Wiebo Ludwig - Background

Background

Ludwig was born during World War II, and emigrated to Canada with his family from Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands shortly after the war. The Ludwig family settled in the Red Deer, Alberta area. He had seven older siblings. The family maintained strong religious beliefs and most kept ties with the Dutch Reformed Church or held some form of Baptist beliefs. In his early life Ludwig worked as a carpenter and as a drywaller. He later studied pastoral ministry at Dordt College in Iowa, which is associated with the Christian Reformed Church. While studying at Dordt, Weibo met his future wife, Mamie, who he later married and had eleven children with. Ludwig completed his pastoral education at the Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

After completing his pastoral education Ludwig's initial application for ordination was rejected, possibly because of his leadership style was perceived as being too authoritarian. He successfully appealed the decision and went on to lead two churches in Goderich, Ontario. Ludwig's leadership of the churches was controversial. In 1985 he led a group of his supporters to settle in a remote farming community near Hythe, Alberta, approximately 500 km northwest of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The small farming community eventually grew into a self-sustaining community several hundred hectares large. The property contains several dozen buildings, including a biodiesel refinery, a greenhouse, and a mill. After the addition of windmills and solar panels the community became capable of generating its own power, and a large computer-controlled boiler generates heat for the community's houses. Ludwig named the community "Trickle Creek".