Bob in Vietnam: A "Field Trip" in Tuy Hoa

I took a walk today through the rice fields near town and was reminded why I love it here so much. The rice harvest was under way in one hamlet and everyone was in a good mood, probably because this harvest will be the base of their diet for the next 4 months. Dozens of people were out in the field cutting rice with sickles and tying the stalks in volleyball sized bundles. Another bunch of workers were carrying the bundles (20-30 at a time) on their backs using the double basket carriers. The bundles are stacked by the road waiting for the threshing machine that separates the grain from the rice straw. It wasn't operating while I was there, but you see it in the pictures with the guys sitting on top. The rice is then bagged and taken away on carts to somewhere it can be spread out for drying. Every square inch of pavement in the area is put to work. It's sunny and dry right now so everyone is confident. A week of overcast and rain would turn the rice into animal food rather family sustenance. The rice straw is also spread out for drying and later put into haystacks that are all over the place. Later the rice will be taken to a mill where the husk will be removed.

The center of Tuy Hoa is a large agricultural plot, consisting mostly of rice fields. This view looks across part of the field to the old center of town. The tower on the hillside is from the Cham, a Khmer people who ruled Vietnam more than 500 years ago.

Rice cutters invariably wave and call to foreigners to come down to the field and help with their job, backbreaking work that would probably be our end.

Porters trot 100s of yards across the field to bring the bundles to the road.

Bundles of rice piled on the road waiting for the thresher which separates straw from grain.

This is quite a large thresher. I have seen many more about half this size or smaller and some old wooden, hand operated ones. These big, gas operated ones move around with the harvest and thresh for a fee.

Rice from the thresher is bagged and hauled off to a place it can be dried. On the highway, this is often the shoulder.

Every square inch of pavement in the area is used. From backyards

to free open spaces. If there is no pavement, a tarp is used. The rice is raked frequently for even drying, often making the appearance of a zen garden.

The rice straw is dried, loaded onto carts, and hauled off to build haystacks, which are everywhere.

After all this, the road is swept and women winnow the sweepings for missed grain.

There's more than one use for rice straw. I also makes a great sun shade.

Other images from the hamlet:

This sweet little merry-go-round sits in front of a shop. There is a mount for a motor, which is only brought out when needed to avoid exposure to the elements as well as thieves.