1	Banana Factory Madalena do Mar Madeira
2	Banana plantation The land around Madolena do Mar is very steep and has been turned into terraces that grow almost exclusively, bananas.
3	Banana delivery to the factory Bunches of bananas are constantly brought to the factory in the back of these trucks by the local farmers. The bunches are protected by foam strips.
4	Unpacking the truck The banana bunch is unloaded from the back of the truck onto an overhead conveyor belt by use of a winch. The bunches vary in size, the largest are too heavy to lift by hand.
5	Unpacking the truck The lady in the truck attaches a chain around the bunch of bananas. The other end of the chain has a round plastic device that is attached to the winch so that it can be lifted off the back of the truck.
6	Unpacking the truck Once the bunch is on the winch, the man transfers it to the overhead conveyor.
7	Washing the bananas Once on the overhead conveyor, the bunches of bananas are taken into a shower to be washed.
8	Bananas entering the shower
9	Bananas getting washed Some detergent is added to the powerful jets of water.
10	Processing the bunch After passing through the shower, the conveyor takes the bunch to a man who removes it and puts it on a stand.
11	Processing the bunch Now the man can cut off smaller bunches. There are two men doing this job. I noticed this man brings his own knife to work.
12	Sorting the bananas These ladies take the just cut bunches and trim them and remove and bananas that are not perfect. Notice the remains of the bunches of bananas in the foreground.
13	Packing the bananas These ladies sort the bunches and pack them into boxes which are held on a conveyor belt above their heads. They also do some more sorting.
14	Adding the sticker This lady adds the sticker by hand from a roll.
15	Banana sticker
16	Single bananas Single bananas are not so highly prized and are allowed to fall off the end of conveyor belt.
17	Single bananas I think that these bananas are sold locally.
18	Banding the boxes When the boxes are full of bananas, they are stacked and banded together.
19	Boxes of bananas These boxes are ready for transport, probably to mainline Portugal. The different colours of boxes indicate different qualities of bananas. Red boxes are the premium grade.
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