Ramiro Aguilar Villamarín

Photographer / Videographer / Documentarist

Banana workers: exploitation for exportation

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A banana worker carries a fresh...hala, El Oro Province, Ecuador.

A banana worker carries a fresh cut cluster to the transportation rail at a plantation on the outskirts of the city of Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador.

Left: Banana boxes for export a...clusters, prior their cleaning.

Left: Banana boxes for export are transported to a cargo vessel at Puerto Bolívar, El Oro Province.
Right: A worker picks up sponges from the banana clusters, prior their cleaning.

Left: Packed for export to Euro...on a park after their work day.

Left: Packed for export to Europe: harvested organic bananas still green.
Right: Banana workers chat on a park after their work day.

At Machala outskirts, four labo...y get to work for the next day.

At Machala outskirts, four laborers share their experiences of their work conditions. Most of times they get to know by the evening if they get to work for the next day.

Portraits of four banana worker...te;l, Luis R., Gerson and Luis.

Portraits of four banana workers. Up and down, left to right: Saúl, Luis R., Gerson and Luis.

Left: Surveillance systems are ...luster prior its quality check.

Left: Surveillance systems are common on working areas.
Right: Part of the chain of production, a worker cuts a hand of bananas from the cluster prior its quality check.

Left: Workers at Puerto Bol&...ng banana before its packaging.

Left: Workers at Puerto Bolívar on the customs checkpoint.
Right: A worker labelling banana before its packaging.

Left: Each early morning, from ...cute;a de la cosecha de banano.

Left: Each early morning, from Monday to Saturday, laborers go to a roundabout at Pasaje, near the city of Machala, hoping that a foreman picks them up to work that day.
Right: Hundreds of boxes are assembled on harvest day.Izq: Cada madrugada, de lunes a sábado, jornaleros salen al redondel de Pasaje, cerca a Machala, aspirando que algún capataz los elija y poder trabajar ese día. Der: Cientos de cajas se arman el día de la cosecha de banano.

Left: This is one of the pestic...micals at the mentioned runway.

Left: This is one of the pesticide mixing tanks from a fumigation company, these last ones have their headquarters at a small aerial runway at the putskirts of Pasaje, El Oro Province.
Right: Portrait of Mauricio, he’s been working many years mixing pesticides and agrochemicals at the mentioned runway.

From 12 to 14 work hours are da... loaded with banana for export.

From 12 to 14 work hours are daily life in the banana industry of Ecuador, mostly on harvest days. Here, the first of many trucks is waiting to be loaded with banana for export.

Scenes from the chain of banana...final fumigation and packaging.

Scenes from the chain of banana harvest and packaging. Up and down, left to right: Pressurized water cleaning, cluster cutting, deflowering, weighting, final fumigation and packaging.

Despite his age, J. keeps worki...ty, and has no retirement fund.

Despite his age, J. keeps working. He, as all his peers at the roundabout at Pasaje, lacks of labor security, works day by day, has no assurance nor social security, and has no retirement fund.

Left: Banana exporters check th...kers for a meeting to organize.

Left: Banana exporters check the product on harvest days, verifying that bananas are on their optimal ripeness to endure their travel to northern countries.
Right: Syndicates and workers associations are scarce. The image shows an invitation addressed to workers for a meeting to organize.

The richness which the banana i...ht and risks of its production.

The richness which the banana industry produces doesn’t return to their base workers who, over their shoulders, carry all the weight and risks of its production.

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Public Project

Banana workers: exploitation for exportation

Copyright Ramiro Aguilar Villamarín 2024

Date of Work Jan 2020 - Jan 2020

Updated Sep 2020

Location Machala, Ecuador

Topics Abuse, Banana, Business, Capitalism, Documentary, Ecuador, Food, Globalization, Industrial, Latin America, Photography, Photojournalism, Workers Rights

Rain, heat, fumigations during lunch and a salary that doesn’t deserve such denomination: banana workers carry on their shoulders all the weight to deliver such tropical fruit to the shelves of the global-north countries.

These photos were taken on January 2020 near the city of Machala, capital of El Oro Province, Ecuador. They show a glimpse of the work that around 200,000 people do every day to maintain the banana industry working. This essay was published by the digital magazine mutantia.ch.

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