RICE HARVESTING, MARCH 2012, IN THE PHILIPPINES

Rice is a mainstay of the Philippine diet. Much of the country's arable and irrigable land is devoted to the cultivation of rice. Harvesting is merely the
final stage in a six-month, twice a year process that includes seeding, replanting seedlings, irrigation, drainage and finally maturation of the crop.



Photo 1: Junalyn Barimbao Duveen stands in front of the rice field that has just been harvested. Note the bale of rice plants to the right. Bales are
gathered and left in the field. Another worker will transport the bale to a pile for processing in a thresher.




Photo 2: The thresher is a portable gasoline-driven machine that makes the rounds among the many small farms that produce rice and harvest it around the
same time of year. Much of the same crew will be employed to harvest the rice of surrounding farms.




Photo 3: The bales are dumped into the hopper. A man makes sure the bale's contents are distributed properly to prevent clogging of the machine.




Photo 4: As the unmilled rice leaves the thresher, it is gathered in a bucket and then dumped in the bags. The bags are sewn shut, and transported (a man carries a single bag on his head) for pickup.




Photo 5: About 60 bags constitutes the harvest of a small (0.9 hectare) farm. The maximum yield is about 70 bags, with the difference resulting from poor
weather conditions or problems with field cultivation.




Photo 6: One of the farm's partners, Peter Duveen, poses with local children during the harvest.




Photo 7: When the harvest of a small farm is completed, the thresher is moved by caribao power. The caribao is also used extensively in rice cultivation
throughout the Philippines, in place of tractors used in other countries. The animals are treated like a member of the family.

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