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Article: Henry Ford's Folly.
- Article from:
- Revista Latin Trade
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Freedom Magazines, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Will the automotive pioneer's failed rubber plantations bring tourists to the Brazilian rain forest?
ALONG, COOL LANE LEADS TO CLAP-board houses where dark green shutters block the baking sun. Tidy lawns explode with flowers; pine trees lend aromatic shade. Fire hydrants bearing the stamp of a Michigan manufacturer poke up from concrete sidewalks.
It looks like a Great Lakes community of summer cottages--except that these houses are tucked deep in Brazil's Amazon jungle. This town, Belterra, and its even more remote sister, Fordlandia, are what's left of auto pioneer Henry Ford's bid to become a rubber baron.
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