Image 1 of 1

Cashew Workers A 001.jpg

Add to Lightbox Download
A woman shells cashews. Cashew processing workers at an unregulated (and illegal) unit in the village of Iravipuram, near Kollam. These workers, mainly women earn between Rs.8-13 per kilo of shelled nut they process. Workers process between 8-10kg of cashew nut per day. Hazards include burning from the acidic oil released from the cashew shell when it is cracked. Workers protect their hands with improvised gloves and a coating of ash. The work is highly repetitive and many workers suffer back-pain and arthritis. Some of the women workers have reported damage to the uterus. The discarded shell of the nut is packed and sold as a component in the production of a termite-resistant chemical used to treat wood. Unlike workers in the Kerala government factories, the workers at Iravipuram receive no pension contribution or "Dearness Allowance" (a payment that recognises the increased cost of living in Kerala)...The expanding global market for cashew nuts has a direct effect on the livelihoods of women workers in the Indian cashew processing industry. The power imbalance between intensely competing producers and relatively few buyers in the global market place gives large retailers, the supermarkets, the upper hand over their supply chains. Supermarkets are increasingly able to dictate the terms on which business is done and how the cashew is produced, as well as to capture most of the revenue generated along the chain. For Indian workers who process the cashew nuts such work, while essential for survival, does not provide enough income to raise households out of poverty. The increasing informalisation of employment in the sector creates insecure and hazardous working conditions. International trade too often fails to provide the kind of economic growth which will foster secure and equitable employment and enable the working poor to escape from poverty...Photo: Tom Pietrasik.Kollam, Kerala, India..October 24th 2006..THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THE COPYRIGHT OF TOM PIETRASIK. THE PHOT
Copyright
Tom Pietrasik
Image Size
4368x2912 / 3.4MB
Contained in galleries
A woman shells cashews. Cashew processing workers at an unregulated (and illegal) unit in the village of Iravipuram, near Kollam. These workers, mainly women earn between Rs.8-13 per kilo of shelled nut they process. Workers process between 8-10kg of cashew nut per day. Hazards include burning from the acidic oil released from the cashew shell when it is cracked. Workers protect their hands with improvised gloves and a coating of ash. The work is highly repetitive and many workers suffer back-pain and arthritis. Some of the women workers have reported damage to the uterus. The discarded shell of the nut is packed and sold as a component in the production of a termite-resistant chemical used to treat wood. Unlike workers in the Kerala government factories, the workers at Iravipuram receive no pension contribution or "Dearness Allowance" (a payment that recognises the increased cost of living in Kerala)...The expanding global market for cashew nuts has a direct effect on the livelihoods of women workers in the Indian cashew processing industry. The power imbalance between intensely competing producers and relatively few buyers in the global market place gives large retailers, the supermarkets, the upper hand over their supply chains. Supermarkets are increasingly able to dictate the terms on which business is done and how the cashew is produced, as well as to capture most of the revenue generated along the chain. For Indian workers who process the cashew nuts such work, while essential for survival, does not provide enough income to raise households out of poverty. The increasing informalisation of employment in the sector creates insecure and hazardous working conditions. International trade too often fails to provide the kind of economic growth which will foster secure and equitable employment and enable the working poor to escape from poverty...Photo: Tom Pietrasik.Kollam, Kerala, India..October 24th 2006..THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THE COPYRIGHT OF TOM PIETRASIK. THE PHOT