The International Harvester: Harvesting

This week I got to help with the banana harvest. This takes place a few times every week as the fruit becomes ready. As you will notice in the pictures there are no yellow bananas. They are always picked green. At a certain point in the banana maturation, a blue bag is placed over the bunch. This serves several functions: 1) It contains an insecticide 2) It protects the bananas from the elements 3) It speeds ripening.

It takes a team of workers to harvest the fruit. One worker stands under the bunch to support it while another worker cuts the stem with a machete. Bananas bruise very easily so the person who is holding the bunch must be very gentle. This is very difficult because the bunches are very heavy. I didn't do a very good job with this task. I looked like a bull in a china cabinet trying to weave my way through a banana field while holding a 45 lb. bunch of bananas over my head. However, the team captain, Mota, did compliment my nice, broad back. Yep, I'm a sturdy gal.

After the bunch is cut down, the tree is then cut off so a new stalk can come up. When the workers cut the tree they chop it up even more and use it for ground cover. Although my accuracy is lacking, I enjoy using the machete. The bunch of bananas is then walked through the field to a cable line where they are hung by the stalk. Pieces of foam are put between the hands to prevent more bruising. After about 25 bunches have been harvested, a worker will tie a rope around his waist and pull the cable line of bananas to the processing shed. This is pretty tough. I pulled one to the shed, but I think the nice guys behind gave me some help when I wasn't looking!

Once in the processing shed, each bunch is graded and records of which block the bananas came from are taken. I will go into the processing in another post.