In The Tobacco Fields: Rocky Patel Trip
This video guides you through the early stages of tobacco from the time the seeds are planted to the point they are taken into the fields. Everything is done by hand with great care to produce the healthiest tobacco plants possible.
Our host, Nimish, gives us a better understanding of the process as well as just how many people are involved.
I will be posting more videos and pictures of this incredible experience. More updates are on the way so you can see the making of a cigar from a seed to the moment it is placed in the box for shipment.
Thats cool to see how its done! I bet they would have gotten pissed if you asked how much those workers maker per hour or day
Hope in another video you ask how long it takes them from seed to full plant able to be harvested!! Amazing how fast they seem to grow.
Mike
They grow very fast, I was quite amazed to see it, too. I think Nimish answers that in another video when we are in the factory, but I’ll see if I can get you the specific answer on here, too. I cannot remember the exact time frame, I think maybe three months but don’t quote me on that
I’ll find you the right answer. And in the fields they get paid by the hour, in the factory most of the positions are paid by production instead of hours to keep quality high. They earn much more than other industries offer.
Actually they were very forthright when we asked them what workers were paid. It was the equivalent of between $8.00 and $10.00 per day depending on experience. Workers in the field, rollers, bunchers, and sorters all made about the same from what we could tell.
I don’t think we asked what workers got paid in the box making factory but I would guess about the same.
May not seem like much, but the cigar workers make about 20% more than workers in other factories in Honduras. And the cost of living is much much lower there. We went to the grocery while there; beer was like $3.50 a case, Flor de Cana 4 yr Rum was about 4 bucks a bottle, coffee was $1.50 a lb, just to give you an idea.
They’re pretty desirable jobs. Everyone works on contract for a year. After the holidays, in January people re-apply and there are hundreds of others lined up applying for work too. You have to be pretty good so you get re-hired year after year.
In Nicaragua, they mentioned that they pay for the workers’ insurance as well. Not sure if that applied (or could apply for whatever reasons) to Honduras. As a side note I didn’t see anyone starving or particularly unhappy anywhere in the country. It was a very nice, pleasant, place, all things considered. The workers all seemed happy to be working where they were and were very proud of their work.
Wow – thats a lot higher wage than I would have thought! Good for them!!! If only we could get that cost of living here in the States
Thanx for the quick answers!
Mike
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