Europe who founded hundreds of communities, called “colonies”, in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. We sometimes see them passing through the cities of the meadows, dressed in traditional clothes, as if they arrived from another century.

We were curious to know them. However, I had been warned: access to these communities is not easy. Until the last minute, I thought I had to abandon the idea.

Then, while we are about to leave the Manitoba, I receive an improbable email. A named Stanley Baer, ​​from the New Rededale colony, near the city of Portage La Prairie, agrees to receive us. In this trip which always brings us to the west, it involves returning to the east. We do not hesitate a second and turn back.

“I have no idea what you want, guys,” says Mr. Baer once we have landed in his office.

Gray beard, checkered shirt, suspenders: The 58 -year -old man displays the air of a man who has no time to waste.

“We want to understand who you are. »»

He will eventually give us much more time than promised and go around the colony.

Women in traditional clothes preparing meals for an entire community. A chapel where the Hutteritis are collected. A small building housing an artisanal cheese dairy intended to meet the needs of the community: almost everything we imagined is there.

But we also saw things that we did not expect. An ultra -modern industrial complex that manufactures and sells 80,000 tonnes of animal food per year. Garages filled with semi-trailers, combine harvesters and brand new tractors. People who brew cases a thousand leagues from voluntary simplicity and austerity that we imagined.

In front of my astonishment, Stanley Baer admits that the colony is not necessarily representative of the entire Hutterite movement.

“We generate much more money than most other colonies, we will say it like that,” says the one who manages the animal food factory.

The Hutterite movement was born in the region of Tyrol, Austria, in the 16th century, before spreading elsewhere in Europe. Hutteritis are Christians who try to live according to the precepts of the Bible. They have common origins with the mennonites and the Amish.

The peculiarity of the Hutteritis is that they have great importance to community life. A philosophy inspired by the Bible.

“All those who believed were together and they had everything in common. They sold their properties and their goods and they shared the product among all, according to needs, ”reads in acts 2: 44-45.

The community center forms the center of the colony, around which the houses are distributed. During our visit, two young women dressed in long colorful dresses, scarves on their heads, grate cabbage and carrots.

All meals are taken here in common. “Women on one side, men on the other,” says Stanley Baer, ​​designating the vast cafeteria.

In the basement, there are huge pantry filled with preserves (beans, pickles, apples) and various victuals. The community has an orchard, a chicken slaughterhouse, vegetable gardens, a cheese dairy.

The community center also houses a laundry room, a daycare and a chapel. “In principle, everyone goes there every day. In reality, do offices stand every day? No. And does everyone come to every office? No, “says Stanley Baer, ​​who nevertheless affirms that religion plays a central role in the life of Hutteritis.

The factory deserves an article in itself. There are food and minerals for poultry and livestock and which are exported throughout Western Canada. An incessant truck ballet comes to supply it. Business has been even better since Donald Trump sparked his trade war, Canadian breeders trying to get a source of food.

“Yes, Trump gives us a boost,” says Stanley Baer.

I have a thousand questions in mind about the life of Hutteritis. Language? Stanley Baer explains to me that they always communicate with each other in the Austrian dialect of Tyrol where the movement was born.

School?

“We don’t want some things that are taught in the public system. Sex education, these things, we just don’t agree with that, ”says Stanley Baer.

The colony therefore concluded an agreement with the Government of Manitoba. She built the school at her expense … in return for a right of way on what the professor who came from outside teaches children.

But the most fascinating is perhaps this “swarm” which currently occupies New Rosedale. At 163 individuals, the colony exceeded the size deemed optimal. A new colony is therefore being built north of here. Half people and property will soon be transferred.

“It is a model that has proven itself over the centuries,” explains Stanley Baer. From a certain size, it becomes more difficult to live in community. »»

I ask Mr. Baer if he follows the current electoral campaign. “You speak to a guy who must think to remember which party is in power …” He nevertheless affirms that the Hutteritis generally exercise their right to vote.

Impossible to grasp all the complexity of a movement like that of the Hutteritis in a morning. But I leave you on the words of Edith Baer, ​​Stanley’s wife, met at the community center.

“Our whole life is based on the teachings of Jesus,” she sums up. Love God with all your heart and your neighbors in the same way: these are the two commandments that I could give you. We try to live this way. We are not perfect, far from it! Living in community comes with challenges, many challenges. But it is also beautiful. »»