Pioneers in the Chaco

Part 1 - Canadian Mennonites looking for Freedom in Paraguay (26 min)

The Chaco is far removed from the rest of the world, and that is just what these people seek as a refuge. Church members, sent in 1921 to check on the suitability of the Chaco region, are not frightened off - not be the aboriginals nor the heat. They return to Canada and recommend emigration. Soon they are on the way into an unfamiliar, untamed land, which will claim terrifying sacrifices. With their faith in God, they forge a path into the wilderness, a path which other homeless people soon will follow.

Part 2 - Canadian Mennonites Conquer the Green Hell (20 min)

After the first generation dies, their heirs reap the success - that is the setters' fate. They experiment with the soil and the climate, adn go the well-known way of all pioneers - calloused hands, oxen, horses, machinery. In these stages they become acquainted with the land. Harvests improve and the cattle business thrives, as the young learn to compete with the cowboys.