crunch time at the movies

The Seattle mother-of-two and low-impact advocate Crunchy Chicken runs two book clubs: one’s reading Affluenza; the other’s reading In Defense of Food. Now CC proposes an online movie club. Her first suggestion was to watch Frontier House (2002), a PBS reality series, where three modern American families live for six months like Montana farmers in the 1880s.

Crunchy readers wrote in saying Pioneer Quest (2000), about settlers in West Canada, was much better: more serious, and with less griping. The rule for Pioneer Quest contestants was tough: 'With only period appropriate resources, our settlers must break the soil, build a home, and live off the land for one year.' But Pioneer Quest isn’t available.

There’s a new wave of interest in the rigours of 19th century homesteading from post-peak-oilers, treadlightlys and low-impacters. (See my piece on blogging the good life.) The producers of Pioneer Quest should bring out the DVD quick.