Rubber, tires and golfing

We visited Harbel the other day - also known as the Firestone plantation and named after the founder and wife of Firestone. (I'm not sure if the plantation encompasses the entire town but the two names seem to be synonymous.) It was interesting. It was strange. I'll tell more another time, but basically Firestone (yes, as in the tires/tyres) signed a deal to lease a large expanse of land from the government of Liberia in 1926. They signed a 100 year lease - so it's up fairly soon - for a tiny rent of something like 6 cents/acre. I had a strange desire to visit; someone I know is writing about Firestone so it sparked my interest. It sounded bizarre and intriguing. There's a golf course and tennis courts, lots of schools and houses and markets interspersed amongst the rubber trees. I had heard there was a Swiss village in there too, but apparently this isn't so. In case you're wondering, this is what a rubber tree looks like.