26/09/14

Tapping into safe sex in the Brazilian Amazon

Cattle on cleared land near Xapuri. Protected Brazil nut trees remain, but they only produce nuts when inside the rainforest canopy.

Jon Spaull

A rubber tree and a rubber tapper with his daughter in Cachoeira reserve, near Xapuri, an area made into an extractive reserve for the rubber tappers living on the land after campaigner Chico Mendes was murdered

Jon Spaull

A rubber tapper and nephew of Chico Mendes at his home on the reserve

Jon Spaull

Tapping rubber in the reserve

Jon Spaull

Sebastaio Mendes, another cousin of Chico Mendes, collects rubber by cutting grooves in the bark of a rubber tree

Jon Spaull

Natural latex flows into a cup

Jon Spaull

A rubber tapper carries a bag of collected Brazil nuts

Jon Spaull

Collecting Brazil nuts in Cachoeira reserve

Jon Spaull

A rubber tapper’s house in the reserve

Jon Spaull

A rubber tapper and cousin of Chico Mendes hugging the then environment minister Marina Silva at the opening of the Natex condom factory in 2008

Jon Spaull

Making condoms at the factory from collected latex

Jon Spaull

Testing condoms for strength

Jon Spaull

The factory produces more than 100 million condoms a year

Jon Spaull

The government gives the condoms away to help fight HIV

Jon Spaull

By: Jon Spaull

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<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Tapping into safe sex in the Brazilian Amazon</h1>
<h4>By: Jon Spaull</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="article-img-gallery" id="image-gallery"><div class="owl-carousel"><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri01jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Cattle on cleared land near Xapuri. Protected Brazil nut trees remain, but they only produce nuts when inside the rainforest canopy.
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri01jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Cattle on cleared land near Xapuri. Protected Brazil nut trees remain, but they only produce nuts when inside the rainforest canopy.
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri01jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Cattle on cleared land near Xapuri. Protected Brazil nut trees remain, but they only produce nuts when inside the rainforest canopy.
'></noscript></noscript><p>Cattle on cleared land near Xapuri. Protected Brazil nut trees remain, but they only produce nuts when inside the rainforest canopy.</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri02a_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tree and a rubber tapper with his daughter in Cachoeira reserve, near Xapuri, an area made into an extractive reserve for the rubber tappers living on the land after campaigner Chico Mendes was murdered
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri02a_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tree and a rubber tapper with his daughter in Cachoeira reserve, near Xapuri, an area made into an extractive reserve for the rubber tappers living on the land after campaigner Chico Mendes was murdered
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri02a_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tree and a rubber tapper with his daughter in Cachoeira reserve, near Xapuri, an area made into an extractive reserve for the rubber tappers living on the land after campaigner Chico Mendes was murdered
'></noscript></noscript><p>A rubber tree and a rubber tapper with his daughter in Cachoeira reserve, near Xapuri, an area made into an extractive reserve for the rubber tappers living on the land after campaigner Chico Mendes was murdered</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri03_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and nephew of Chico Mendes at his home on the reserve 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri03_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and nephew of Chico Mendes at his home on the reserve 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri03_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and nephew of Chico Mendes at his home on the reserve 
'></noscript></noscript><p>A rubber tapper and nephew of Chico Mendes at his home on the reserve </p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri04_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Tapping rubber in the reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri04_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Tapping rubber in the reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri04_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Tapping rubber in the reserve
'></noscript></noscript><p>Tapping rubber in the reserve</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri05_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Sebastaio Mendes, another cousin of Chico Mendes, collects rubber by cutting grooves in the bark of a rubber tree
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri05_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Sebastaio Mendes, another cousin of Chico Mendes, collects rubber by cutting grooves in the bark of a rubber tree
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri05_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Sebastaio Mendes, another cousin of Chico Mendes, collects rubber by cutting grooves in the bark of a rubber tree
'></noscript></noscript><p>Sebastaio Mendes, another cousin of Chico Mendes, collects rubber by cutting grooves in the bark of a rubber tree</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri06_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Natural latex flows into a cup
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri06_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Natural latex flows into a cup
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri06_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Natural latex flows into a cup
'></noscript></noscript><p>Natural latex flows into a cup</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri08_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper carries a bag of collected Brazil nuts 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri08_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper carries a bag of collected Brazil nuts 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri08_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper carries a bag of collected Brazil nuts 
'></noscript></noscript><p>A rubber tapper carries a bag of collected Brazil nuts </p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri09-_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Collecting Brazil nuts in Cachoeira reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri09-_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Collecting Brazil nuts in Cachoeira reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri09-_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Collecting Brazil nuts in Cachoeira reserve
'></noscript></noscript><p>Collecting Brazil nuts in Cachoeira reserve</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri10jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper’s house in the reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri10jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper’s house in the reserve
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri10jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper’s house in the reserve
'></noscript></noscript><p>A rubber tapper’s house in the reserve</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri11_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and cousin of Chico Mendes hugging the then environment minister Marina Silva at the opening of the Natex condom factory in 2008 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri11_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and cousin of Chico Mendes hugging the then environment minister Marina Silva at the opening of the Natex condom factory in 2008 
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri11_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='A rubber tapper and cousin of Chico Mendes hugging the then environment minister Marina Silva at the opening of the Natex condom factory in 2008 
'></noscript></noscript><p>A rubber tapper and cousin of Chico Mendes hugging the then environment minister Marina Silva at the opening of the Natex condom factory in 2008 </p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri12_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Making condoms at the factory from collected latex
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri12_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Making condoms at the factory from collected latex
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri12_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Making condoms at the factory from collected latex
'></noscript></noscript><p>Making condoms at the factory from collected latex</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri13_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Testing condoms for strength
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri13_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Testing condoms for strength
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri13_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='Testing condoms for strength
'></noscript></noscript><p>Testing condoms for strength</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri14_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The factory produces more than 100 million condoms a year
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri14_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The factory produces more than 100 million condoms a year
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri14_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The factory produces more than 100 million condoms a year
'></noscript></noscript><p>The factory produces more than 100 million condoms a year</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div><div><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri15jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The government gives the condoms away to help fight HIV
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img data-src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri15jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The government gives the condoms away to help fight HIV
' src='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==' class='lazyload'><noscript><img src='https://www.scidev.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/xapuri15jpg_fileminimizer_.jpg' alt='The government gives the condoms away to help fight HIV
'></noscript></noscript><p>The government gives the condoms away to help fight HIV</p>
<p><em>Jon Spaull</em></p></div></div></div>
<div id="article-body">
<figure class="article-image left-image">
	<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Acre (FILEminimizer).jpg" fileid="0AD825D3-704C-4BAB-BA44A24AB9996C60" height="293" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/site_assets/maps/acre_fileminimizer_.jpg" width="240" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" class="lazyload" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 240px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 240/293;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Acre (FILEminimizer).jpg" fileid="0AD825D3-704C-4BAB-BA44A24AB9996C60" height="293" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/site_assets/maps/acre_fileminimizer_.jpg" width="240" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" class="lazyload" style="--smush-placeholder-width: 240px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 240/293;" /><noscript><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Acre (FILEminimizer).jpg" fileid="0AD825D3-704C-4BAB-BA44A24AB9996C60" height="293" src="/wp-content/uploads/site_assets/maps/acre_fileminimizer_.jpg" width="240" /></noscript></noscript></figure>
<p>Xapuri, a small town in the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon, was the home of Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper and environmentalist who fought to protect the Amazon from loggers. In 1988, he was shot dead by a cattle rancher, but his legacy survives in a factory producing millions of condoms from local latex.</p>
<p>Mendes saw rubber tappers as the natural custodians of the rainforest. He thought the best way to prevent land clearance was to improve the rights and income of those who make a living from the forest. Based on Mendes’s ideas, the state of Acre has adopted a policy known as <em>‘florestania’ </em>or citizens forestry. One of Brazil’s poorest states, Acre is seeking to increase the value of products extracted from the forest.</p>
<p>The flagship of its programme is a condom factory opened in 2008 in Xapuri in conjunction with the federal government. The factory is the first in the world to use latex collected from wild, rather than cultivated, trees. Each year, it makes more than 100 million condoms to be given away as part of the government’s ambitious HIV programme.</p>
<p>The factory was opened by the then environment minister Marina Silva. Herself the daughter of impoverished rubber tappers from the region, she is a strong advocate of <em>‘florestania</em>’. Silva is a candidate in Brazil’s presidential elections on 5 October and stands a strong chance of becoming the country’s first black female president. </p>

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Xapuri, a small town in the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon, was the home of Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper and environmentalist who fought to protect the Amazon from loggers. In 1988, he was shot dead by a cattle rancher, but his legacy survives in a factory producing millions of condoms from local latex.

Mendes saw rubber tappers as the natural custodians of the rainforest. He thought the best way to prevent land clearance was to improve the rights and income of those who make a living from the forest. Based on Mendes’s ideas, the state of Acre has adopted a policy known as ‘florestania’ or citizens forestry. One of Brazil’s poorest states, Acre is seeking to increase the value of products extracted from the forest.

The flagship of its programme is a condom factory opened in 2008 in Xapuri in conjunction with the federal government. The factory is the first in the world to use latex collected from wild, rather than cultivated, trees. Each year, it makes more than 100 million condoms to be given away as part of the government’s ambitious HIV programme.

The factory was opened by the then environment minister Marina Silva. Herself the daughter of impoverished rubber tappers from the region, she is a strong advocate of ‘florestania’. Silva is a candidate in Brazil’s presidential elections on 5 October and stands a strong chance of becoming the country’s first black female president.