Reinfeld Colony

Reinfeld Colony is a Mennonite settlement in Misiones Department in Paraguay that was foundet in 1965/66 on 500 hectares of land some 10 km Southeast of San Ignacio by people from Sommerfeld and Bergthal Mennonite colonies in Caaguazú Department, Paraguay, which had been settled there in 1948, coming from Canada.[1] They are descendants of so-called Russian Mennonites, who are of German and Dutch ancestry and who speak Plautdietsch, which is a Low German dialect.[2]

The settlement emerged from a conservative split of people who refused modernisation trends in their home settlements. They still use horse and buggy but motorized machines in the fields.[3] The Elder of the colony's founding has been Jakob Funk.[4]

Agriculture

Over the years, the area of the coolony increased to 882 hectares through the purchase of additional land. Like other Mennonite colonies the inhabitants practice agriculture, mostly maize and soja, and livestock farming, especially dairy farming and also cheese and egg production.[5][6][7]

Population

  • In 1986 there were 120 persons in 20 families in the settlement, of whom 64 were members of the congregation.[8]
  • In 2006 there were 210 persons, 101 female and 109 male.[9]
  • In 2022 there were 365 persons in the settlement.[10]

See also

Mennonites in Paraguay

References

26°56′20″S 56°57′39″W / 26.9388°S 56.9607°W / -26.9388; -56.9607