Have you ever wondered where rubber comes from? How you get your tires and other rubbery material? Well, it all starts in a specific type of tree, and Hang’s father just happens to own a rubber tree farm that produces a very high income for their family every month. Who would have thought right? Rubber Trees!
Rubber is in high demand, and it’s exported all over the world. Without the rubber trees, or Cao Su in Vietnamese, Hang and Tuan (her brother) would have never gotten the opportunity to travel to America in the first place (and I never would have met her). It’s because of these unique plants that all of this has happened.
The farm is located roughly 30 miles away from her home in Ho Chi Minh City. Yet, because of traffic, as the article on traffic demonstrates, it takes quite a long time to travel this short distance. What would be about 25 minutes in the USA, is roughly 2 hours in Vietnam’s ridiculously populated cities.
When we arrived at the farm, there were these tall trees lined up for acres upon acres. Hang’s father owns land in a variety of places, and in this case, 20 acres of rubber trees. The farm is operated by about ten employees, and a few others to watch over the place for security reasons. Because of the high demand, such industries have been known to fall victim to theft from time to time.
The trees need to grow and mature before they can be useful however, needing nurtured and grown for seven years before they can be carved for rubber. The trees are carved from the bottom up, allowing access to a white liquid-like substance, similar to sap in other trees. Instead of sap though, it’s rubber! The trees usually live for about 30 years before they can no longer be useful, in which case they are then cut down and sold for lumber. A new tree will replace the old, and the process starts all over again. It’s actually quite remarkable if you ask me, and I’m really grateful to have seen it for myself!
