Living with rice Chapter 2

The rice fields all around us turned golden colour, and this week we have watched as the fields have been cut.  There was one pair that cut about 6 fields with the help of a hand driven cutter, but all the rest of the fields were cut by hand.   Up to 15 cutters in each field used a scythe to cut and grasp three handfulls of rice, then the bundle is lifted over their shoulder and stacked in neat rows behind them.  

Rice cutting attire

One pair used mechanical cutter

Cutting by hand

View from one back window

Cut rice lying in rows to dry

While watching them we were dressed in shorts and short sleeved or sleeveless cotton shirts and they were dressed in two to three layers with heavy cotton shirts on top, large hats often covering another head scarf, heavy jeans or jean type pants and tall rubber boots.  I can't imagine how hot they were.  They worked from 8 am, as soon as the sun was up to dry the fields, to 6pm when it was starting to get dark.  They stopped a couple of times a day to rest in the "Salas" or covered sheds that dot the rice fields and they always had the amazing Thai Canteens with them...Large cooler type jugs that is filled with ice and keeps water cold for an amazing amount of time, even standing in the hot sun..Our construction crews, that are working on ground floor, bring them every day and I know that by days end the water is still ice cold..because sometimes they forget to take them home with them. Also helping to keep the water cool is the fact that they always drink out of tin cups. Today the crews have started to tie and stack bundles of rice in piles in each field.   So we will have to wait to see what happens next.    Take Care of yourselves.