Flavorwire

During the ’50s, the Bolivian government encouraged Mennonites from nearby countries like Mexico and Belize to relocate to Santa Cruz, a province in the eastern part of their own country; in exchange for being allowed to preserve their ancestral way of life — no cars, electricity, or telephones — they would establish farms and help provide a needed boost to the economy. Decades later, an estimated 50,000 Mennonites are living in Bolivia, spread out through more than 50 different communities. Jordi Ruiz Cirera, a London-based Spanish photographer, has been documenting the country’s “Menonos” and their increasingly difficult to maintain isolation from contemporary society, as part of a long-term project. Click through for a rare peek into their fascinating lives, as spotted by Feature Shoot.

Photo credit: Jordi Ruiz Cirera