Pioneer lifestyle? well, in terms of food anyway.
Last August, Shannon Ruzicka, husband Danny, and their three children decided on an experiment.
Living on a farm in Viking, Alberta, they wondered if they could survive only on what the farm could produce, like pioneers of old.
ListenIn fact the idea came about after reading the biography of her great grandfather, who came from Germany to the wilderness of Manitoba with nothing but his wits, and strong arms.

The great grandfather had to survive on his own: clear the land, build a home, haul water and make sure his wife and family could survive in winter on what they themselves could grow, gather, and produce. He would often spend months at a lumber camp earning money to buy other necessities they couldn’t produce themselves.

The story and the amount of effort astounded the Ruzickas, and the family wondered if they could even feed themselves on their own let alone the other hardships of pioneer life. So that’s what the Ruzicka’s thought they could try, to see if they had the skills and wherewithal to feed themselves and survive through their own efforts for one year.

They would grow and slaughter their own animals, get milk from a cow, and eat only the vegetables and other plants they could grow in season.

The family raise heritage pigs, cattle, and chickens, and they put in a large garden to supply them with vegetables and other edible plants in season, and freeze them for the long winter months.

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The experiment was to last a year. With several months, and the winter, behind them, it’s been tough at times. Ruzicka says it has been a real learning experience for the whole family, but everyone is completely healthy and very proud of their experience.

Shannon says even when the year is up, the family will more or less continue with the style of living they have developed which has been on the one hand, a real money-saver, but much more than that has taught adults and especially the children more about nature, and life cycles, and the difference between needs and wants.
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