Articles in Sumatra
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Two
We meet up with Evy’s worker and talk about the work ahead. Then we complete the final kilometer or two on Evy’s motorcycle to get to the land that she owns.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Three
We arrive at Evy’s hectare of rice and go to the picturesque storage shed to get her water pump equipment. There, we meet a woman busy replanting 5-day-old rice seedlings.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Four
I see rice seedlings being replanted, and I confess how difficult I find any kind of farmwork or gardening.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Five
Evy and her worker set up a water pump to irrigate her rice fields. There had been little rain, and the fields were getting dry.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Six
I check out how the rice paddies are divided into sections with low mud dividers. With these, the farmers can control the water level in all the different parts of the rice paddies.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Seven
I watch and learn as Evy and her worker prepare a diluted mixture of water and pesticide and then spray it over the fields.
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Eight
At lunchtime, I hopped on the back of Evy’s motorcycle for a trip to a local market in a small town a few kilometers away. Getting there involved driving out of the rice fields and then down a series of paved and unpaved roads. I went with Evy and her friend and her friend’s daughter, and they shopped for clothes in the market while I …
Evy’s Rice Paddies – Part Nine
I go with Evy when she visits a friend’s palm oil farm. I watch as the men cut down the palm oil fruit and collect it. Another type of fruit is in season, and friends arrive to pick the fruit from our shade tree. Then it’s time to head back to the rice fields, but first we stop in a small town to buy some …