Sights in Xapuri
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Fábrica de Preservativos
Acre's rubber tappers have fewer and fewer places to sell their product, pushed out by cheaper (but inferior) Asian and synthetic latex. However, condoms - called preservativos or camisinhas in Portuguese - are one of few mass-market items still commonly made from 100% natural latex. The Brazilian government has long promised Xapuri a condom factory, which will buy locally produced rubber, and employ a couple dozen factory workers at the same time.
Nearly complete - finally! - the factory reportedly will offer tours to visitors. Done properly, the visits could be a fascinating; ask at your hotel for the latest.
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Museu do Xapuri
This modest but interesting museum covers the history of Acre and Xapuri, which was once a major hub for commercial activity, thanks to its location at the confluence of two rivers. Rubber, nuts, wood and other products were floated downstream to market, while roaming merchants (mostly Lebanese and Syrian, interestingly enough) used the waterways to peddle everything from shovels to perfume. Housed in an attractive mansion that served as the city hall from 1929 to 2000.
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Casa Chico Mendes
Just across the street from the Fundação Chico Mendes, the teal and pink Casa Chico Mendes is just that: the simple wood house where Mendes, his wife and two children lived until his murder. This is also where he was killed; tours conducted by docents from the Foundation (required) include a graphic description of place and moment he was shot, even the bloodstains still on the walls. Photos are not permitted inside the house, but outside is OK.
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Fundação Chico Mendes
The visitors center of the Fundação Chico Mendes contains wall-size photos of Chico Mendes with his wife and children, tapping rubber trees, and leading empate s – work stoppages designed to stop clear-cutting in the rain forest. There are some personal effects, including the blood-stained clothes and bath towel he had when he was murdered, and numerous awards given to Mendes, both before and after he died.
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Preservativos Natex
Keeping hundreds of local rubber-tappers in business, Preservativos Natex turns rubber into rubbers. The factory produces 100 million condoms per year, all for distribution by government health agencies. Around 700 families collect and sell latex to the factory, which was opened in 2008 with joint private and public backing.
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