Green Machine.

DaimlerChrysler invests in the Amazon to turn natural fibers into car parts.

MARAJO, THE WORLD'S LARGEST RIVER island, sits near the Amazon port of Belem. Larger and lusher than Belgium, and imbued with a local culture enriched by lilting Carimbo music and Indian folklore, this once was a place with little future.

In the last decade, however, modern industry has tapped local resources in a way that not only makes money but also preserves the island--and keeps Marajo residents from fleeing to cities.

"It is not just the trees that need a sustainable life," says Joachim Zahn, a DaimlerChrysler executive in Brazil. "There are 17 million people living in the Amazon region."

In 1991, Daimler-Benz--now DaimlerChrysler--joined a Para state university research project known as Poverty and Environment in the Amazon (Poema) to focus on ways to use Marajo's biodiversity. Researchers soon discovered that a mix of coconut fiber and latex could be easily substituted for oil-derived materials, like plastic and polyurethane, used to manufacture seats and head rests in motor vehicles. The partnership resulted in a company, Poematec, and the March 2001 launch of a processing plant on the poorly developed island.

"There was a long period of tests to assess the viability of this project," says Manfred Straub, DaimlerChrysler's purchasing director, who has been involved in the project since 1992. "It is definitely competitive from an economic point of view. It's a real alternative."

The auto company has invested US$1.4 million in the project's total $4 million research budget and is now a major client of Poematec, which ships natural fiber parts for use in trucks and cars manufactured in Sao Paulo and Juiz de Fora in the state of Minas Gerais.

Ben Van Schaik, DaimlerChrysler's CEO in Latin America, says the hard part now will be to persuade other manufacturers to use natural fibers. General Motors, Volkswagen and Honda are reportedly interested, while Peugeot has launched its own Amazon project by planting trees that absorb carbon dioxide to fend off global warming. "It's not an easy beginning," says Van Schaik. "First, we have to prove that it is the right product for the Brazilian market."

But if natural fibers catch on, Poematec will be ready. A small plant on the outskirts of Belem currently churns out 7 million tons of manufactured parts, including visors, seats and car hoods, all made from natural fibers. The factory will be capable of hiking output to 80 million tons by 2002, including 45 million tons of coconut fibers.

"We are moving from the state of being producers of raw materials to exporters of manufactured products," says Simao Jatene, a Para state government official who oversees industrial production.

Before Poema, Bastos says, 22 households lived a bleak existence crammed inside wooden barracks with a few necessities. Coconuts provided a meager livelihood. The factory and the jobs it spawned not only provided jobs, but they also heightened the value of the coconut groves. Now, 35 families have brick houses, clean water and electricity. And they no longer clear or bum the trees.

About face. Most important, Jatene and other officials point out that Poema has reversed the rural exodus to Belem and urban centers by creating jobs. At Ponta de Pedras, a coconut grove on Marajo island, Henrique Bastos says he no longer thinks about moving to the city. "I was tempted to leave," says the 37-year-old farm worker who heads a local cooperative. "But now, not only did people stay, but others have joined us."

Much of the transformation should be credited to Willi Hoss, a native of Stuttgart, Germany. Hoss, a trade unionist and former Bundestag member of the Green Party who worked for Daimler-Benz for 28 years as a welder, came up with the idea to bring his corporation closer to the rainforest and its natural resources. He doggedly pursued the notion and has worked closely with the project since 1993 via a nonprofit group called Poema Stuttgart. He now lives on Marajo Island. "It is like a dream come true to see this working after 10 years," he says.

Scientific research continues on the island. Tests are being conducted on curaua, a plant from the same family of the pineapple. Its fiber is so resistant that locals already use it in ropes for their boats. DaimlerChrysler is eyeing it as a replacement for fiberglass in bumpers and hoods.