08/17/01 -- The quest for "greener" cars takes Daimler Chrysler to the rain forest

The quest for "greener" cars takes Daimler Chrysler to the rain forest

BELEM, Brazil—A tropical rain forest probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think of "luxury car country." But this tropical rain forest area in northeast Brazil is at the forefront of a project by DaimlerChrysler to use natural fibers in its cars while aiding in the preservation of the rain forest. The luxury car manufacturer is using coconut fibers and natural latex rubber from the Amazon rain forest in seats for its Mercedes-Benz A-Class as part of its partnership with a Brazilian group called Poverty and the Environment in Amazonia (POEMA). The idea seemed so intriguing that POPULAR MECHANICS decided we had to have a look for ourselves. Today, 900 families from this region participate in POEMA’s fiber production and processing activities. In one community, Praja Grande, the average family’s income has increased from about $36 per month to about $300 a month since participation in the program began. Keep in mind that the minimum wage here is $75 a month, so $300 a month is like winning the lottery—every month. And, instead of leaving the village, people are moving here.

The POEMA research project was started in 1991 by Dr. Thomas Mitschein and the University of Belém as a means of curbing deforestation in the Amazon rain forest. The idea was to create sustainable economic alternatives and improve living conditions. DaimlerChrysler and the United Nations joined the POEMA project in 1992.

The first task was education. And the first community to participate was Praja Grande, on the island of Marajo. To create sustainable economic alternatives, POEMA worked with small landholders in Praja Grande to help them switch from monoculture, or farming just one crop, to planting mixed-crop fields. Otherwise, the soil would be depleted of nutrients after about five to seven years. When this happened, farmers typically would "slash and burn" more of the rain forest to use for farming.

Today, most of the fields using POEMA's agroforestry management system contain between three and seven different types of crops, such as coconuts, peach palm and lime. This provides several harvests a year instead of one, and doesn’t deplete the soil of nutrients. The result is a lovely bunch of coconuts, a 300 percent increase in the coconut harvest to be precise, according to Mitschein, the general coordinator of POEMA. He estimates that a family using mixed-crop farming can get the same harvest as before—using 90 percent less land.The POEMA project also developed an inexpensive water purification system for Praja Grande that the government has adopted for other local communities. Ironically, although this region has an abundance of water, it is unsafe to drink. Praja Grande now has water piped into homes, so villagers don't have to spend a day collecting water. Also as a result of the project, the village has electricity, produced by a wind-powered generator—which means they can have refrigerators. And, every home now has a TV.

How It Works

Before POEMA, coconut fiber, which is taken from the thick, brown husks, was considered a waste product. Today, it is a source of income. Each participating community sets up a processing center to extract the fiber. The processing center is equipped with tubs for soaking the coconuts and a machine that separates the fiber from the shell. Once separated, the fibers are twisted into rope and then sent to a factory. (The coconut fruit is sold in the market or to a fruit-processing factory.) At the factory, the fiber is combined with natural latex rubber and molded into headrests, sun visors and seat parts for trucks sold in Brazil, and for small Mercedes-Benz sedans, such as the A-Class. Some communities, including Praja Grande, have set up small factories run by cooperatives made up of small landholders. They sell the coconut fiber products to a third party, which in turn supplies the finished assembly to DaimlerChrysler. An important aspect of the project is that the local communities can run, modify and maintain the processing equipment themselves, without outside help.

Not Business As Usual

While the environmental aspects are laudable, there is also a business case for using natural fiber products. First, DaimlerChrysler saves 5 percent in overall production costs by using natural products over plastics, says Ben Van Scheik, chief executive officer of DaimlerChrysler Latin America, and president of DaimlerChrysler of Brazil. Today, the rising cost of petroleum derivatives, and improved fiber-processing equipment make coconuts a viable raw material alternative to plastics. According to Mitschein, the coconut fiber products meet the same quality standards that DaimlerChrysler has set for all of its automotive products. Also, coconut fiber is 100 percent recyclable. In theory, so are car bodies when scrapped and melted. But, with coconut fiber there are no significant energy costs associated with processing waste and recycling because the waste fibers are either fed back into the processing cycle or used in products such as hairbrushes or shoe insoles. And, today, using natural fiber products is good public relations.

A Global Solution

At first glance, it may seem counterintuitive to allow any farming at all in the rain forest, even on deforested land. Mitschein believes it is the only viable solution. "We have to create alternatives within these areas affected by degradation for the 17 million people of the Amazon. If we succeed in doing this, we will reduce the pressure on the primary [uncut] forest," says Mitschein.

So far, the POEMA project has been a success. POEMA has managed to pull together a diverse group of investors, including rural landholders, DaimlerChrysler and members of local and state governments, to work together to improve the socioeconomic conditions in this region. Local communities have increased their crop yield by as much as 300 percent and found a sustainable market for their products.

DaimlerChrysler continues to offer technical and financial assistance to POEMA, and to research more ways to use natural fibers in its products. And, in March 2001, POEMA opened its first factory„POEMAtec„in BelŽm. The factory, which will manufacture natural fiber products, has a 10-year contract to supply products to DaimlerChrysler. Honda, General Motors and Volkswagen have also expressed interest in purchasing natural fiber products from POEMAtec. Mitschein expects the demand for fiber products to be so high that POEMAtec will need to build a second factory within two years.After its positive experience using natural fiber products in Brazil, DaimlerChrysler expanded its use of natural fibers to include car components produced in South Africa and Germany. If the idea of using natural fibers and resins in cars continues to catch on, your next car might have components that have more in common with your vegetable garden than a steel mill. Error: Unable to read footer file.