When someone mentions the Amish a certain image appears in your mind. If you saw the movie, “The Witness” with Harrison Ford, you will no doubt picture the horse-drawn Amish buggy carrying men in black suits and hats with funny beards and a pacifist demeanor.

Here’s the scene: A small caravan of buggies pulls into a town filled with tourists and the Amish are met with taunts from some young thugs, who relish the fact that the Amish won’t retaliate. Although he is dressed as an Amish farmer, Ford isn’t Amish, and he losses his cool, redefining the perception of the Amish in the eyes of the tourists in the immediate vicinity and blessing one loud mouth with a bloody nose.

You may also picture a barn raising project with men all working in coordination to build a barn in one day, while the women in long dresses prepare meals outside on long wooden tables. There is something very appealing about their lifestyle, their value system and their morality. It also seems to be the ultimate green lifestyle.

The Amish are basically hard working farmers with an exceptionally strong sense of community. But they also build their own furniture and today their hand-crafted products are available on the retail market. They are exceptional craftsmen with a belief in perfection in their work.

Their furniture, for example, is made from solid hardwood. They don’t use veneers, plywood or filler wood. Their furniture is built to be sturdy and durable; not extravagant or flimsy. The Amish primarily use solid maple, oak, and cherry wood with an emphasis on quality and craftsmanship.

The wood they use comes from protected forest with strict limitations on the amount allowed to be cut. This is to insure that there will always be enough wood and that the forests will be protected from deforestation.

This is a very brief glimpse into the Amish and their craftsmanship, but it also paints a picture of a group of people who live close to the earth; who depend on the earth and its regenerative powers for their sustenance, while in the process carefully preserving these valuable resources for themselves and their children.

Theirs is truly a green culture and a great example of a green business model.


by Ralph Higgins
ralphhiggins.com
jralphhiggins@gmail.com