The Hutterites, another closed community religious sect prominent in the Midwest and Central Canada, have a similar problem. The sect descends from a core of less than 400 original families and almost exclusively marriages are within their group. They live in farming communes called “colonies” and the usual practice is to exchange young unmarried adults between colonies to avoid close genetic intermixing. However, given the small size of the initial gene pool and the almost non-existent conversion of outsiders to their religious way of life has assured an increasing incidence of genetic disorders.
I hadn’t heard about the Hutterites. Found some info on google along with this interesting fact:
Hutterites produce about 60% of the state’s pork, 50% of the eggs, and about 17% of the milk in Montana.
Thanks for posting.