Rubber and Leeches

Have you ever wondered where the rubber for your tennis shoes comes from? A tree. Okay, you probably knew that. Have you ever seen a rubber tree? Probably not, except maybe on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel. Today I saw rubber trees for the first time. These trees produce latex, which is harvested every day (except for rainy days, when harvesting will kill the tree). The latex is harvested by cutting the trunk of the tree and letting the latex drain into a small container such as a half of a coconut shell. After collecting the latex, the rubber worker mixes water and another substance with raw latex and lets it dry in a rectangular form. After dry, the rubber is transported to market in Ketapang and around the world. Perhaps the most surprising thing about rubber is its unpleasant smell – I can tell where there is rubber being harvested simply by the stink.

Besides rubber, I learned about Indonesian leeches today. Because it rained last night the forest was filled with leeches – about ½ inch long, black, and skinny, these animals are incorrigible, and quickly move from boot to sock to foot. They aren’t painful, or dangerous, but a leech sucking on my foot is yucky nonetheless, so leech checks will be a regular part of our field work on days after rain.