In pictures: Liberia, the Rubber republic

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Exception

After 14 years of war, Liberia has just elected a new president - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

But she inherits a country in ruins. Just about anything of any value was either destroyed or looted during the fighting.

One exception is the Firestone rubber plantation - the largest in the world, founded in 1926.

Last year, rubber accounted for 90% of Liberia's official exports.

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Precious asset

There is a real art to tapping the rubber trees.

"The bark is the company's most precious asset," says Ballah Sumo, who has worked at Firestone for 26 years.

He says the tappers only cut 1/16 of an inch of bark at a time.

They start cutting the tree exactly 68 inches from the ground and go down at a 30 degree angle.

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Regenerate

The trees are usually cut first thing in the morning and the white rubber is left for about five hours to run down the trees and collect in black cups.

The bark can regenerate and a single tree is normally tapped four times - twice on each side.

Finally, the trees are "slaughter tapped" - quickly, without taking any care - before being cut down.

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Liquid latex

Augustin Kpatah, 38, started to work at Firestone in 1978, aged 11, when he helped his father.

"I look after about 1,800 trees and can collect six buckets of liquid latex each day."

Tappers earn a minimum of $3.19 a day and can earn more if they exceed production targets - a decent wage in a country where there are few other employers.

The latex is exported to be turned into items such as rubber gloves or condoms.

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Rubber tyres

If the latex is left overnight, it coagulates into a solid lump in the cups.

These are collected and taken to a factory on the plantation.

Here the lumps are pressed together and the water extracted.

The solid rubber is sent to Firestone's factories in the US to be turned into tyres.

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Bouncing back

When the water is extracted, the rubber turns brown.

The cost of synthetic rubber has risen recently because of high oil prices and so some tyre manufacturers are switching back to natural rubber.

Liberians hope this will continue. As well as Firestone, there are several other plantations and countless small farms.

While car tyres can be made from either synthetic or natural rubber, only natural rubber goes into the tyres on aeroplanes.

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Refugee camp

But two years after the end of the war, the Firestone estate is only operating at about 60% of its normal capacity.

Some 20,000 people are still living on the plantation.

Tanu Clark (right) has lived there for five years, since his home in northern Liberia was attacked by rebels. He earns his living by making charcoal.

The building behind him was destroyed when the plantation was occupied during the 1990s.

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Firestone family

The company, now owned by Japan's Bridgestone, is rebuilding the workers' houses which were destroyed during the war.

Rubber tapper Augustin Kpatah says: "I would like my seven children to work here, too, but in an office, not tapping the trees.

"That's why they are going to school."