Cameron Highlands - a Flower Factory

With the heat wave we're having, the family decided to spend a recent week-end up in cool Cameron Highlands.  My cousin was formerly from the Department of Agriculture and, courtesy of one of his friends, we visited a flower factory.

It's quite a big factory and the owner/owners must have spent a tidy sum on landscape and decorations possibly with a view to improving the 'fung sui' of the place.

Although flowers are being grown in the area around the factory, it is not sufficient to cater to the various orders, most of which are for export.  So flowers are brought in from the surrounding farms.

The first process is visually grading the flowers and removing excess leaves from the stalks.

The stalks are trimmed to a standard length.

The stalks are counted and bundled with rubber bands.

The bundles are then attached to a machine with a metal bar across that thumps the bundles as they are conveyed from one end of the machine to the other end.  This is to get rid of any loose leaves or flowers and the occasional insect or two.

The bundles are then slipped into plastic bags.

The flowers are ready for export... well almost...

They need to be packed into boxes and stored in the freeze room ready to be transported.

The plant waste can be recycled into organic fertilizer, but at this factory they are just sent to the dump.

The factory employs about 60 - 70 Bangladeshi workers, so meals are also provided by the company.