Yup... a new industry is taking shape in Alor Star. Swift Inns for swiftlets.... Bird's Nest industry has taken roots here!
You can't miss it when you have shoplots being bricked up like this. This is the second floor of a shop lot. See the little pipes jutting out at the top? Those holes are for the birds to go into their homes. Windows are just a facade. How did the renovation get past the authorities?
Some of the higher rise building owners go to the trouble of erecting a structure at the top to attract the birds. Notice the barbed wire on the rooftop...this is a 3 storey building. Obviously the 'merchandise' they are generating is worth a lot. Otherwise why go through all the trouble?
And this is how you know the birds have come a-calling to Alor Star. It's easy to tell cos you can see them hovering above their nests...another structure above another tall building with lotsa birds hovering above. A heavy metal door with big locks on the ground floor stands in the way of those who may want to help themselves with the 'merchandise'.
It may bring new $$$ to the city...but is it really good for us all in the long run?? My hometown started this industry years ago...and recently it went through this. Lately many of her town people have been inflicted with dengue. Authorities say there is no connection but hospitals were full of patients down with dengue, many of whom were also referred to Ipoh General Hospital, so it seems. And this strain of dengue seemed a little deviant...it afflicts the young more than the old.
It may bring new $$$ to the city...but is it really good for us all in the long run?? My hometown started this industry years ago...and recently it went through this. Lately many of her town people have been inflicted with dengue. Authorities say there is no connection but hospitals were full of patients down with dengue, many of whom were also referred to Ipoh General Hospital, so it seems. And this strain of dengue seemed a little deviant...it afflicts the young more than the old.
1 comment:
I for one am very pissed off by these entrepreneurs cheating the birds off their hard work,only to find that their nests are harvested and sold for profits. I do not see any nutritional or medicinal values in consuming the birds' nests. Just to interest you, even the malays are going into it, producing "halal"bird nests in my hometown in Kelantan.The value of the nests is measured in grammes ! Like gold.
Doubtom
Post a Comment