Hand & machine tea leaf pickers in Malaysia

Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Hand and machine tea leaf pickers in Malaysia
Hand and machine tea leaf pickers in Malaysia

Tea leaf picking in the highlands of Malaysia

The Cameron Highlands is probably my favourite place in Malaysia. The cool air. The mountains. The amazing food and rural aspect of it all. On a visit to one of the tea plantations I was taken back by how old school it still was when it came to picking tea leaves.

It’s still done by hand. Although the machines are coming …

The story behind this photograph

Nepalese and Indonesians make up most of the tea leaf picking workforce in Malaysia. Cheap labor. It’s been that way for decades and will probably remain so for many more to come.

Women and men pick tea leaves by hand. There’s no other way to do. Depending on the type of tea leaf they are picking machines simply can’t navigate such a landscape in such a delicate manner.

Today the top of the bushels are harvested by a modified hedge trimmer with a collector at the back. It’s faster than by hand. But it can’t manage the sides.

It’s here in this photograph that we can see both a woman picking tea leaves by hand and two men picking tea leaves with a machine.

 


Discover more great travel photographsTea Plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

This is an additional photograph feature from my world travel photography gallery, documenting the story behind the picture 


Hotel search at the Longest Way Home

Planning on booking a hotel room in Malaysia?

Here are the best online rates guaranteed!

I recommend you try my own hotel search for Malaysia.

 

 


Please take a moment to leave a comment and share this photograph using your favorite social network

Liked this post?

Never miss a post!
  
* indicates required