Paraguay builds largest ox cart, sets World Record
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Wilbert Sawatzky and his family in the Chaco region of Paraguay commissioned artisan Silvio Grance Morilla to build an enormous ox cart on their property in Loma Plata, Boquerón.
Grance and his son initially agreed to build 65 traditional wooden carts, but Grance then undertook the project of creating a significantly larger version, which ultimately measured 15.9 metres long, 6.4 metres wide, and 6.9 metres high.
The cart’s construction took around two years to prepare the pieces, followed by ten days of on-site assembly with a team of eight people. The structure is made entirely of lapacho wood, a durable hardwood native to South America and commonly used in traditional woodworking in the region. Guinness World Records verified the cart’s dimensions at Rancho Tucán in the Chaco with calibrated digital equipment and independent witnesses, officially recognizing it as the world’s largest ox cart.
This record celebrates both the craftsmanship of a Paraguayan artisan from Paso Urunde’y and the history of ox carts as an important part of rural life in Paraguay. The project is also tied to preparations for a 21-day celebration planned for June 2027, commemorating the centenary of the arrival of the first Mennonite settlers in Colonia Menno, a community in the Chaco.
