The initial development of viable by-products from the forest with medical, cosmetic and condimentary potential, was preceded by comprehensive research, which identified the main illnesses in the community of Telemaco Borba (PR).

Using available scientific data and the support of regional universities, a survey of the forests in the Monte Alegre Farm was carried out to verify its self-sustainability, and confirm current data and the need for programmed cultivation. Only after this study and analyses of quality, efficacy and safety of usage had been made, were the phytotherapeutical and phytocosmetic products then used in medical consultations.

The purpose of this research was to identify and adopt ways to use the existing biodiversity, which had been studied, so as to enable the sustainable and economically viable production of NWFP’s - Non-wood Forest Products - and thus allow the forest to be exploited rationally and to survive.

Today, Phytotherapy is a reality for the people in Telemaco Borba. To guarantee its continuity, the company invests constantly in this area. To multiply the good results which are being obtained, since 2000 there has been the Monte Alegre Project, which was developed in partnership with FUNBIO (Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade) and FBDS (Fundação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável). The goal of this partnership, which follows ethical principles laid down by the CDB (Convenção sobre a Diversidade Biológica), is to add value to activities involving biodiversity, by promoting it in an economically viable, socially just and environmentally correct way.