testimonial

By Calvin Neufeld
Briarpatch Magazine
May 2008

The plan: save money, buy land, build a house, grow food, heat with wood, quit jobs, and self-sustain­ — all without going into debt.

Although I was raised in the suburbs of Montreal, my life today resembles that of my Mennonite ancestors. In the winter I bathe in a tub of snow (melted and heated first, of course). I live in a one-room house without electricity or plumbing. I do my business in an outhouse, or sometimes, to my wife’s displeasure, in the great outdoors. I cut and chop all of my own firewood, and gather twigs almost daily for kindling. It’s hard work, but it pays off. The earth isn’t the only beneficiary of this lifestyle, either; this is my ticket to financial independence.

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By Kubate Baba Edward
Briarpatch Magazine
May 2008

My thoughts on money and investing have been shaped by my upbringing. I was raised in a 20-person household in northern Ghana. Six of us shared a small hut, beautifully roofed with thatch. The rest of my relatives lived in adjacent huts. We sustained ourselves on earnings from a small rice and millet farm. Whatever little money or food came into the home was shared equally among us.

Life with six people in a small hut was not easy. We would clamour for space like an elephant trying to enter a pigeonhole. I was often embarrassed when friends came from the city to visit me. Accommodating these friends often meant having to sacrifice my sleeping space and pass the night outside in the cold. This experience lingered in my mind and compelled me to own my own house, even if it meant the last drops of my blood.

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