园林里挺拔的橡胶树整齐排列,晨曦穿过树缝间,洒下一地明暗。钟秀春阿姨微微佝偻着身子,手中锋利的长柄拉刀在树皮上勾勒一道浅痕,汨汨而出的乳白色胶汁顺着倾斜的切割口流淌。钟阿姨钉上铁制胶舌为胶汁引流,使其滴入下方以铁丝绑定的胶杯中。
二十世纪初叶橡胶业处于鼎盛时期,马来亚成为全世界最大橡胶生产国,吸引许多英国企业前来投资。马来亚独立,英国人撤离之际把园丘分段出售,不少本地居民斥资收购,晋身成为小园主。钟秀春阿姨所居住的万茂(Mambau)一带有着大片橡胶园,她11岁开始跟随母亲到英资园丘割胶,接下来的六十年间在辗转为不同的小园主效劳。
随着马来西亚经济蓬勃发展,城市面积不断扩张,建筑商收购了不少万茂和邻近区域的园丘,开发了芙蓉新城(Seremban 2)、达城(Bandar Sri Sendayan) 等。钟秀春阿姨被迫到位置更偏远的马来保留地劳作,每天需独自骑摩托十几分钟路程,越过从原先的胶园改建成住宅区以及商业区的地段,方能抵达现今的工作地点。
钟阿姨的工作模式连同工作地点一道转换,向园主租赁橡胶树采割,每月支付固定的租金,工作时间和份额则自由安排。由于橡胶树排胶量有限,她将自己负责的六英亩胶园划为两块区域交替采割,作业面积缩减意味着不必赶在天未亮开工,大部分的工作集中在早上完成即可。
清晨七时许,钟阿姨骑摩托抵达胶园,裹上围裙和头巾,点燃蚊香挂在腰间,才提起工具桶穿梭胶林间。一把常用割胶刀、一把备用割胶刀、一些铁制胶舌、一把砍柴用的巴冷刀,甚至还有摩托的火星塞以备不时之需。约莫中午收工回家,她吃过午饭稍作休息,傍晚时分磨刀以便翌日使用。
万茂的橡胶业随着国际橡胶市场需求降低逐渐没落,园丘纷纷改种油棕、榴梿。本地的割胶工人要么改行,要么退休,像钟秀春阿姨般坚持不渝的寥寥无几。城镇发展提供更多就业机会,年轻一代纷纷另谋出路,不再以割胶维生。如今橡胶园业主面临请不到员工的窘境,只好雇佣印尼籍劳工,本地华裔割胶工人越来越少见。
七旬的钟阿姨与橡胶打交道大半辈子,“胶”情匪浅。虽然因常年行走陡坡引起脚痛问题,乐天的她未曾萌生退休的念头,一来打发时间,二来劳动当运动。即使割胶行业日薄西山,钟阿姨仍能凭一己之力独立维持生活。
Rubber trees stand tall and straight in neat rows, bright rays of the morning sun shine through the leaves. Madam Chong Sew Cheen stoops slightly to score a rubber tree with the pull-type rubber tapping knife in her hands, milky-white latex sap flow downward the diagonal cut. Madam Chong inserts a metal spout to allow the latex to drip into a collection cup held in place by a galvanized wire.
In the 20th century, there was a massive boom in rubber trade, Malaya became the world's largest producer of natural rubber, which attracted swarms of British capitalist investors. As Malaya gained independence from British rule, plantations were divided and sold upon British capitalists leaving the country, several locals spent their hard-earned money to buy over and became smallholders. Mambau, where Madam Chong resides, was mainly consisted of rubber plantations. At eleven years old, she followed in her mother’s footsteps to tap rubber at a British-owned plantation. Over the next six decades, she moved around to work under different smallholders.
The rapid economic growth since Malaysia’s formation led to urban sprawl, property developers acquired plantations in Mambau and surrounding areas to build new townships such as Seremban 2 and Bandar Sri Sendayan. In order to sustain a livelihood, Madam Chong had to work at remote Malay reserved lands, making daily trips alone via motorcycle for about twenty minutes, passing by residential and commercial properties which used to be rubber plantations, to reach her current workplace.
The switching of workplace brought on changes to Madam’s Chong working mode, where she now rents rubber trees from the landowner for a fixed monthly fee, and she is free to arrange her own working hours and workload. Due to the amount of latex sap produced by rubber trees being limited, she divided the six-acre plot into two patches to be tapped alternately, the downscaled working area means that she no longer need to rush to work before dawn, as it can be completed throughout the morning.
Around seven in the morning, Madam Chong arrives at the rubber plantation on her motorcycle, ties on her apron and headscarf, lights a mosquito coil to hang upon her waist, then goes around the rubber trees with her bucket of tools. A regularly used tapping knife, a spare one, some metal spouts, a parang to collect firewood, and spare spark plugs in case her motorcycle misfires. After completing her work around noon, she goes home to have lunch and rest, later in the evening she sharpens the tapping knives and gets ready for the next day’s toil.
Mambau’s rubber industry dwindled in line with weakening global demand, smallholders converted to palm or durian plantations. Local rubber tappers either change their jobs or retire, only a handful remain persistent lke Madam Chong. Big cities offer more opportunities, younger generations rather flock to urban areas than tap rubber. Nowadays rubber plantations face workers shortage, even in hiring foreign labour. Local Chinese rubber tappers are becoming increasingly rare.
Septuagenarian Madam Chong has been working as a rubber tapper for the majority of her life. Although she occasionally suffer leg pain from walking on slopes, she remains jovial and have no plans to retire yet, as she may pass time and exercise through her work. Despite the decline of the rubber industry, Madam Chong still manage to make a living.
#有你UNI #UNIGallery #马来西亚有你 #有你 #UNI #uniness #uninessmalaysia
uni.gallery
uniness.gallery
文 Text/ 潘慧雯 Pua Hui Wen
© 2022 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD
Негізгі бет 割胶女工 Lady Rubber Tapper
Пікірлер: 8