Kampung Parit Penghulu: Rubber Tree Plantation

Our first stop at Kampung Parit Penghulu was a rubber tree plantation. Here we learnt about how rubber latex was collected and processed to give us the rubber that is used in so many places in our daily lives. The wide expanse of plantation was impressive, to say the least.


While walking towards the trees, we spotted some chickens the villagers were rearing, wandering near their coop made out of wire mesh. Later on, we spotted other free-range chickens strutting everywhere around their homes while we were on the bus.



The rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) were planted randomly, with the undergrowth and tree roots tripping us up as we explored the plantation, examining the trees and the latex collected.



Our guide to the kampong, a tall lanky man, demonstrated to us the process of rubber-tapping, making an incision with a peculiar-looking tool to scrape off the bark, all the while delving into a lengthy explanation. A rubber tapper had to skilfully remove a thin layer of bark, cutting through the latex vessels and creating a tapping panel, from which latex can be obtained from and collected in small cups for approximately 5-6 years. After that, the opposite side of the tree is tapped for the milky liquid to allow the first tapping panel to "heal".



We also learnt that the rubber trees were first brought to Singapore and Malaysia by Henry Wickham in the hope that the industry could be expanded and they were able to grow in foreign soil. Luckily for them, it was a success, and the smuggled seeds grew to be the tall trees (some grow to be about 20 metres tall) we see scattered everywhere in parks and plantations.

Unfortunately for us, mosquitos swarmed around us, biting us relentlessly (and leaving annoying red swells on our skin) while we attempted to swat them away and slather repellent all over ourselves in a bid to drive them away (in vain).

In an attempt to divert our attention away from the increasingly annoying insects, someone came up with the ingenious idea of having some sort of group hug starting with the tree, the tree hugger, and a whole line of huggers of the tree hugger. Our pretty maids all in a row… :P