One of our experiences in Luang Prabang, Laos was to learn about rice farming. We booked with The Living Land Farm, which is a farm shared by multiple families in the nearby villages. They grow rice (obviously), and organic vegetables and flowers with the aim to educate farming students in sustainable agricultural practices. They also provide free English classes for village children each evening. They farm rice using traditional methods and the rice is shared to families in need in the villages in the area.
We were picked up by tuk-tuk at noon.Felix was thrilled with this mode of transportation. The only thing more fun than riding is if he could have driven it!!This is the ground floor of the house, where various rice processing activities, weaving, and black smithing occurs.On the second floor which is now a lounging area and restaurant, there’s a beautiful view of the paddies.We chose to have lunch included in the experience.The restaurant area – there was lots of food, and the sticky rice and vegetables were grown on the farm. After our delicious lunch, we headed out to learn about farming rice.Handmade bamboo tea strainer.In the middle of the second floor is this house, made by a bamboo worker. It contains many traditional tool used by the villagers and farmers. Any guesses what this wooden contraption does? Check out the video below.Laotian conical hats are made of palm or bamboo leaves. We were met by our guide, who explained that he would teach us about Lao traditional rice farming, show us how we get from rice seeds to a bowl of edible rice, and we’d be helping along the way.Hatless scarecrow.The scarecrows (and nets) help prevent the birds from eating the rice seeds before they germinate and rice grains before they can be harvested.The first step of rice farming is to choose viable seeds to plant. On the left is a container of potential rice seeds. To sort the seeds, the place a raw egg in a bowl of water and add enough salt to make the egg float. Then they remove the egg and add the rice seeds. Those that sink are good for planting, anything floating is damaged or empty husks and are fed to the chickens. A handful of viable rice seeds. It takes 20 kg of seeds in 1 hectare of land to produce 1 ton of rice.Then, take off your shoes, step into the mud and sprinkle the seeds on top of the mud. The mud makes some very interesting sounds [listen to the video below].It takes the seeds 3-4 days to germinate.While the seeds are germinating, the paddy is prepared for planting. Susan, the water buffalo, ploughs the field so that soft nutrient rich mud is brought to the surface – optimal conditions for growing rice. After watching Susan fertilize the paddy, the kids declined to get into that paddy to plough it!When the seedlings are 3 weeks old, they are planted in the ploughed paddy. Each seedling is planted by hand, row by row. It’s a slow and tedious process. They practice community farming, where families gather to help each other plant their paddies.Paddies get 3 days of water, and 3 days without water. The water is drained through bamboo pipes connecting the paddies, and the farmers just use large chunks of mud to block the water flow.The rice needs to be protected as it grows: weeding, putting up nets and scarecrows to prevent the birds from eating the rice, and cats to keep the mice away.The rice is then harvested after 3-4 months using a scythe. In Laos, harvesting is usually done twice a year, in June and December. The rice stalks are tied into bundles, and sun dried for a week to 10 days. When a paddy is yellow, it means the rice is ready for harvesting. This is what your feet look like after you’re done in the paddies. Whose feet are these?Feet cleaning time. A large bamboo pole with holes provides a gentle sprinkle of water.
And then the rest of the mud is washed off with a brush and bamboo scoop.
After the harvested rice stalks have dried, it’s time to thresh, to separate the rice grains from their stalks. This is a man’s job. The next step is winnowing, using a fan, to separate rice grains from bits of leaves, stalks, and husks. This is supposed to be a woman’s job.Then it’s time to transport the rice to villages and homes. There are 49 recognized ethnic groups in Laos and the three main groups transport rice in different ways. The Hmong people, the mountain people, carry roughly 30 kg of rice in baskets with two straps, like a backpack.The Khmu people, who live in northern Laos, carry roughly 30 kg in their basket using a strap that goes around their head.The Lao people, the largest ethnic group, carry their rice into two baskets on the ends of a pole. This requires a certain rhythm when walking so the baskets don’t swing into you.Husking, removing the husk from the rice grain, is done using this giant mortal and pestle contraption. Males do the stamping while women do the mixing. Boys wake at 4 or 5 in the morning to help with this task for an hour before school.Finally, the husks are removed by women using large shallow bamboo baskets.Some of the resulting rice is ground into flour for cakes. Sticky rice is a staple in Laos. It takes longer to digest than regular rice and so is perfect for long days on the farm. Cooking it in the traditional method requires soaking overnight and rinsing until the water is clear. The soaking and rinsing water, which is high in starch, is saved for pigs, to make rice wine, or water plants.Steaming the sticky rice in a traditional triangular bamboo steamer with lid.Cooked sticky rice is eaten dipped in sauces, or used to grab grilled meats and vegetables. You’re supposed to eat it with your hands. Phew! That’s the whole process of choosing grains of rice to plant to cooking it!Next was the bamboo weaving area, where bamboo products used on the farm are made.In a farming village, the men are the ones who weave bamboo.
Here, they have created some fun creations to show their skills.Compared to what we were able to create … and this required guidance.The head of the family also does the blacksmithing to produce and sharpen sickles, knives and other metal tools. The two cylinders are the bellows. This giant contraption is how sugar cane is pressed for its juice – fresh, tasty and sweet!We then munched on a variety of rice-made snacks while waiting for the school kids to arrive for their hour long English class. Nolan and Lara were to be their volunteer teachers tonight.Lara had her group of kids calling out their favourite fruits among other activities.Nolan with his older group of kids.
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2 thoughts on “Rice Farming Experience in Laos”
Lots of steps to grow and harvest rice using manual labour.
Lots of steps to grow and harvest rice using manual labour.
Very interesting! So labour intensive. Thanks for sharing.