Colonia Loma Plata
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Loma Plata is a city in the district ('' distrito)'' of the Department of Boquerón,
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
. It is located 407km from
Asunción Asunción (, ) 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 Asunción in the north ...
by a paved detour of 22km from the Ruta Transchaco. It is the main town of the
Menno Colony Menno Colony is a Mennonite settlement located in the central part of the Chaco region, in northwest Paraguay, occupying an area of 7500 km2 (2900 mi2). It was founded in 1926 by Plautdietsch-speaking descendants of Russian Mennonites wh ...
, one of the
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
colonies of the Paraguayan Chaco.


Climate

The temperature in summer reaches up to 44°C and can drop to 0°C in winter. The average temperature is 26°C. The rainy season is from December through March.


History

After Russia introduced general
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
in 1874, about a third of the
Russian Mennonites The Russian Mennonites ( it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire are a group of Mennonites who are the descendants of Dutch and North German Anabaptists who settled in the Vistula delta in West Prussia for about 2 ...
migrated to the US and Canada, as Mennonite churches have a tradition of
non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. The members of the Colonia Menno (of which Loma Plata is the current largest town and administrative center), settled first in Canada until a universal, compulsory, secular education was implemented in 1917 that required the use of the English language. Conservative Mennonites saw this as a threat to the religious basis of their community. In 1927, 1,743 pioneers came from Canada to Paraguay, turning the arid Chaco into fertile farmland. It was the first Mennonite colony in the region. Some years later, more Mennonite immigrants from Germany and Russia arrived in the Chaco area and founded the Fernheim (1930) and
Neuland Neuland is a German typeface that was designed in 1923 by Rudolf Koch for the Klingspor Type Foundry. Koch designed it by directly carving each size of each letter into metal. The original typeface thus had a different appearance in each of its ...
(1947) colonies. The Mennonites' arrival was not properly prepared for by the Casado complex; the land had not been surveyed, no railroad had been constructed in the settlement location, and settlement was delayed by 16 months during which the Mennonites stayed in
Puerto Casado Puerto Casado (formerly known as La Victoria) is one of the 4 districts in Alto Paraguay Department, Paraguay. It includes the town of La Victoria or Puerto La Victoria, which has a population of around 7,800. History and tourism Founded in 18 ...
. With no railway, the settlers traveled with oxen carts through underdeveloped roads. The gradual move to the settlement area started in April 1928. Initially, some families lived in wilderness camps, while many still lived in Puerto Casado. Many became sick due to the lack of medical care, whereof 121 died, 75 of them being children under 14 years. Some 60 families returned to Canada. Eventually, they formed 14 villages. Over time, infrastructure was built alongside houses such as schools and churches. Today, the Menno Colony has about 9,000 descendants of the approximately 1,200 settlers, and a multicultural demographic including Mennonites, indigenous Paraguayans, Latin Paraguayans, and other smaller groups. In 1937, Loma Plata emerged as the colony center, and a colony office was built (currently the Post office). Loma Plata is a Spanish name. Some settlers rejected it and petitioned for a German name. Loma Plata was unofficially renamed "Sommerfeld" but reverted to its publicly recognized name of Loma Plata within a dozen years. Today, Loma Plata is the main town of the colony and home to an agricultural co-operative, La Cooperativa Chortitzer Ltda., which focuses on dairy and meat production.


Church

The first and biggest church building was built in Osterwick outside Loma Plata. Today there are several German-speaking Mennonite churches as well as Spanish-speaking churches. Some German-speaking Churches are Emmanuelgemeinde, Elimgemeinde, Mennonitengemeinde, Bethelgemeinde, Hoffnung für Alle, and Manoagemeinde. Agua Viva is a Mennonite Spanish-speaking church. There are also Spanish/Portuguese-speaking
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
churches.


Economy

Residents of Loma Plata are engaged in
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, livestock, and industry. They are organized in La Cooperativa Chortitzer Ltda. There are some big dairies in the region, with about 5,000 people living in Loma Plata. There are also two big supermarkets, several smaller supermarkets, corner shops, hardware stores, a bookshop with German, English, and Spanish books, and many small clothes shops all over Loma Plata.


Health

Loma Plata contains one of the 4 hospitals in the Department of Boquerón. It was constructed in 1948. The work and costs were largely covered voluntarily and with donations. The first building had a size of 17x50 feet with a consultation room, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and three rooms for patients. Today, the hospital in Loma Plata is a modern health facility and is part of the services provided by the Asociacion Civil Chortitzer Komitee. It does not provide services exclusively to Mennonite colony members. Outward specialists come to the colony at scheduled times throughout the year to provide services including childbirth. There is a health clinic at the hospital as well as a private health clinic in Loma Plata. Loma Plata has a nursing school where students can obtain a degree as licensed nurses in cooperation with Universidad Evangelica de Paraguay. There are also several private medical clinics in the town, some with doctors that work privately as well as in the hospital. There are dental clinics as well. The pharmacies are all private, except the pharmacy at the hospital, which belongs to the Asociacion Civil Chortitzer Komitee.


Tourism

The tourist office is situated in a traditional building on the main street, north of the cooperative's supermarket. The tourist office screens a film on the founding of the colony daily. Loma Plata has a museum with an outdoor exhibit of early farming equipment, a typical pioneer house, and a photographic exhibit on the colony's history. Guided tours are given in German, Plattdeutsch, Spanish, and English. The dairy production company "Trebol" also offers guided tours of their facilities. Tours are available to the meat workers, Frigochorti. The slaughtering process can be viewed through glass windows as it happens. The Rodeo Club Isla Po'i, which belongs to the breeders' association in Colonia Menno, annually exhibits on June 12. The exhibit includes developments in agriculture and farming equipment, amongst other sponsors.


Transportation

Loma Plata is accessible via a paved road 22 km long, branching off the Transchaco highway. Nasa and Golondrina provide bus services multiple times a day between Loma Plata and Asuncion. Loma Plata also has a private airport.


References

* Geography Illustrated
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, Distributed Arami SRL, 2007. * Geography of Paraguay, First Edition 1999, Publisher Hispanic Paraguay SRL.


External links


Loma Plata (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 to ...

National Secretary of Tourism


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