Far Out!

The 1960s was a period of radical social change. Many young people rejected the politics and values of the day and decided to "drop out" and migrate to the country. The desire for an independent rural life on the land took many of them to the province of Nova Scotia. To the "back-to-the-landers," its "far-out" location, unspoiled countryside, cheap land and helpful neighbours provided the opportunity to build a self-sufficient life. Inexperienced and unprepared, many eventually left, but some were able to adjust and build satisfying lives while contributing to their communities. Like most immigrants they brought with them new ideas and practices such as alternative energy, organic gardening, health foods, environmentalism, creative arts and crafts and new enterprises. In return their neighbors shared their traditional culture, history and knowledge. Author and sociologist Chris Murphy uses personal experience, oral history and the photography and art of his brother Peter Murphy and partner Anna Syperek to write this missing chapter of Nova Scotian history. This unusual migration story is a timely one for today's new generation of rural migrants and homesteaders and serves as a nostalgic re ection for those who lived through the transformative "Sixties".