A Visit with a Mennonite Family in Shipyard Village

Belize is home to over twelve thousand Mennonites who migrated from Canada and Mexico in the 1950s. Drawn by our fertile land and the chance to practice their faith and culture in peace, they settled in remote areas and became cattle ranchers, dairy farmers, carpenters, and mechanics. In today’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday, we take a brief visit to Shipyard in Orange Walk, a Mennonite community deeply rooted in their Christian faith and traditional way of life. While many men engage in business and use cell phones and fuel-operated vehicles to transport their cattle for export, their lives at home remain simple. There’s no television to watch the news, no cell phones in use, and instead of a 2024 Ford SUV parked out front, you’ll find a horse and buggy. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Katarina Dyck, a Mennonite wife, mother, and grandmother, lives in Shipyard Village, Orange Walk. She has dedicated her life to her culture’s traditional lifestyle, embracing her role as a homemaker. For Katarina, this means staying home to cook meals, do laundry, clean the house, and sew traditional clothing for her family. She loves what she does, saying it’s simply her way of life.

 

Katarina Dyck, Mennonite Housewife, Shipyard Village

“Eso es mi vida.”

 

Shy of the camera and able to speak only Spanish, Katarina shared just a few words with our camera. The rest of her skills she showed us.

We arrived at the Dyck residence at 10:30, just in time for lunch—yes, lunch! Instead of the usual dairy-based Mennonite meal, we were treated to a delicious serving of traditional Creole rice and beans. Instead of having a single person lead the prayers, everyone individually offers their own thanks. Katarina’s husband, Cornelius Dyck, let us in during their mealtime hours.

 

Cornelius Dyck, Mennonite Businessman, Shipyard Village

“We eat seven o’clock a.m., and we don’t do snacks from seven to ten or ten thirty. Then from ten-thirty to two o’clock we eat again. The Mennonites do everything like Belizeans.”

 

We believe Cornelius when his daughter, Maria Thiessen lists off the dishes they also cook and eat.

 

Maria Thiessen, Mennonite Housewife, Shipyard Village

“We make rice and beans or relleno or barbeque.”

Cornelius shared that many Mennonites in Shipyard continue to uphold their traditions by avoiding television sets and speaker systems for home entertainment. Instead, they prefer the simplicity of horse and carriage for transportation, rather than fuel-powered vehicles.

 

Cornelius Dyck

“It’s for tradition and religion. We use the horse and carriage because it’s cheaper and our religion does not permit us to use cars and technology. We don’t use televisions, computers and cell phones at home. But there are other younger Mennonites who use these things. The family we visited are all Belizean-born, but they don’t speak much English. Their only languages are German and Spanish. Why? Their first language was Spanish from their Mexican ancestors and when they settled in Belize, the first people who they had interaction with were the Mestizos in neighbouring communities who they hired to work as farm hands. That too became a part of their Belizean tradition. I didn’t learn Spanish in school.”

 

Today, Katarina was making a pair of work pants for one of her sons. She explained through her daughter, Maria what occasions these outfits are used for.

 

Maria Thiessen

“We use this design for all occasions, but for weddings we use dark colours and for regular occasions we use purple and blue and other colours. For our head dress, married women use only black and unmarried women use white. When we go out of the village we use shoes with socks but when we go right in the village we wear our slippers.”

 

Maria’s husband, Peter Thiessen, who is also camera-shy, took us on a ride to a cattle ranch just a quarter mile away. A mechanic by trade, Peter shared that he crafts carriages for sale and is sometimes called to Belize City to repair heavy-duty vehicles. Although their family won’t be watching this story on a television set tonight, they warmly welcome Belizeans to their community for business. Marion Ali for News Five.