Emilia Salinas is a young Honduran high school graduate who, at 24, found a professional opportunity at Plasencia Tabacos, the agricultural arm of the Plasencia Group in Danlí, El Paraíso. Serving as a supervisor for topping plots, this experience has encouraged her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Development.
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Here, in the Jamastrán Valley, the company operates five large farms which, along with two others located in different departments, total an area of nearly 1,500 manzanas (just over 1,000 hectares). The operation handles seed and seedling production, tobacco planting, harvesting, and –within the curing barns– the drying and pre-fermentation of the leaves.
Emilia is a native of this valley, where she still resides, and the eldest of four siblings in a family led by her mother, a widowed primary school teacher. She is the first in her family to work with tobacco. She recounts that last year, on the company’s website, she found the vacancy for “Topping Plot Supervisor” and successfully applied.
The process of desbotonado (topping) consists of removing the suckers or buds from the plant: the first “son,” the second, and so on –any that may appear on the stalk once the primary leaves have developed. Then, the top part where the flower grows is removed to encourage the leaves to thicken and expand.
Regarding her role, Emilia explains that it consists of monitoring and verifying that the staff performs the procedure correctly, according to established parameters, “with proper handling of the tobacco leaf.” Currently, she is responsible for overseeing two plots where around 140 people work, the majority of whom are women.
“There are men too, but I relate to and am more focused on the women, who have a greater capacity to perform this work because of their delicacy, right? And because we women do things with love, with patience and care, you could say.”
This is not a year-round task, so during the rest of the season, she supervises plots according to the assignments given by the farm manager.
For Emilia, who smokes cigars occasionally, working for this company has represented a change both professionally and personally: “It motivates me to keep moving forward and to develop experience in the agricultural sector by acquiring knowledge about the crop and its management.”
She affirms that regardless of the career one chooses, there is always something to learn, and in her case, learning about tobacco “has been a very beautiful work experience.”
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