Sapa ( Ta Van Village) Rice Planting Season

 Hi Team,


Had a bit of time off from helping the children so I visited friends in Sapa.  Sapa is a beautiful mountain region in northern Vietnam on the border with China.  Part of the beauty of the region is the many rice terraces.    Most of the rice grown in the region is not for commercial purposes but simple family consumption.  Land owners are allocated space to grow their rice. 
Because of the weather in the mountains this region only has one growing season for rice each year.  There are several labor intensive steps that go into growing rice.   

First: The terrace must be plowed or tiled to loosen to mud.  Access to the terraces is steep and limited so most still resort to using water buffalo to plow the fields.
Second: After the fields are plowed the first step is planting of the rice seedlings.  This process is best described as planting grass seed.  Seedlings grow very close together in a smaller field until mature which is about 6-8 weeks. After reaching maturity the rice plants must be picked to be transplanted to the rice field to grow.  As pictured below this is a manual process as the young rice plants are very delicate.
Third: When transplanted to the rice field the rice plants are given more room to grow and are separated by about 6 inches from each other.  Each of these steps is a back breaking manual process to avoid damaging the young rice plants.
Fourth: The rice plants must grow for about 4-5 months until they are ready for harvest.  During this time the families need to ensure the fields remain flooded to produce a healthy crop.  This often requires some very ingenious methods of irrigation on the mountain side.   Harvesting is also a manual process with several processes to remove the rice seeds from the plant for consumption.  
I have had the opportunity to help friends with the planting and harvesting of their rice crops which only gives me a deeper appreciation for the hard work that goes into this vital source of food.  Like everything here in Vietnam this is often a family or community event where everyone helps their neighbor in the process.   

Food for thought the next time you set down for a bowl of rice with your meal.

For more photos and videos from my trip here is the Google Photo Link:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/eXiGY7FTffo8NgKR7

Warm regards,
Bob McGarry

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