The Hutterites are an Anabaptist movement – they believe in adult baptism and pacifism. Like the Mennonites and the Amish, they emerged from the Radical Reformation in central Europe in the 1500s, but unlike them they live communally, with all goods and property shared among members of the community. Today, Hutterite colonies mostly exist on either side of the US-Canada border, where there are more than 500 of them.
In 2009, I was driving through Canada’s Manitoba prairies in search of interesting photos for the newspaper I work for, the Brandon Sun, when I spotted some women working in the garden at Deerboine Colony. I knew a little about the Hutterites but not a lot, and pulled over to ask if I could make some pictures. The women were friendly and agreed, and I spent the afternoon chatting and photographing them.
