Saturday, February 16, 2008

Loma Plata


Saturday 16 February 2008

Up into another corner of Paraguay! Ryan and I arrived in Loma Plata today, a tiny town in the northwestern part of the country called the "Chaco." It was founded about 80 years ago by a group of Mennonites from Canada looking for a quiet corner of the world to farm and pray and raise their kids how they want to. They speak Low German, a dialect from the 1500's, live mostly simple and religious lives (although this particular group does allow modern technology, they have cars and cell phones and whatnot. There are other colonies that do not), and keep pretty much to themselves. They do, however, produce 40% of the nation's beef and dairy products. Pretty good for a colony of a few thousand people living in the middle of nowhere!

We sat and chatted with Walter, a member of the colony, on just about everything from how the town was founded, his family's history, their farming techniques, to their relationship with the local indigenous peoples (which he says is friendly, although there are such big differences in race and economic status that it seems to me there is a bit more friction than he was telling).

I rather liked this picture, as this sign has English, Spanish, and German. A lovely mixture that seems to fit right in in Paraguay, a country full of immigrants.

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