Palm Oil, The Lifeblood Of Malaysia

If there's one thing you hear about in Malaysia, it's the palm oil industry. You literally can't miss its power, the endless rows of palm trees surrounding the Kuala Lumpur airport, the first sight you see when landing in Malaysia. The huge green carpet is unforgettable.

Palm oil production dominates Malaysia's economy and plantations cover large expanses of its land. Think less like a nice palm tree at the beach and more like the waves of wheat to the horizon in America's Midwest. Palm cultivation is that impressive.

Not impressed by words? How about a typical jungle hill, now palm trees to infinity. Wow.

How do they conquer the wavy terrain? It's all about the tiering. What it's all about: the seed bunches from an oil palm tree. The crop gets gathered and squeezed.

The old trade trying to survive in front of the new powerhouse. In the foreground, a small rubber tree spread, in the background, a wall of oil palm trees. For rubber, the tree gets slashed, sap (white latex) drains into the hanging cup. Raw work.

Details. A metal hopper, ready to dump oil seed bunches into the next arriving truck. Muslim cemetery, among the ever present palms.

Laying waste to an old crop. Oil palm trees are only productive for about 30 years. Clear and replant.

The trees always look great from the air or from a car, whizzing by on the highway, all uniform and green. Up close, hints of the hard, rough life of workers and what happens when groves aren't maintained. The jungle is always trying to reclaim its land.

Back to the beauty of the grove.