From burnout to bloom: brazilian entrepreneur creates plantable paper in amazon’s most deforested city

In Altamira, Brazil—a municipality larger than Portugal and infamous as the most deforested area in the Brazilian Amazon—Alessandra Moreira found an unexpected path from personal crisis to environmental innovation. After leaving her administrative job due to severe burnout, anxiety, and panic attacks, Moreira discovered a unique solution suggested by her brother: creating plantable seed paper.

Her company, Ecoplante, transforms discarded paper into sheets embedded with seeds that can grow into vegetables, herbs, flowers, and native Amazonian plants. The process involves mixing recycled paper pulp with water, spreading it over fine-mesh screens, and layering it with seeds ranging from basil and arugula to daisies. Once dried, the paper functions normally for writing and other uses, but when planted and watered, it decomposes and allows the seeds to germinate, literally turning waste into greenery.

Moreira’s venture represents a powerful contradiction to Altamira’s reputation, where “development” typically means deforestation, environmental destruction, and conflicts between conservationists and land grabbers. What began as a personal healing project has evolved into a compelling example of how entrepreneurship, creativity, and sustainability can thrive even in one of the world’s most environmentally threatened regions.

Ecoplante demonstrates that environmental solutions can emerge from unexpected places, offering hope that sustainable businesses can take root and flourish in areas where ecological destruction has traditionally dominated the economic landscape.