Rubber + Wood

About the Photographs

The rubber tree, a native of South America, was brought to Southeast Asia following the advent of vulcanization in the early 1800’s. These photographs of para rubber trees and activities and labors associated with the crop were made in southern Thailand where the tree is commonly found in sea level coastal areas as well as low mountain jungle. The tree is tapped to produce latex to which a mild acid is added to initiate coagulation. In the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, small local producers bring their latex to the simple facility of a neighbor who will accept their trees' production and process the latex to rubber sheets that are then taken to market. Depending on the elevation where the plantation is located, a tree will prove economically viable for a good 20 or more years after which it is logged for its hardwood. "Economically viable" is key to how long the tree will stand. Even if a tree is younger and producing a steady supply of latex, if the rubber can't be marketed for a good price, farmers will cut down the trees to put in another more quickly growing cash crop.

On flat terrain at low elevations, the logs of the felled trees can be removed with heavy equipment. At higher elevations in steep and rugged jungle terrain, elephants are needed to haul out the logs. There are multiple roles involved in making all this happen. The small farmer taps the trees and sends the latex to a local processor. The processor makes and sells the rubber sheets. When the trees stop producing or are no longer economically viable, the land owner contacts someone to remove the trees. Depending on where the trees are you'll need different resources to get the parawood to the mill. In the case of many of these photographs, the trees were growing in low jungle. To remove them you need an elephant or two, an elephant owner, an elephant handler, loggers with chain saws, a crew to make the big logs into small logs and load the wood to a truck that will haul it all to the sawmill, crews of workers to make the logs into boards and, when appropriate, pressure treat that wood, etc., then other trucks to move the pallets to a transport such as an ocean-going ship to get the milled wood to its final buyer. In the case of the parawood mill in these photographs, the majority of the wood is shipped to China where it can be made into furniture.

To my eyes there is beauty in the role of the elephant in this process. They are magnificent and intelligent creatures. There appears genuine affection between the animals and their handlers. A water source of some sort is required and provided for the animals, and they are rested during the work day. At the end of the day, depending on the job the elephant or elephants return to the owner from whom they were leased. Judging from what I’ve seen, once back home, they rest comfortably and eat well.