Loma Plata
Loma Plata is a city in the district, "distrito", of Department of Boquerón, Paraguay. It is located 407 km from Asunción by a paved detour of 22 km from the Ruta Transchaco. It is the main town of the Menno Colony, one of the Mennonite colonies of the Paraguayan Chaco. Climate. The temperature in summer reaches up to 44 °C and, in winter, can reach 0 °C. The average temperature is 26 °C. The rainy season is December through March; however, some rainy seasons are a lot drier than others. History. In the 1760s Catherine  the Great of Russia invited Mennonites from Prussia to settle north of the Black Sea in exchange for religious freedom and exemption from military service, a precondition founded in their commitment to non-violence. After Russia introduced the general conscription in 1874, about a third of the Russian Mennonites migrated to the US and Canada. The members of the Colonia Menno (of which Loma Plata is the current largest town and administrative centre), 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. Some years later more Mennonites immigrants arrived to the Chaco area from Germany and Russia and founded the Fernheim (1930) and Neuland (1947) colonies. These pioneers faced many adversities. Their arrival was not properly prepared for by the Casado complex, the land had not been surveyed, no railroad had been constructed to the settlement location, and settlement was delayed by  16 months during which the Mennonites stayed in Puerto Casado. After those 16 months, the Mennonites were permitted settlement in the Chaco wilderness. 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. With no railway, the settlers travelled 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. Eventually they formed 14 villages. Over time infrastructure was built alongside houses and  other buildings such as schools and churches. Today the Menno Colony has about 9,000 inhabitants descendants of the approximately 1,200 settlers. In modernity, Colonia Menno contains 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 a 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 examples of German speaking Churches are Emmanuelgemeinde, Elimgemeinde, Mennonitengemeinde, Bethelgemeinde, Hoffnung für Alle and Manoagemeinde (the newest addition to the German-speaking churches). Agua Viva is an example of a Mennonite Spanish speaking church. There are also Spanish/Portuguese speaking churches of Pentecostal origin. Economy. Residents of Loma Plata  are engaged in agriculture, livestock and industry. They are organized in La Cooperativa Chortitzer Ltda. There are large dairies in the region, with about 5,000 persons living in Loma Plata. There are two large supermarkets and several smaller supermarkets and corner shops as well as hardware stores in Loma Plata. There is also a bookshop with German, English and Spanish books. There are many small clothes shops all over Loma Plata. At times, private people organize yard sales or auctions. Health. Loma Plata contains one of the 4 existing 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 is one of the most frequently visited hospitals of the Chaco. It does not provide services exclusively to Mennonite colony members. There are many family doctors working at the hospital as well as several full-time specialized employees. Outward specialists come to  the colony on scheduled times throughout the year in order to provide a broad spectrum of services, including child birth. There is a health clinic at the hospital as well as a private health clinic (Laboratorio Sawatsky) in Loma Plata. Loma Plata has a nursing school where students can obtain a degree as a licensed nurse 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 many dental clinics in as well. Pharmacies are found on several places around  Loma Plata and are all private, except the pharmacy at the hospital, which belongs to the Asociacion Civil Chortitzer Komitee. Tourism. Loma Plata has hotels, restaurants and access to several tourist attractions, for example: Campo Maria, Laguna Capitan, Chaco Lodge and others. 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 works, 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.