The time to harvest rice has arrived and the soreness remaining in my body three days after threshing indicates the amount of human labor that goes into obtaining the small grain that is a staple in so many countries.
Rice grows in paddies as I showed in an earlier post. At Navdanya, once the paddy is ready for harvest it is first clear-cut with a sickle-shaped hand saw and laid in piles in the field to dry.
The rice, still in its husk is then laid out on a flat surface to again dry in full sun before it heads to the mill to be de-husked. I was told the rice from Navdanya is sent to a village outside of Rishikesh to be milled (about an hour away) but I have also seen fields in the area that have their own mills.
Rice grows in paddies as I showed in an earlier post. At Navdanya, once the paddy is ready for harvest it is first clear-cut with a sickle-shaped hand saw and laid in piles in the field to dry.
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| Bundling the rice for transport after drying in the field. |
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| Using a bicycle to transport the crop to the threshing area. |
After a day of full sun the rice is then ready to be threshed, forcing the grain from its stalk. Here's an action shot:
The rice, still in its husk is then laid out on a flat surface to again dry in full sun before it heads to the mill to be de-husked. I was told the rice from Navdanya is sent to a village outside of Rishikesh to be milled (about an hour away) but I have also seen fields in the area that have their own mills.
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