THE SIMPLER LIFE SHELVED BY CHANNEL 4 AFTER ONE SERIES

The Simpler Life, which followed 24 Brits as they come together to live by the rules of a community who chose to disregard the majority of modern values – the Amish. They were joined in an idyllic countryside backdrop by an Amish family of five from Ohio, home to the largest Amish community in the world.

TV Zone understands the series was always planned as a one-off social experiment, though it's future has not been confirmed by Channel 4. The community lived off-grid on a 40-acre farm complete with a lake and a wood but without their phones, any form of technology, mains electricity or gas.

They were required to raise a barn and build a pig ark for the impending arrival of their livestock in addition to harvesting over three acres of hay – all in the traditional Amish way, without mechanisation. The community will also need to travel into the local town via horse and cart for supplies and to trade or sell results of the cottage industries they have started.

Filmed over a six-month period, a team of British scientists monitored and evaluated changes in the wellbeing of the community across the filming period – both on the farm and when they return to their normal, modern lives.

The Simple Life offers a world where manual labour is central, a world in tune with the environment and a world based on valuing the person within – one based entirely on community and not focussed solely on our own needs.

The Simple Life is available now on All4. TV Zone approached Channel 4 for comment.