We could not still resolve the problems with tappers. The working family who promised to work in the Estate did not tern up on the Sunday morning. I am so frastrated and helpless, but keep on looking for people.
The decendants of the Indian Tamils who were brought to Sri Lanka to work in the plantation estates are the professional tappers in the big plantation estates. They are being provided housing and a daily wage of Rs. 410.00 (US $ 4.00) for tapping for a day. Because of heavy rains duirng the months of April and May, the income for workers in rubber plantations drastically dropps. But, in addition to tapping, the estates make sure that they are getting a resonable monthly income through manual work such as weeding .
The estate houses are overcrowded with extended family members. The younger generations of the estate workers often look for nontraditional work outside the estates mostly in service sector. Some of them are unhappy members of extended families who look for work at a higher wages. The family that we were looking for belongs to this catagory. Despite of our promises of providing better housing and high wages, they let us down. I think the main reason is my waring agaist the alcoholism. Most of men in the estate families are adicted to alcohol. No matter where they live, the want to drink locally distilled licqure every evening. With this bitter lesson of experience, now I understand that finding non-alcoholic workers is not possible in Sri Lanka.
The estate houses are overcrowded with extended family members. The younger generations of the estate workers often look for nontraditional work outside the estates mostly in service sector. Some of them are unhappy members of extended families who look for work at a higher wages. The family that we were looking for belongs to this catagory. Despite of our promises of providing better housing and high wages, they let us down. I think the main reason is my waring agaist the alcoholism. Most of men in the estate families are adicted to alcohol. No matter where they live, the want to drink locally distilled licqure every evening. With this bitter lesson of experience, now I understand that finding non-alcoholic workers is not possible in Sri Lanka.
It rains heavily everyday. Even tappers are brought, they won't be able to tap the rubber trees during this period. The money I have at hand is draining out to improve workers' quaters and to provide the sanitary facilities before the arrival of workers. I am very desperate with the prevailing weather and my inability to find tappers.
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