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The Karenas are free spirits who buck the traditional rules of child-rearing. Living off the land, raising six kids, and training wild horses in the Ruahine Mountains, dad Peter is determined not to raise his children as he was raised. Brought up in a Maori household where his stepfather never acknowledged his legitimacy, Peter was taught by force to obey his parents. He and wife Colleen instead encourage their children to make decisions for themselves, based on conscience not rules. Independent, self-sufficient, imaginative, and fearless, the kids learn by mom and dad’s example. When the family is evicted from their home, they set up a makeshift camp. Carving out a different lifestyle for his brood, Peter struggles to reconcile providing for his family with his off-the-grid values. This Way of Life shows how the soft knock delivers the same outcome as the heavy one. - Angie Driscoll

Co-presented with TRANZAC Toronto Australia New Zealand Club .