Mennonites in Colombia: Lands, Money, and Disputes

150 German families invested 30 million dollars to buy 33.000 hectares in Puerto Gaitan, Meta.

Land ownership in Colombia has always been a contentious issue among guerrillas, paramilitaries, drug traffickers, and indigenous people. Even the state is unsure of who owns the land, which is why it seems strange that 150 German families invested 30 million dollars to buy 33.000 hectares in Puerto Gaitan, Meta. For them, this land is the promised land, a paradise in Colombia.

Of the 6 million hectares of cultivated land in Colombia, approximately 1 million are owned by foreigners or foreign companies (around 30 foreign companies). This is equivalent to seven times the area of Bogotá.

Meta is the department that has 300 active land restitution claims. Before 2006, people in this area suffered greatly from land dispossession by paramilitaries. In other words, locals were forced to relinquish their lands and leave the area.

The department of Meta has 516,000 hectares under cultivation. This is where the Mennonites from Germany have their land. The department aims to increase the cultivation of sugarcane, cereals, and palm by 40%.

The Mennonites living in Colombia came from Mexico, motivated by the optimal conditions for farming on the eastern plains, specifically in Puerto Gaitan, Meta. They own over 30,000 hectares for planting corn and soybeans.

They are currently in a dispute over more than 8,000 hectares of unclaimed land, which belongs to the Colombian state or has no known owners. They are required to relinquish these lands.

Additionally, they face sanctions because they were unaware of Colombian law and cut down trees they should not have.

There are also indigenous Sikuanis who claim these lands, arguing that they focus only on extracting products. These indigenous people are claiming 53,000 hectares that they say are ancestral territory.

In my opinion, the indigenous people in this country have caused a lot of harm because they ally with drug traffickers and produce coca. It might sound bad, but it's the truth. Land was meant to be cultivated sustainably and to bring development to rural areas. In this case, the indigenous people want the land to negotiate with drug traffickers. Here, indigenous people are involved in every drug trafficking process and malicious protest. I don't believe what they proclaim, but that's just my opinion.

Other companies besides the Mennonites own hectares in this area, such as Poligrow, Mayor International Oil, and Timberland Wood Holdings.

The Mennonites are very kind and loved by the local community. They are said to be very generous.

People criticize and say that these foreign companies and the Mennonites mostly sell their products abroad, which does nothing for the local economy. They defend themselves by stating that they sell both internationally and domestically.

In Colombia, there is no law that dictates how much land foreigners can own. Therefore, they can buy as much land as they want without issues, but a bill is being considered that aims to regulate and limit the amount of land foreigners can buy.

What do the Mennonites produce? They produce 100,000 tons of soybeans annually and pay 13.500 millones de pesos in VAT (taxes)- $3.550.000 (dollars); they also produce 300,000 tons of corn. About ten thousand trucks enter to transport the products from the area. All the fertilizers are produced in Colombia. They generate 450 jobs. When there was an oil crisis in the region, most people from the department of Meta went to work with the Mennonites.

Who are the Mennonites? They are Germans, many of whom went to Russia, Canada, and Mexico. They like to settle in places where it rains a lot. Klass Wall is the leader of the Mennonite community in Colombia, and they came on the recommendation of a Colombian who told them that Colombia had very fertile lands.

They came to improve the soil and the land because where they arrived, the land was very poor. They improved it, liked it, and decided to bring 870 people to Colombia in 2016. They do everything themselves in Colombia: the electricity, the children's schools, the houses, absolutely everything. They build it themselves. They have their own schools within the hectares of land they own in Colombia and teach their children both low and high German, as well as Spanish.

Why do the Mennonites come to Colombia? They mainly come because of the rainfall and see much more future here than in the desert where they come from. They believe in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Literally, rain means everything to them; they are trying to see if they can produce cotton in Colombia.

Children usually go to schools that they build themselves and then enter agriculture when their parents can no longer continue with their work or with the churches, become teachers, or ranchers, etc.

Most sold their lands in Mexico, Canada, Germany and bought land in Colombia because most Colombians wanted to sell. They completed all the legal paperwork with two lawyers and a notary in Colombia. At first, they bought some lands, then liked it, and eventually, more neighbors began to sell them more lands, and that's how they acquired their lands.

They are very open and are willing to talk to anyone who wants to visit them.

Each family has their own land, some have more, and others less, but they live in a community. They have achieved things that Colombian farmers have not been able to do.

The advantage the Mennonites have is that they work united and manage a lot of money together in the community, which is why they did better with the lands than the Colombians. When there are problems, they come together strongly to pay and correct all mistakes. Colombians do not have that kind of support among themselves. Apparently, the Mennonites do have technology.

The Mennonites each have their own beliefs; they hire Colombians and Venezuelans, but they respect the beliefs of others. They have financial advantages because banks lend them large amounts of money.

Romantic relationships tend to be among Mennonites. In Mexico, Mennonites often marry Mexicans, but this has rarely happened in Colombia. Generally, if a person has a good income, they can join the community. They need to negotiate to have a romantic relationship between a Mennonite and someone who is not a believer.

That's basically what happens. I find it funny how so many people get upset about what the Mennonites are doing in Colombia. Considering that the lands they bought weren't as productive as they are now.

They improved the land, and now that they have crops and are selling their products, magically, indigenous people and a bunch of others have appeared to claim and complain.

They're called colonizers even though they're not doing anything illegal. They buy their lands, produce, and live their lives peacefully. Previously, these lands were in the hands of Colombian paramilitaries who displaced people and took over large amounts of unproductive land without paying any taxes.

I feel it's necessary for more foreigners to come and help with the Colombian countryside because the average Colombian doesn't know how to improve the land and could learn from their techniques to do so.

They are liked by other local farmers. Others envy them for owning large amounts of land, and I understand there should be a limit to avoid jeopardizing the country's food sovereignty.

A foreigner shouldn't be able to buy huge amounts of land; there should be a limit, but right now there isn't one, and they have the right to produce on the lands they bought. I feel this is a useful migration, and if someone would like to buy land, I could put them in contact with them to schedule a meeting.

They only bought land in the Department of Meta, and I'm sure they do it for a reason. It's worth talking to them and asking more questions.