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Menno Colony is a
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
settlement located in the central part of the Chaco region, in northwest
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, occupying an area of 7500 km² (2900 mi²). It was founded in 1926 by Plautdietsch-speaking descendants of
Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...
s who emigrated from Canadian provinces of
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
and
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. Neighbouring Mennonite settlements are
Fernheim Colony The Fernheim Colony is a Plautdietsch-speaking settlement of Russian Mennonite, Mennonites originally from Russia of about 5000 in the Gran Chaco, Chaco of Paraguay. Mennonites from the Soviet Union founded it between 1930 and 1932. Filadelfia i ...
and
Neuland Colony Neuland Colony (Plautdietsch: Nielaunt /ˈnilɔnt/) is a Mennonite settlement in Paraguay. After thousands of Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites fled the Soviet Union during the Great Trek of World War II, many were left displaced by the w ...
. The main settlement of the colony is Loma Plata. Menno is the largest of the Mennonite colonies in Paraguay.


History

The 10,000 residents are Mennonites of Prussian and Dutch background. The ancestors of these Mennonites originated in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and lived in
West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...
until the end of the 18th century, in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
region of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
until 1874 and in
Manitoba, Canada , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, until 1926, before settling in Paraguay. Loma Plata with a population of about 3500 is the largest town within the colony and is the administrative centre. The emigration from Canada to Paraguay was a reaction to the introduction of universal, secular
compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...
in 1917 requiring the use of the English language, which the more
conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...
saw as a threat to the religious basis of their community. A second impetus was the Canadian settlement act, which prevented the form of
cooperative farming An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperativ ...
that was practised in Russia. In 1919 a delegation was sent to South America to find a new home. The Paraguayan state was interested in opening the vast undeveloped Chaco to industrious
settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...
s and made a considerable number of concessions to the delegation. Concessions included freedom from military service, the right to run their own German language schools, a far reaching guarantee to autonomously manage their own affairs within the jurisdiction of the colony without government interference, absolute
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
and an open immigration policy allowing more Mennonites settlers. The Mennonites bought the necessary land at an inflated price from the Argentine firm Casado, one of the largest landholders in the Chaco. 1743 settlers came to Paraguay from Canada in 1927. In the 1950s, there was an exodus back to Canada because of unfavourable living conditions and in response to the conservatism of the colony. In the past decade, Menno has had a rapidly developing economy and good public image. Canadian Mennonites are returning and the colony is also an attraction to Paraguayans outside the Mennonite colonies.


Economy

For a long time, the life of Mennonites in the Chaco was marked by extreme deprivation as a result of the new arrivals' complete lack of agricultural experience under tropical conditions. The relationship between the climate and the earth, especially the dryness of the winter months, turned out to be more extreme than the writing of the Paraguayan promoters had led them to believe. These circumstances were made even more difficult by voluntarily doing without modern agricultural equipment. Marketing products was extremely challenging because of the isolated location of the colony and as a result, most economic activity was related to
subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
. An economic upswing in the central Chaco began in the 1980s when the agricultural co-operative, with the help of
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
credits, invested in dairy production. The introduction of the drought- and heat-resistant
buffalo grass Buffalo grass may refer to * Buffalo grass, sweet vernal grass or vanilla grass ('' Anthoxanthum odoratum'') * Buffalo grass ('' Bouteloua dactyloides'') * Buffalo grass ('' Brachiaria mutica'') * Buffalo grass or sweet grass (''Hierochloe odorata' ...
from North America in 1955, which created the foundation of an extensive cattle industry, and the construction of the Trans-Chaco Highway to
Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
in 1965 were significant predecessors to economic growth. An important factor in the economic improvement was the reform of the school system and a general liberalisation.


Population

In 1928 the number of Mennonites who settled in Menno was 1,303. In 1956 it had grown to 4,333 and in 1987 to 6,650. In 2014 the population stood at about 10,000. There were not many people who left the colony, the ones who did so, left mainly in the first years and then again starting in the 1950s.Hendrick Hack: Die Kolonisation der Mennoniten im paraguayischen Chaco, Den Haag 1961, page 7.


Indigenous people

Lengua Indians lived in the area where the Mennonites settled. There were originally about 600 Lengua and the number has grown considerably since the founding of Menno Colony. Because of improved living conditions and exceptionally good relations between the original inhabitants and the Mennonite settlers, Menno and the neighbouring settlements attracted other native groups. For the social and economic advancement of the indigenous population the Mennonites established a service co-operative, ''Asociación de Servicios de Cooperación Indígena Mennonita'' (ASCIM) in 1961. ASCIM has 300 members, of which half are Mennonites and half indigenous. The governing board of the non-profit association consists of 30 indigenous and 32 non-indigenous representatives. The number of indigenous residents is now about 25,000 and growing, numbering more than the Mennonite population. Although Mennonites and indigenous people have worked closely together for a long time and some of the latter learnt to speak the Plautdietsch language of the settlers, further mixing of the two cultures has not occurred.
Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such ...
work among the indigenous groups often becomes a competition between the missionary effort of the Mennonites and the Paraguayan
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
missionaries.


Bibliography

* Gerhard Ratzlaff et al.: ''Lexikon der Mennoniten in Paraguay''. Asunción 2009. * Peter Klassen: ''Die Mennoniten in Paraguay : Reich Gottes und Reich dieser Welt''. Bolanden 1988. * Hendrik Hack: ''Die Kolonisation der Mennoniten im paraguayischen Chaco''. Den Haag 1961.


External links


Menno Colony (Boquerón Department, Paraguay)
at
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related top ...

Kolonie Loma Plata im Chaco - Paraguay
(German)
Anne Winterling: Paraguay - weißer Fleck im Herzen Südamerikas
(German)

(German)

(German)


References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Boquerón Department Germans in Paraguay Mennonitism in Paraguay Populated places established in 1926 Russian Mennonite diaspora in South America