1
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2
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- The land around Madolena do Mar is very steep and has been turned into
terraces that grow almost exclusively, bananas.
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3
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- 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.
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4
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- 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.
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5
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- 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.
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6
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- Once the bunch is on the winch, the man transfers it to the overhead
conveyor.
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7
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- Once on the overhead conveyor, the bunches of bananas are taken into a
shower to be washed.
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8
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9
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- Some detergent is added to the powerful jets of water.
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10
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- After passing through the shower, the conveyor takes the bunch to a man
who removes it and puts it on a stand.
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11
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- 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.
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12
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- 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.
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13
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- 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.
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14
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- This lady adds the sticker by hand from a roll.
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15
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16
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- Single bananas are not so highly prized and are allowed to fall off the
end of conveyor belt.
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17
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- I think that these bananas are sold locally.
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18
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- When the boxes are full of bananas, they are stacked and banded
together.
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19
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- 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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20
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