A little photo essay this evening on the rice planting season that is upon us in the Kathmandu Valley. We stayed at a place in Shivapuri, very close to a hardworking Newari family who were busy getting the crop to field. The rainy season is late and they complained that planting was late as a result…but they were still willing to take a break and let me take photos.
First step is to gather seedlings from the nursery field. The ladies grabbed bunches of seedlings, washed off the dirt from the roots and tied them in bundles ready to be transported to larger fields.
This little guy was very curious about why I was there.
The ladies made the hard work of planting look easy and fun. It’s not, it’s back breaking. But they still laughed and smiled for the camera, and broke into song occasionally too.
This is the grandmother and the aunt
Time to take a lunch break in the fields…..
Here is a completed field with the baby plants in place. In a couple of months the plants will be tall and green and ready to harvest.
The terraces were a maze of tricky mud paths. I hope to be back for the harvesting in September.
Thanks to the family for the photos!
Wright Outta Nowhere 
Lovely to see them all smiling, even though they were working hard.
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They were really smiley a lot of the time…and lots of singing too to keep the spirits up!
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Such lovely photos you captured of the rice planting. Did you get involved yourself? That is something on my Nepali bucket-list – rice planting!
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Well…I was tempted. But then I saw leeches! Not in the water (maybe they don’t live in rice paddies but I wasn’t sure…?!) and the freshwater crabs came out..! They do live in rice paddies. So I chickened out. The farmers do it everyday and survive, so I should be braver, I guess. But it did take the edge of for me. It was fun talking with them though.
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P.S. I just read the comments on your discrimination post. Wow…that rattled a few bars!
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Caroline, I love to see the bright light green colour of growing rice
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I know…it never gets old does it….I love it too
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We used to have fine views of the rice crops from our home but now everybody is planting cement and bricks instead. I am still dreaming about living in a place completely surrounded by greenery and nature
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