Coal miners sit for a photo. In addition to farming, many young Banat Czechs also work in the coal mines of Moldava and Baia Noua. Mining has become a necessity as it is the only way to supplement the otherwise meager earnings of young families. The Banat Czechs are the descendants of a group that emigrated to the remote region of Romania in the 1800s. They have preserved the traditions, lifestyle and values of their forefathers, despite cultural and geographic isolation from both their homeland and the influences of the Romanians that surround them. Their relative seclusion and self-reliance has perpetuated centuries-old ways of subsistence farming, puritanical values and the common use of Old Czech as their spoken language.