'We are growing Belize': modernisation and organisational change in the Mennonite settlement of Spanish Lookout, Belize. (1st January 2011)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roessingh, Carel; Boersma, Kees
• Is Part Of: International journal of entrepreneurship and small business. Volume 14:Number 2(2011)
• Page Start: 171
• Page End: 189
• Publication Date: 2011-01-01
• Subjects: religious organisation -- selective modernity -- family networks -- Mennonite community; Entrepreneurship -- Periodicals; Small business -- Management -- Periodicals; 658.42105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1476-1297

Abstract

This article addresses the entrepreneurial and organisational activities of a specific Mennonite group in Belize called the Kleine Gemeinde community of Spanish Lookout. Building upon Christian beliefs, agricultural skills and a strong working ethos, this group was able to build up a stable, local economic network. The authors suggest that their collective resistance against other social groups and their day-to-day strictness lead to processes of 'selective modernity'. As we make clear in this chapter, the Kleine Gemeinde Mennonites identity contains elements of ethnicity and partial exclusion based upon religious motives. The relative successful economic progression of this group is a sign of both their working ethos inspired by their religious background, and their will to progress and expand.