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These Tea Farmers Haul Their Harvest on Motorcycles Through the Deadliest Mountain Trails
The Drive ^ | Jan 27, 2021 | James Gilboy

Posted on 01/27/2021 7:25:09 AM PST by texas booster

A mountain's thin air and rocky soil can make it an inhospitable place to grow crops. But for all the challenges these conditions present farmers with, they can reward them in equal measures, such as with cold temperatures, dry air, and reduced dependence on pesticides.

Actually going to market, however, requires hauling one's produce down the mountain—a task not for the faint of heart. In some tea-growing regions of Southeast Asia, the quickest way is via the biggest motor vehicles that can maneuver down mountainous trails: Motorcycles.

Recent videos uploaded to social media show farmers traversing the treacherous terraces of a tea plantation on bikes, which offer a brief overview of high-altitude tea growth. In these clips, farmers ride a small fleet of Suzuki GN125Hs; entry-level "standard" bikes with upright riding positions, five-speed chain drives, and single-overhead-cam, air-cooled one-cylinder engines. Their simplicity of use makes them ideal for transporting bundles of tea down paths where even a moment's distraction could spell disaster.

...

Whatever the case, it's impressive just how brave these farmers are for eloquently riding their motorcycles along these narrow passages. In some cases, they have to stop and back up for three-point turns, and sometimes even employ the help of others to hold the bikes from behind so they don't fall down the mountain.

There are many crops that grow in inhospitable places around the world that require dangerous collecting methods, but this one is definitely up there in terms of risk. Just think about that next time you sip on a hot cup of tea.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: asia; teafarming
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Three-point turns, muddy hairpins, high on a mountainside with an overloaded motorcycle? No problem.

Makes learning to drive a motorcycle in the US look ... completely soy-boy.

YT video at the link.

1 posted on 01/27/2021 7:25:09 AM PST by texas booster
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To: texas booster; martin_fierro

MOTORCYCLE PING!..............................


2 posted on 01/27/2021 7:27:53 AM PST by Red Badger (TREASON is the REASON for the SLEAZIN'.................................)
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To: texas booster
Collecting tea from the side of a mountain.

https://youtu.be/zQARyqE8cBI

3 posted on 01/27/2021 7:28:48 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

4 posted on 01/27/2021 7:31:36 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

I saw a little documentary on how Bugatti manufactured their luxury sports cars. One of the things that stuck out in my mind was that the leather used in their interior trim comes from cattle that are maintained in high altitude alpine pastures where the skins won’t be blemished by barbed wire or mosquito and other insect bites.


5 posted on 01/27/2021 7:32:17 AM PST by Joe 6-pack
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To: texas booster
I am having trouble posting images from the YT video or from the article.

Apologize for the size .. would appreciate any help one can give.

6 posted on 01/27/2021 7:33:46 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

I’ve always wondered why enterprising Americans back in the 18th century didn’t attempt to grow tea. It was a huge import commodity, controlled by the Crown, and obviously a highly taxed and politically contentious product which would seem to beg for import replacement.

For example, the Piedmont region of South Carolina has spots similar in climate and topography of Fujian China or Assam India


7 posted on 01/27/2021 7:39:33 AM PST by PGR88
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To: texas booster

Surprised the article didn’t blame climate change for something.


8 posted on 01/27/2021 7:41:25 AM PST by Rebelbase (COVID misanthrope)
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To: texas booster

Scroll to the bottom of my profile page. I have various URL codes, including how to post a picture and choose what size you want it to appear on the page. You may need to play around with the numbers.


9 posted on 01/27/2021 7:42:15 AM PST by BykrBayb (Lung cancer free since 11/9/07. Colon cancer free since 7/7/15. Obama free since 1/20/17. PTL ~ Þ )
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To: texas booster

Fascinating video. You really don’t realize the simple things we take for granted are the result of somebody’s very hard labor. The number of people harvesting the tea is astonishing.

The videographer kept showing the same beautiful young lady over and over. The flush of youthful beauty sure fades quickly with backbreaking work like that.

When I worked in remote parts of China in ‘76 - ‘77, I saw little kids that couldn’t have been older than 4 years old unloading bricks from river barges with woven baskets on their backs like is shown in this video.


10 posted on 01/27/2021 7:49:50 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: BykrBayb

Thank you!

I can’t find the source server for the images, and I haven’t created a TinyPic type account.

And now work calls ... will look at this later.


11 posted on 01/27/2021 7:50:09 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: BykrBayb; texas booster

You also need to first upload the picture to a hosting site. I like www.imgbb.com for simplicity and reliability.


12 posted on 01/27/2021 7:51:36 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: texas booster
Here's a nice screen cap of the young lady they keep showing doing all the work. Tea picking must be brutal on your finger tips.


13 posted on 01/27/2021 7:53:24 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Try to imagine a place in America where women that look like that are doing work that hard.

Never happen.


14 posted on 01/27/2021 7:54:49 AM PST by datura (If you have to cheat, you didn't’ win.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Very true.

In the West we have created machines to do the backbreaking labor that used to involve peasants or slaves (in many countries).

It is very expensive to maintain a machine that can do what a surplus of people can do, especially out in the boondocks.

So Asia will do what Asians have always done - throw thousands of peasants at a problem.

I remember a video of construction workers building a bamboo scaffold up the side of a building in Hong Kong - must have been from decades ago. Once secured it look surprisingly safe - at least by their standards ...

15 posted on 01/27/2021 7:55:30 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster
Look at all the workers!


16 posted on 01/27/2021 7:56:25 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

What tea?

:)


17 posted on 01/27/2021 7:56:30 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

Can’t you see the tea?


18 posted on 01/27/2021 7:57:35 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (Democracy Dies With Democrats)
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To: texas booster

It’s not just a job. It’s an adventure.


19 posted on 01/27/2021 7:58:08 AM PST by SimpleJack
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To: texas booster
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20 posted on 01/27/2021 8:00:11 AM PST by null and void (Since I'm a punster, a jokester, and a well rounded funny guy, my personal pronoun is "He He")
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