When the State government announced a week-long lockdown early May, Kaveri and her co-workers considered it a short-term setback.
They thought work will resume after seven days at their factory at Chadayamangalam as they had left behind piles of shelled cashew in the long tin-roofed room attached to the borma.
“We were waiting for the call as the nuts needed to be peeled, graded, and packed at the earliest. We waited for nearly a month,” she says.
The labourers have lost many working days due to the second wave and the extended lockdown, that too when the sector is struggling to stay afloat.
Minimal staff
“Now, the processing unit is functional, but with minimal staff. Though I am one among few fortunate women who could return to work, I know our hardships will continue. At first the factories were not opening due to raw material shortage and now this pandemic has thrown us from frying pan to fire,” she adds.
Sheeba, a 37-year-old single mother, now has an income much lower compared to pre-COVID-19 days. Her scanty savings had dried up by the end of 2020 and a family of four is completely dependent on her.
“I took up the job though the wages were not good. I had no other option and the second wave hit at a crucial time. They had promised us normal wages by March, but now we are once again back to square one. I have no idea how to deal with the mounting debt and other expenses,” she says.
Like several other sectors, cashew industry too had incurred huge losses last year when the pandemic hit export prospects and supply chain.
The blow was too severe since the industry has been facing an unprecedented crisis for the last few years and the second lockdown has aggravated the situation.