Rubber plantation worker shows how latex extracted from trees

By Barney Riley via SWNS

A Vietnamese rubber plantation worker has gone viral on social media by documenting the fascinating process of rubber tapping and the extraction of latex.

Man Kim, who didn't wish to disclose her location, has received millions of views and close to eight million likes on TikTok, where she regularly posts content detailing how the natural material is extracted from trees.

The 27-year-old has been been working on the rubber plantation for 10 years and is able to tap up to 500 plants per day.

The material that she gathers from the trees is then sold on to local factories that make rubber gloves, boots, pillows, mattresses and tires amongst a litany of other products.

The trees are harvested after they have been growing for at least six or seven years and once ready for extraction a razor-style tool is used to pull away bark.

The razor pulls back the bark in a spiral from close to the top of the tree, allowing the "puss" inside to swirl down to a bowl at the bottom, which is collected by Man Kim in a larger barrel.

In one video she explains that workers will initially tap the trees at 1 A.M. and then return later in the day to scrape the residual material that has been collecting all day.

The extracted layer of latex is scraped off using a small, curved tool as using gloves would result in the latex being stuck together.

Kim explained that the material is valuable due to it having durability, good heat resistance and elasticity.

She said: “Natural rubber is a material derived from nature, it is created from the latex of the rubber tree, a popular industrial plant in our country.

“This material is widely used in the industries of manufacturing car tires, motorcycles, making rubber bands and manufacturing cushions.

“The latex extraction workers have a habit of tapping the latex very early.

"Earlier in the morning the extracted latex flows in higher quantities and later on in the day, especially the afternoon, it flows out less.

"The rubber workers start their day at dawn when the natural light is dim.

“The only exception to this is on rainy days when workers have to wait until the rubber trees dry to work on them.

"If it is near noon and still raining, or the tree is still wet, workers consider that day to be 'cut off' as little to no work can be done.

“This is also one of the reasons that despite trees producing lots of latex in the rainy season, the total yield in this season is not high, because extraction is difficult."