Japanese settlement in Paraguay intensified after Brazil legally limited immigration from the Far East in 1934.

The 24,000-acre site was selected after evaluation by agronomic experts, but the team was limited by restrictions set by the Japanese company that managed the settlement.

[1] La Colmena is located in the west region of the Paraguarí department, 81 miles southeast from Asunción, the capital of the country.

Researchers wondered whether the sandy quality of the soil had impacted its long term productivity.

In 1967 it was reported that only around 50% of the original cover remained, after land was cleared for agricultural production; at that time holly and bamboo, common in Alto Paraná, were not known in this area.