Reinland Colony

The Reinland colony (formerly Neufeld colony or Colonia Neufeld in Spanish ) is a German- controlled and organized settlement of former Russian-German resettlers in the Paraguayan department of Caazapá . It was named after the initiators of the project, the brothers Nikolai and Johannes Neufeld. The isolated settlement is located southeast of the capital Asunción . The distance to the district town of Caazapá , with which it is connected by a dirt road, is 45 kilometers. The colony has nothing to do with the 17 Mennonite colonies in Paraguay, all of which are organized in the ACOMEPA, although this is suggested by Plautdietsche names and the emphasis on the fact that it is a German colony.

The original aim was to settle 600 families, later 1,500 and, in the longer term, 3,000 families. For these, a village-like settlement with farms should be created, each of which should include at least one hectare of land. In September 2006, until then within 15 kilometers acquired 11,000 hectares of land owned by John Neufeld, who has since left the project, but should an in Incoop registered cooperative are overwritten, which also includes the buildings of the colony and the machines. At that time, around 80 families lived in emergency apartments and in 60 single-family houses.

Resettlers from the former Soviet Union residing in Germany were recruited who are disappointed in Germany. The promotion of the settlement was carried out with partly religious undertones. Those willing to emigrate already buy a minimum of 4 hectares of arable land in Germany. The purchase agreement contains a clause according to which this land is leased to the cooperative. Rice, soy, green manure, maize and wheat are grown. The aim was to concentrate in future on the cultivation of the macadamia nut, which will not generate a profit until seven years after planting.

At the end of 2011, there was much to be said for a failure of the project or a large-scale fraud. The resettlers were recruited in Germany through Neufeld GmbH in Kalletal-Langenholzhausen. Insolvency proceedings were opened on the assets of Neufeld GmbH by a resolution of the Detmold District Court on November 1, 2011.

In May 2012, the Detmold Regional Court found Nikolai Neufeld guilty of commercial fraud in 1,042 cases and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Since 2014 attempts have been made to bring the colony back to life. With the help of an association, the plots are to be returned to the former buyers.

On April 25, 2017, a tornado caused broken houses and vehicles in the districts of Colonia Neufeld / Reinland, Cerrito, Lima and Loma Hovy. Several hundred houses have been destroyed in the south of the Caazapá department. 80% of the Reinland colony are said to have fallen victim to the devastation. The wind speed reached 200 km / h. But people were not injured.

The colony, which was recently renamed Colony Reinland, still houses around 100 families (as of 2017). The residents dare to rebuild.