Land shortage led the Old Colony Mennonites of the Durango Colony at Nuevo Ideal, Durango State, Mexico, to look for new tracts of land in the early 1980s. A number of states made offers, but problems with "ejido" lands (communal land destined to be cultivated by landless Mexicans) always loomed on the horizon. When in 1983 the State of Campeche offered several thousand hectares and conditions seemed favorable, the mother colony in Durango decided to buy the land. Immediately settlement began with 88 families near the town of Hopelchen. By 1987 the new colony had 737 inhabitants, of which 211 were church members. Six schools, with as many teachers, were in operation. Two of them also served as meetinghouses for Sunday morning worship services.

The two colonies in Zacatecas State, La Batea and La Honda, also had daughter colonies in Campeche, the former consisting of about 30 families, adjacent to the "Durango" colony; the latter, consisting of ca. 40 families and located 50 km. (30 mi.) to the southeast. The La Honda colony, begun in 1987, was optimistic about the choice of terrain and more families were expected to follow.

In all colonies High and Low German only were used in church and school. Agriculture, with accommodations to the regional climatic and soil conditions, was the main occupation.

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Author(s)	Helen Ens
Date Published	1987

MLA style

Ens, Helen. "Campeche Colonies (Campeche, Mexico)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Campeche_Colonies_(Campeche,_Mexico)&oldid=164072.

APA style

Ens, Helen. (1987). Campeche Colonies (Campeche, Mexico). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Campeche_Colonies_(Campeche,_Mexico)&oldid=164072.

Campeche Colonies (Campeche, Mexico)

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