Menno Colony is a
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 ...
settlement located in the central part of the
Chaco region, in northwest
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 ...
, occupying an area of 7500 km
2 (2900 mi
2). It was founded in 1926 by
Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
-speaking descendants of
Russian Mennonite
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 ...
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 ...
and
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
. Neighbouring Mennonite settlements are
Fernheim Colony and
Neuland Colony. 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
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and lived in
West Prussia
The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
until the end of the 18th century, in the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...
region of
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
until 1874 and in
Manitoba, Canada, 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 home or other places.
Compulsory school attendance or compulsory sc ...
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.
Co ...
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 producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities.
A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...
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 or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
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, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
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 crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...
.
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 Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
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 (, ) 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 ...
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
Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
language of the settlers, further mixing of the two cultures has not occurred.
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...
work among the indigenous groups often becomes a competition between the missionary effort of the Mennonites and the Paraguayan
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
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 OnlineKolonie 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
German diaspora in Paraguay
Mennonitism in Paraguay
Populated places established in 1926
Russian Mennonite diaspora in South America