In pictures: Liberia: Rubber republic

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.

A joint UN-government report has criticised unsafe working conditions and poor living quarters but Firestone denies these claims.