An article published on Apri 8th 2008 by the Associated Press. Available at: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/08/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-Condom-Factory.php
Brazil on Monday inaugurated a condom factory that officials say will help hundreds of poor Brazilian rubber tappers make a living while helping to preserve the Amazon rain forest.
The plant in the northwestern town of Xapuri will produce 100 million condoms a year, which the government will distribute for free as part of its massive anti-AIDS program, Brazil’s Health Ministry said in a statement.
The latex will be drawn from towering jungle trees in the sprawling Chico Mendes forest reserve by small time rubber tappers who protect their trees — and thus the rain forest — to ensure their livelihood, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The reserves is named after renowned rubber tapper Chico Mendes who drew international attention to Amazon rain forest destruction. Mendes was shot dead in his home in Xapuri in December 1988 by cattle ranchers.