The Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) has launched a sweeping housing overhaul, demolishing aging mud dwellings to make way for durable two-bedroom concrete homes as part of a pledge to rebuild staff accommodation and upgrade social services across its nine worker camps.
Jeety Rubber, the new owner of SRC, says the initiative responds to findings in an Earthworm Foundation report that documented longstanding social and infrastructure failings under former owner Socfin.
The company has committed to constructing and renovating more than 500 homes within 24 months and has already completed and handed over 121 newly built or renovated units, relocating several hundred workers in the process.
“As a company, our goal is to address whatever structural issues the Earthworm report identified during the time of Socfin through a phased and systematic approach,” said Upjit Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Jeety Conglomerate.
“We are replacing mud houses that have been here for ages with spacious, weather resistant two-bedroom concrete homes. The well-being of our workers is our top priority.”
The housing program follows years of worker grievances tied to poor accommodation and social services. In June 2024, tensions culminated in violent protests that saw company properties burned and ransacked, prompting Soc fin to suspend operations and divest.
In acquiring SRC, Jeety Rubber pledged to remedy the legacy problems it inherited — a promise now being translated into construction and service upgrades.
In addition to the housing works, Jeety Rubber has donated a top tier ambulance, renovated SRC’s health center and school facilities, and set aside $10,000 for scholarships.
Officials report the clinic now has qualified medical staff and better equipped laboratories, while schools—including the high school—enjoy 24/7 electricity, running water, and an upgraded science lab.
Those improvements contributed to all 12th grade students passing the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, a milestone the company said had never before been achieved in SRC’s history.
Pending projects include free Starlink internet service, expanded electricity networks and borehole water systems to ensure reliable power and clean water across all camps.
Jeety Rubber says these upgrades are part of a broader modernization plan to raise living standards and social services for workers and their families.
Workers have welcomed the changes but urged management to accelerate the work. “For years we feared the rainy season, worried the roofs would collapse. Now we have safe and comfortable homes,” said one group of employees.
“We applaud the new management, but many of our colleagues still need housing and better services — we hope the projects can be fast-tracked.”
Sachdeva reiterated the company’s timetable and priorities: “While we aim for profitability, we are committed to solving these social and infrastructural problems. We intend to ensure durable housing for all workers in the 24-month period we have set.”
As construction continues across SRC’s camps, the new owner is determined to meet high expectations and delivering on promises that could transform daily life for hundreds of rubber plantation workers and their families.
