The Mennonite Communities

Mennonite groups arrived in Belize from Mexico and Canada from 1958 under an agreement with the government granting exemption from military service and control of their own schools and finances, and they settled several colonies. They now produce a substantial share of the country's poultry, eggs, dairy, beans and furniture. The communities differ sharply: Spanish Lookout is modernised, with trucks, machinery and hardware shops that everyone in western Belize uses, while the more conservative colonies keep horse and buggy transport and plain dress. Both are visible along the roads, and the contrast between them within one small country is striking.

What you actually see

• Spanish Lookout - the modernised colony, and its hardware and food businesses.
• The conservative colonies - horse and buggy transport and plain dress.
• The furniture workshops - supplying much of the country.
• The farmland - mechanised agriculture in a country with little of it.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the roads better. Weekdays are when the businesses are open; Sundays are entirely closed and visiting then would be intrusive. Spanish Lookout is a short drive from San Ignacio.

Honest expectations

These are religious farming communities, not attractions, and turning up to photograph people is not welcome; the conservative colonies in particular do not wish to be photographed at all. Visit as a customer to the shops and restaurants rather than as a sightseer. Roads into the colonies are private in places.

Nearby

San Ignacio is half an hour from Spanish Lookout; Orange Walk serves the northern colonies.