Belize Cultural Tours

There are approximately 10,000 Mennonites living in Belize. Although originally of European descent and heritage, many Mennonite children and their parents have been born and raised in Belize, creating a unique blend of culture and spirituality. The Mennonites are much like the Amish, living a humble and religiously pious lifestyle. The Mennonites of Belize are peaceful, hardworking people and the more remote communities like Barton Creek retain a very traditional and simple way of life, relying on their knowledge and strength to farm and survive in the jungle with few modern amenities. Belizean Mennonites speak a dialect of German as well as the local languages or English, Kriol, and Spanish.

The communities are very conservative and the women wear bonnets and long dresses, while the men wear denim overalls and wide brim hats. The men may wear traditional suspenders and dark trousers. They use horse drawn buggies for transportation and till their farm fields with horses. In the most remote communities they still use horses to drive their sawmills.

The Mennonites of Barton Creek are very restrictive with their use of machinery and they produce many agricultural crops without any modern machinery. They are highly productive people and they produce honey, milk, eggs, poultry, beans, and other staple crops. Often confused with the Amish, the Mennonites are actually their own distinct religious group with strict Christian principals and their own language. They have many traditions and practices that date back hundreds of years, including arranged marriages. Come explore this fascinating and reserved culture on a trip through the jungle and back in time to how things were before cell phones, cars, iPads, and even before electricity.