English 107 Class Blog

On page 32

qazxszaqws — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:29:12 +0000

That means now the status will not last long, it just a process. Everything will be changed in the

future, and Mozambique’s must have a bright future. For example in 2003, Mogincual’s farmers produced

1.886 tons of rice, 1.893 tons of maize, and planted 13,489 hectares of cassava with a returning yield

of sixty eight tons. All the fact shows Mozambique become better than before and agriculture get a lot

of develop.

Summarise on the cutting room floor

qazxszaqws — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:54:32 +0000

What the workers working status are the bad working environment, repeat same action, long working time and less pay. Workers are boring about this, but in order to earn money they have no choice. It is same as Raphael Samuel observed Britain’s nineteenth century industrial workers, they do the same action day and day, and all the labor process depend on strength, skill, quickness.

Explanation of the Sentence on Page 32

wuyang999 — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:24:14 +0000

After working and getting a regular salary for a long time, more and more farmers working in the factory thought themselves as workers. They are one part of the industry. Farmers didn’t simply do their farm works anymore. They have more ways to get income, which changed the structure of the relationship. Individual smallholder farmers became consumer that connected people. It is a phenomenon just developing, not a event that has happened.
For example, farmers worked at factories thought that enlarge the manufacture could make more wealth. That means they tried to think in the business angle, and consider about making money logically.

Explain

florayangyang — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:40:04 +0000

I think it is said that the employ industry is the beginning for Mozambeque.

It is a totally change for local people and agriculture industry.

Now some farmers has become a worker by employ in factory, but there still have some things to change.

For example some factory rules, some provide for workers, some equipments for industry.

Now some workers focus these issues to try to protect their health and interests.

It is a typical that they become find a right way to act their workers role.

Maybe, after a long time or tomorrow, the employ industry will become very formal.

The author and everyone hope to view the finally effect.

However, the process is still important for develop.

Summary of The Boiler Room

wuyang999 — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:10:30 +0000

Summary of The Boiler Room
From Brad Paul’s article: Factories In The Field Rural Transformation and Organization of Work in Mozambique’s Cashew Triangle
The Boiler Room
Roasting the cashew is an important step before cut the shell. Worker work in the boiler room
such as Rodrigues Abakar, usually start their work at early morning. They set up the fire, put the
cashew into the industrial pot. And they have to keep working until late afternoon.

The wage of a worker working in the boiler room eight hours a day is 1,200 metacais per month on average. They suffer from the high temperature, heavy smoke and so on. Factories provide some basic protect equipments such as gloves and masks.
During roasting, Cashew Nut Shell Liquid causes many physical hurts to the workers. The industry tried to alleviate the damage of CNSL by using castor oil and apply a layer every 30 minutes. These protected the workers skin as a liquid glove.

Summary about Peeling

florayangyang — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:48:31 +0000

For peeling process, most of workers are women. A lot of men are working in cutting and roasting room. Whatever, peeling section is important for the whole industry. For the whole industry, peeling section provide nearly 50 percent jobs for people in the whole industry jobs. Peeling jobs are serious. Workers require very skilled for their peeling works. They need to used the small knife to peeling the shell after roast, cut and dry. For general people, they have more than sixty metacais incomes a day, if they can peel at least sixty kilos a day.

Although there are some other ways to change the process method, like mechanical reform. Mampula’s factories are still employ workers who are hand labor. This way has been change some people’s style and incomes enough for their life.

Explanation of the Sentence on Page 32

tao888 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:37:43 +0000

The way in which the farmers think is changing. They begin to think from the workers’ angle other than the farmers’. The way in which they are working in the factories and the money they get from the employers make them change. They are experiencing a new life style as workers. However, since they have been farmers for such a long time, they cannot change into the roles of workers right away. Even though they have not become workers, we can say that they are not simply farmers now. They start to rely on their wages as workers. All above result in the change of farming communities because they see money from manufacturing. Because the industry in Mozambique is not mature, the changes are processes, that is, they are not over yet.

For example, the workers began to complain about their wages and worry about their health condition affected by their jobs. That’s what workers do! When they feel their wages are not enough to make ends meet, they act as farmers. We can see that they are looking for a balance between being farmers and workers. I believe that once the Mozambique’s industry grows up, they will become real workers quickly.

Summary of Grading and Packing

tao888 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:09:48 +0000

According to the essay Rural Transformation and the Organization of Work in Mozambique’s Cashew Triangle, which is written by Brad Paul, grading means that the workers have to divide the roasted kernels into about 26 levels. The most expensive level is W320, which is Mozambique’s main export to the world market. In order to make the factories have access to higher quality kernels, help and training are offered to the farmers. Grading workers sits all day putting the kernels into different containers continually, which needs talent and necessary training. Packing will start as soon as the kernels pass the examination. The essential equipment and techniques for certain quantity packing is not cheap and usually $20,000 for each packing room. For both grading and packing workers, jobs are burdensome with low wages.

Another question about our reading

Nancy McKeand — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:33:08 +0000

This part of the text mentioned the World Bank’s involvement with cashews in Mozambique. Does this text seem to agree with the Harvard article we read? Please give an example to support your opinion.

Questions about what we discussed today

Nancy McKeand — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:28:35 +0000

We read about how the civil war in Mozambique hurt the cashew industry there. Do you think the country would have been better off if it had stayed a Portuguese colony? Why or why not?