Rubber farmers grow pandan leaves as a side hustle

Published on 16 Mar 2017 9:32:47 PM

Rubber farmers in Songkhla, Thailand have turned to growing pandanus, otherwise known as pandan leaves or screwpine leaves, in their rubber plantation to earn an extra income.
Growing pandanus requires little care and is ideal for farmers as it does not cost much to grow them.
The leaves are sold for Bt15 (US$0.44) per kilogramme while the farmers claim that they can easily earn Bt5,000 (US$145) from the sales of these leaves per month.
It is said that rubber plantations are an ideal habitat for growing pandanus as the tall rubber trees provide shade to the plants while there is sufficient water in the orchard.
Additionally, growing pandanus provides extra moisture and richness to the plantations’ soil.
Harvesting these aromatic leaves requires no tools and can be easily done with one’s bare hands.