Mennonites of Chaco

The Mennonites are leaders in the national milk production of Paraguay with around 80% of the milk market of the country. At the first the Mennonites worked in agricultural production and after in livestock breeding. In this last years they have become the second more important producer and exporter of meat in the country

In the Central Chaco there are the three largest Mennonite colonies in Paraguay. Menno Colony has about 10,000 inhabitants, Fernheim about 5,000 and Neuland about 3,500. The Central Chaco region probably has the highest concentration of ethnic Mennonites anywhere in Latin America.

The Mennonites are a anabaptist religious group which had its origins in the North of Germany and in the Netherland during the protestant reformation of the XVI century.The members of the Colonia Menno settled first in Canada until a universal, secular compulsory education was implemented in 1917 that required the use of the English language, which the more conservative Mennonites saw as a threat to the religious basis of their community. 1743 pioneers came from Canada to Paraguay in 1927 and turned the arid Chaco into fertile farmland over the years. It was the first Mennonite colony in the region. At the beginning, the pioneers in the Chaco had to overcome many adversities. In 1930 more Mennonites immigrants arrived to the Chaco area from Russia mostly via Germany and founded the Fernheim colony, fleeing the persecution by the Comminist. In 1947 some Mennonites arrived in the Central Chaco of Paraguay and founded Neuland colonies.

Видео Mennonites of Chaco канала INDÍGENAS DEL CHACO