Our
visit to Vietnam also saw us visiting a rubber plantation. Stetching over an
area of more tha 100 hectares, with more than 200,000 trees! The trees were
planted about 3 metres apart sideways and 5 metres apart (lengthwise). This was
to prevent competition among the trees for sunlight and nutrients. An area
of trees were tapped daily for a period of two weeks every morning, after which
the rubber tappers would move on to tap another area of trees. As shown in the
photograph on the left, a slit is made on the bark of the tree and the latex
will flow into a cup tied round the tree. After the latex has been collected,
the cups would be turned upside down to prevent dirt from entering it. The
rubber tappers were paid about US $50 a month, which is very little compared to
what Singaporeans earn.
Our
visit to Vietnam also saw us visiting a rubber plantation. Stetching over an
area of more tha 100 hectares, with more than 200,000 trees! The trees were
planted about 3 metres apart sideways and 5 metres apart (lengthwise). This was
to prevent competition among the trees for sunlight and nutrients. An area
of trees were tapped daily for a period of two weeks every morning, after which
the rubber tappers would move on to tap another area of trees. As shown in the
photograph on the left, a slit is made on the bark of the tree and the latex
will flow into a cup tied round the tree. After the latex has been collected,
the cups would be turned upside down to prevent dirt from entering it. The
rubber tappers were paid about US $50 a month, which is very little compared to
what Singaporeans earn.