New Straits Times - Jun 11 5:08 PM - SITIAWAN - Three or four times aweek, Zabedah Masra and her daughter Rohana Abdul Hamid make their way toan oil palm plantation neighbouring their village of Kampung Kayan here.They join 13 other women who arrive at the estate as early as 7.30ambefore heading towards areas where fresh fruit bunches have beenharvested.

These women, between the ages of 30 and 60, are not there to harvest ortransport the fresh fruit bunches to the awaiting tractors.

That job, of course, belongs to Arcadia Estate’s 100-strong maleworkforce.

Zabedah, 55, Rohana, 35, and their friends come to the plantation tosupplement their families’ income by collecting loose oil palm fruitswhich have fallen to the ground after the fruit bunches have beenharvested.

And there are a lot of loose fruits to collect, says Rohana who, togetherwith her mother, had been supplementing their income this way for the lastnine years.

Each of these 15 women can earn up to RM10 a day for a five-hour job whichdoes not require much energy.

By noon, after collecting between five to 10 sacks weighing 15kg each perperson, the women will put their names on the plastic sacks and leave themby the sandy lanes before returning home.

"Today I collected five sacks while my mother (Zabedah) managed four,"Rohana said.

WORK: Zabedah (left) and Rohana collecting the loose oil palm fruits tosupplement their family income.

Rohana’s husband, Ibrahim Mohamed, is a fisherman and his monthly incomeof RM400 is not enough to support their two school-going children, aged 11and nine.

"The extra income from collecting the loose fruits is for my children’seducational needs — uniforms, shoes, books, stationery and food."

Rohana goes to the estate after sending her children to school.

Zabedah’s part-time job helps supplement the RM300 her husband earns as aprawn catcher.

They have eight grown-up children, with Rohana the eldest.

"The collecting job is not too tiring and I can earn about RM120 to RM150a month," she said.

The women get paid RM1 for each sack of oil palm fruits, said Arcadiaestate manager R. Sivalingam.

"Besides preventing wastage, the manual collection allows families in theneighbourhood to earn some extra money," he said.