In recent years gigantic grain bags have become a common sight on the prairies. Like giant white sausages, stretched out across fields, these bags are quick to set up when farmers run out of grain storage space. However, once the ‘grain sausages’ are emptied there are tons of plastic begging to be recycled.

Green Acres Hutterite Colony, near Bassano, Alberta answered this call. They operate a large scale recycling business, Crowfoot Plastics, the first of its kind in Alberta. I learned about ....

Canada, with its many immigrants is like a beautiful patchwork quilt. People from various countries have settled on our rich farmlands or in thriving towns and cities, proudly calling this home. This kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, tastes and customs gives our country a rich folkloric vista. Each ethnic group is like a quilt piece, adding its own unique colour or texture, and is stitched together with common respect, creating a spectacular whole.

I got a glimpse of this recently, when we celebrated ‘Sharing Our World’ in Portage La Prair....

After sewing for more than two months last winter, it was extremely gratifying to see a stack of 250 simple, yet beautifully pieced lap quilts, which the Alzheimer Society distributed to local senior’s homes. Just recently we received thank you notes from Lion’s Prairie Manor and The Douglas Campbell Lodge, both in Portage and Third Crossing Manor in Gladstone, expressing their heartfelt gratitude: “Thank you for participating in this project. You have enhanced the quality of life and brought sm....

While reading the tragic, blood-curdling accounts of Canada’s Residential Schools, I was struck once again by how torturous it must have been for parents during that period -- where a dreadful decision by powerful government and church leaders forcibly separated children from families, effectively destroying a people’s future, in the name of assimilating them into an enemy culture.

My mind wandered to Europe and some dismal chapters of my own Hutterite history involving a similar decision, but with a drastically different outcome. What i....

Welcome to our brand new website! I’m excited that I was asked to blog here from time to time and even more excited that this website is finally up and running. No doubt, you will find this site informative and interesting, and hopefully it will give you insightful glimpses of the Hutterite way of life. I’m Linda Maendel and work as a full time Educational Assistant in my colony school. In my free time I love to read and write; that’s why blogging is a good fit for me. I also have my own blog, which is about a year old now. Feel free t....