La Colmena is a town and ''

distrito Rudy Distrito (born May 17, 1958 in Bacolod), is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. His moniker is The Destroyer because of his rugged and intense brand of play. Amateur career For three ...

'' in the Paraguarí Department of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. It is the first Japanese colony of the country.

History

Japanese settlement in Paraguay intensified after

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

legally limited immigration from the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

in 1934. Seeking alternatives the Japanese turned to Paraguay. In 1936, 100 Japanese families established a colony at La Colmena. 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.

Climate

Based on data collected between 1938 and 1945, the climate in La Colmena exhibits extreme variability in rainfall, a feature common to Paraguay as a whole, though La Colmena receives more rainfall than the nearby capital

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

Subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

and semi-

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest is supported by the well-drained interfluves. Rainfall can sometimes prevent the harvest of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

crops. There were three recorded droughts between 1941 and 1947.

Pedology and edaphology

The

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

is red, friable soil of a sandy loam type. This soil is deep and its productivity is on par with other types of well-drained forest soils. Farm yields declined rapidly after the land was cleared, in some cases by half within only a few years. Researchers wondered whether the sandy quality of the soil had impacted its long term productivity.

Flora

Forest growth can be dense with a full canopy reached 50 to 70 feet in height. 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 Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

, common in

Alto Paraná The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

, were not known in this area. Wild bitter orange and other types of species that grow on trees may be found.

Location

La Colmena is located in the west region of the Paraguarí department, 81 miles southeast from Asunción, the capital of the country. It was originally a Japanese colony, but now many native Paraguayans are currently residents. It is at the northern foot of the Cerro Apitagua, a 25-mile east–west ridge formed by volcanic activity. The steep ascent reaches an altitude of 2,000 feet above sea level in some places. La Colmena is located along the relatively gentle slopes that are between 100 and 400 feet above sea level. To get there one should take the national route number 1 to Carapegua, take a detour to

Acahay Acahay is a town and ''distrito'' in the Paraguarí department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South ...

and then again in Acahay take a detour to La Colmena. The town contains the southern Coffin Factory Co. of Southern America with 40,000 coffins being created yearly.

Geography

The district of La Colmena is located in the West region of the Paraguarí department. The topography of the district is characterized by hills, streams and swamps. Borders are the following: * At North it borders with the

Ybytimí Ybytimí is a village in the Paraguarí department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It ...

district. * At South it borders with the

Ybycuí Ybycuí is a Paraguayan rural community of the Paraguarí Department, department of Paraguari, located 120 km away from Asunción, and 40 km from the Ruta una (Route 1). Toponimics Its name means "Sandy" in Guarani language, Guaran� ...

district. * At East it borders with the

, Tebicuary-mí and Borja districts. * At West it borders with

district.

References

External links

Secretaria Nacional de TurismoWorld Gazeteer: Paraguay
– World-Gazetteer.com Districts of Paraguarí Department {{paraguay-geo-stub