Appreciate the grain

Rice fields in Laos are gorgeous and interminable, one paddy after another. Up until now, whenever I would eat a rice dish, I wouldn’t be reflecting on the back braking labour that used to be required (and still is in many parts of the world) to produce this grain. Granted, the production of the type of rice we buy at the supermarket is mechanized, but still it is a complicated process with many steps. To make a long story short, it works like this if you do it manually: first you plant the seeds. After the initial growth, you transplant them, transferring each plant into the rice paddies, typically in terraces, standing in water up to mid-calf. When the plants re mature, after about 4 months, you pick them, thrash them to release the grains. Pick up the rice and put it in the bucket. Pound it with a heavy stick for about 2 hours in order for the grains to release the husks. Put it all in a big bamboo sifter and throw it all up in the air to separate the grains from the husks. Husks and broken grains are fed to animals.

I tried planting rice for about 5 minutes. Laotian entire families work the field for many hours every day in very hot weather. Once they harvest the rice, they store it in big containers. Whenever they want to eat it, they need to go through the process of separating the grains from the husks (rice is more durable if stored with husks), about 2-3 times a day.

This little paragraph I wrote does not do it justice. Maybe the videos of me attempting each step will give it more life. In any case, now, when I eat rice, I think of old grandmas I saw working in rice fields, standing in water, bending their backs for hours. I’ll try to not waste this beautiful grain and appreciate it more when I eat it.