Coconuts for Romi
The dream job!
Romi Saryadi has a job many kids really want: tree climbing!
Dream Job
Who wouldn't want to climb trees for a living?CloseRomi works at a coconut farm in Tanjong Pinang. It's the capital of Bintan, which is in Indonesia.
He lives in village on the island of Bintan, where about 500 coconut trees grow.
The coconuts have turned from green to brown, which means it's
harvest time.
Harvest TimesCoconut palms grow for three years until they have fruit.
From the moment they start growing fruit, Romi can harvest them−twist off and pick up coconuts−every three months until the trees die.
CloseJust to make sure, Romi and his friend shake one tree to see if it is ready.
Harvesting coconuts is not an easy thing to do, but the grooves on the tree trunk make it easier to climb.
Groovy
"Steps" on the TreeWhen a coconut tree starts to grow, Romi cuts a groove on its side every six months.
By the time the tree has coconuts, Romi will have cut five or six grooves on the trunk. These "steps" make climbing up a lot easier.
CloseIt takes a couple of minutes to climb the tree, and once Romi is up there he starts twisting off coconuts. Three coconuts drop with loud thuds onto the ground.
Coconuts to GoEach coconut tree grows about 15 to 20 coconuts in a season.
From 500 coconut trees, that means Romi harvests at least 7,500 coconuts each season!
Close
Romi's work place
Hard Work
Romi and his friend pick up the coconuts, put them into wheelbarrows, wheel them back to the farm, and then wait for them to dry so they can husk them.
Welcome to My Office!
Have a coconut! CloseRight now, Romi gets paid 125,000 rupiah, or $11.80, a week to work on the farm.
RupiahThe currency's name comes from the name for Indian's money, rupee. Many Indonesians also call it perak (which means "silver").
Coin amounts range from 25 to 1,000 rupiah, while banknotes range from 100 to 100,000 rupiah. The rupiah became Indonesia's official currency in 1949.
CloseIt takes Romi one day to husk 250 coconuts. That means it will take him a whole month to husk all the coconuts.
Take it OffHusking, or taking the hard outer shell off a coconut, is the hard part of Romi's job:
1. First Romi cuts into a coconut with a solar—a sharp metal spear.
2. Then Romi pushes the coconut on the solar to pull off a part of the husk. This shows the tough, inner layer of the coconut.
3. Now, all Romi has to do is to tear off the rest of the husk.
4. Done!
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