Rice is critical to Vietnam. It is critical as a food supply and as a source of innumerable rice-based culinary dishes. Flat crispy rice crackers, rice wrapping paper, crispy rice croutons, flat soft rice sheets, rice noodles of all types, width and consistency, and rice wine of course… We could write a blog spot solely focused on rice food products that contribute to Vietnam’s extensive gastronomy.
And therefore, rice agriculture is critical as well. In fact 93% of all arable land in Viet Nam is dedicated to rice growing. As far as economic impact, some 10 million Vietnamese are employed in some sector of the rice economy, from growing / harvesting to processing and distribution.
So, with this as backdrop, our home, nestled as it is amongst rice fields and farmers, provides ample opportunity to capture moments in the rice cultivation cycle.
Below are short videos that capture snippets of the harvesting process, followed by a photo essay.
Tilling the land by hand and planting, is hard and time consuming work.
This year is the first time we see the use of machines to assist in the rice harvesting process. We have only seen the harvest in years gone by, done by hand. But not this time – mechanization has arrived in Hoi An.
Once the rice has been cut, the critical next phase is drying the grains of rice and then sifting away empty rice hulls. The empty hulls are lighter than those with grains of rice inside the hulls, which fall to the ground. The empty ones are carried away by the wind.
Not one grain of rice will be wasted. The rice, which has been set to dry on the pavement, will be swept up until each grain is collected.
Tilling the land, then planting…
Rice grows quickly… and is soon ready for harvesting
The water buffalo is crucial to the process …
The harvest leaves behind graphic patterns in the fields..
Suddenly… the landscape shifts. The roads, all roads, turn golden…
Meet the neighborhood farmers…
I loved your photos of the rice harvest and learning about it filled in quite a few gaps in my knowledge base. It’s rather sad that western culture’s focus on acquiring our food in a sterile grocery store, all wrapped up and neatly labeled, leaves most of us completely clueless about how and where it is grown. (As an aside, as recently as 10 years ago, much to my embarrassment, I thought that pineapple was grown on trees.) Your paintings are lovely. It looks like you are happy indeed to be back in Hoi An! Anita
Anita you make a very good point about the disconnect that North Americans have with regard to the food supply chain. Nowhere is this more true than the meat and dairy industry in particular. In France though, there is great reverence for farmers and a general affinity for understanding the cycle of where products come from and how they are grown and so on. Agro tourism is a big deal in Europe where people enjoy connecting the dots between growing quality products and the table.
The rice farmers planting in the field (and their buffaloes) provided a good inspiration for my paintings.. thanks for the compliment.
Peta (& Ben)
Great photos and commentary. How lucky you are to witness the harvest.
Thanks Peggy. It has been interesting for us to be living and traveling through multiple rice growing cultures. in Sri Lanka, we would watch the cycle of the rice fields near our house as well, and there it is still totally done by hand, at least in our neighborhood. And in Indonesia in Bali, we are always aware of the different stage of harvest as it is so central to life there.
Peta
Hi Peta and Ben- I sure do miss the lush green of the Hoi An countryside, not to mention the water buffalo. I believe I biked through those very areas you have pictured. You have captured the rural scenes beautifully in your paintings, Peta.
I hope Niki had a safe trip back to Israel, unless she decided to stay even longer in Hoi An!
Cheers, Shari
Shari, you no doubt did bike through these fields, as they are ubiqutous to Hoi An. Glad you enjoyed seeing them depicted in my paintings.
It was nice to meet you while in Hoi An and hopefully our paths will cross again. Hopefully Niki will be back to visit again next year. Safe travels to you and good luck for the big adventure.
Peta
I have admired the beautiful rice terraces/fields in several parts of Southeast Asia, but you have given me a new appreciation for the long and labour intensive process.
I assume those are your paintings Peta. Just beautiful! I particularly like the one of the two farmers in the field.
It’s good to see you guys embracing your new home. I have some catching up to do…just back from a terrific month in Ben’s homeland.
Caroline it is good to read you!
Yes I started painting again here in Hoi An, inspired by the landscapes, the harvest and the light. Thank you for the lovely compliment. I think that one of the two farmers is my personal favorite as well. You can see my painting come to life in the video, or vice versa haha.
Ooh, we do look forward to reading about your latest bike trip adventures in France.
Peta
The process is fascinating, but your paintings are the real wonders! So beautiful, Peta!
Thank you Lex for such a lovely compliment. It feels good to be back to painting again and I am trying to get used to using acrylics instead of oils and painting small instead of super large. A learning process to be sure.( I am also experimenting with prints on canvas of my paintings which will allow me to sell multiples of each painting at a good price).
Peta
Great insight about rice harvest, a new theme for your paintings. They turn out amazing, Peta!
Ah yes stray dog paintings are now a thing of the past and Hoi An is showing itself to be a strong motivator and providing all sorts of inspiration. Thank you.
Peta
I love your paintings and photos as well as learning about such an incredibly important crop. Lovely to see how much you are enjoying this new life chapter.
Thank you Gilda. We are loving life in Hoi An. It feels so comfortable and is a natural match for us.
Peta
Fascinating! Especially the rice taking over the roads and being driven / walked over. Who knew? Well, obviously lots of people, but not me. And I loved to see your paintings interspersed with the photographs.
Anabel, we were definitely stumped when we came out of our house and found that all roads had disappeared under a canopy of golden grains of rice? How to get out without disturbing the rice drying in the sun…. ? Turns out it’s a normal part of life and things go on as normal. We now ride effortlessly above a cloud of rice grains…
So glad you enjoyed my paintings. It is true that putting them in the context of the photographs gives an additional layer of understanding as to what I am seeking to capture.
Peta
That was so interesting! I didn’t know they laid the rice out like that to be walked on…I knew rice grew in watery fields in hot climates, but that was about it.
Oh yes, there is a whole eco system of rice related activities that are ongoing continuously. It is always fascinating to see the different colors of the fields, the different stages the plants are in, and how hard people work to get rice from field to table.
Peta
Great photographs. I haven’t had the opportunity to venture out a lot since returning to the lovely Quang Ngai, but I noticed last time the use of the small combine harvesters for rice. I was equally intrigued. I actually found it difficult to find anyone harvesting by hand around here… I wonder whether it is because the areas near the coast are flat and more easily accessible than hilly or mountainous areas where it is more difficult to use machines. Certainly when I visited Sapa and talked about the rice harvest with a guide, it appears that most of the work there is still done by hand because the rice grown is on terraces on the hillsides. Very labour intensive!!
Lieve
Lievelee, for sure the machines help the efficiency of the process here. More than efficiency there is a demographic change occurring where the younger generation is less keen to labor under the hot sun and are leaving the rice economy for easier urban jobs. So the mechanisation is a way to maintain output with the declining input of skilled labor.
As you point out, this is way easier to implement in the flat lands than in the mountainous areas where its still done by hand. Very labor intensive yes.
Peta & Ben
Loved seeing your beautiful paintings interspersed with photos telling the Story of Rice Harvesting, Peta. Looks a bit strange people walking and biking over the Rice .. should we be washing it before cooking ?
Thank you. So glad you enjoyed the combination of the photos and paintings. The video of the two workers is what inspired me to start painting again, and when one views that you can see my painting of that scene, come to life. Or vice versa.
Smiling at your comment about washing rice before cooking… All goods that wind up in your kitchen or on your table go through multiple steps of handling and processing that would make the germaphobes stop eating most of them. So yes, the motorcycle tires is a visual reminder that the entire food supply chain is replete with all sorts of hazards along the way.
Peta & Ben
The photos are stunning, and your paintings take them to the next level, Peta! The one of the two rice workers is my favourite.
When I bought an actual rice cooker many years ago, I started washing my rice before putting it in the cooker. But I was never entirely convinced it made a difference to the outcome. Of course I was thinking to wash the rice only to remove the excess starch…now that I see how rice is actually harvested and dried, um…I’ll think I’ll just keep on washing it. Especially the brown rice. 🙂
Deb
Thank you Deb for these kind words. The two rice workers were in a field that we pass almost every day on the way to the beach.
Haha that’s funny. Who knew we would be motivating people to wash their rice well, after this post? A tale of unintended consequences…
P&B
Fascinating, and beautifully photographed. It certainly gives me a new regard for the rice that we enjoy for dinner! I really had no idea how labor intensive the process is. It makes me curious about how rice is grown and harvested in the U.S.—I’ve never seen it laid out on the roads in California to dry in the sun, LOL!
Your paintings are wonderful, Peta. I enjoy seeing the source of your inspiration and the juxtaposition of photos with your paintings.
Laurel, well who knew…. Your comments led us to take a peek at U.S. production of rice. And it turns out that the U.S. is the fifth largest exporter of rice after Thailand, Viet Nam and Pakistan. U.S. exports of rice go to as many as 120 countries! While China is the number 1 customer for U.S. produced rice (how odd is that?), Canada is a very large customer for U.S. producers as apparently they do not grow any rice.
So there you have it…. The U.S. is a large rice producer and yet Viet Nam exports MORE rice than the U.S.
So glad you enjoyed the photos and paintings interspersed throughout the blog. Ben’s idea. Thanks for the nice compliments!
Peta
That’s fascinating! Thank you for doing the research about U.S. rice production…I meant to look it up and got distracted. I’ve seen the rice fields in California but had no idea so much is exported. We often buy the organic basmati and jasmine rice from California and it’s delicious!
Mmmm organic basmati is wonderful. I don’t recall tasting jasmine rice, will have to keep that in mind for when we are in California soon.
I love the people portraits and your paintings.
Well thank you so much. It is always a balancing act to select how many photos and how to streamline a blog post.. glad to know that the portraits stand out. I really enjoy portrait photography, as a good portrait photo is I think, one that is predicated by a conversation or just a connection between the photographer and the subject.
Peta
This blog post is a masterpiece. Truly! I learn so much from you two every post, and this one is no exception, including incredible photos and videos. And then, added emotion in the artistry of “ricing” with Peta’s paintings. And of course, I’m in love with Peta’s muse – the water buffalo.
A very humble thank you for such accolades. “The artistry of ricing”… love that! You have such a way with words.
You’ll just have to come to Hoi An and visit both my muses… the water buffalo and Ben.
How I would love to! In the meantime, it’s glorious to visit you via our blogs.
I am amazed that 93 % of Vietnam’s produce is rice given they are the second largest coffee grower in the world but fifth in rice. I never had the good fortune to see the harvest done by hand, only the mechanized version (which is still pretty cool).
The pictures of the rice laden roads are particularly captivating. And you know I love every one one of the pictures of the locals
Adore Peta’s paintings of the harvest and I would hang the one with the farmer and the buffalo on my wall if I had one.
Lisa,
Well let me know when you have a wall one day, because at some point you might, and I’ll send you one of the prints pronto. However, I can send you any one of them canvas only, so that it is a soft rolled up painting like a soft mat.
So nice to read that you resonate with the photos of the locals. I like to wait until we are somewhat integrated into our little neighborhood before I take my neighbors portraits.
Ben prompted your question revisited the statistics of rice growing and found some additional interesting information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_Vietnam –
Another interesting data point was, as stated in this article, that “A total of 12 provinces constitute the Mekong Delta, popularly known as the “Rice Bowl” of Vietnam, which contain some 17 million people and 80% of them are engaged in rice cultivation.” – 80% of the population, that’s quite extraordinary (and projects out by the way to catastrophic outcomes when climate change introduces too much salinity from sea water), as I don’t think the rice is resistant to salt water.
And equally surprising: “The rice bowl has assured food security to its population whose 75% of daily calories are met by rice, which is also the staple diet of nearly 50% of world’s population of 7.4-billion people”
Re the percentage of land taken by rice, not sure if this link will work (http://www.fao.org/3/x6906e/x6906e0d.htm), I think that this is the problem with statistics, it’s all in the definitions. For some reason, coffee and rubber, both big crops with lots of land, are not counted as the same category of “arable land”. All a bit confusing. Bottom line: Rice exports topped $3Billion in 2018, so it is not only s great source of food security, it is a valuable export contributor to the economy.
P & B
Super interesting! Thank you Peta and Ben for sharing the photos and videos. It’s so great to see the cultural practices of other countries; definitely a perk of travel. For those of us in the western world of giant supermarkets, it’s an important reminder to learn/observe how others live and work.
We buy our rice in 10 lb. bags from our favorite Persian Bazaar store about 30 minutes from home. Big rice eaters. 🙂
Beautiful paintings, Peta. Really lovely.
Patti, thank you for the lovely compliments on my paintings.
Yes for sure cultural practices different to what we have grown up with, are fundamental to motivating us to travel, and for us to live sequentially in different countries.
Too often, many of us are cut off from the source and process of the food cycle. It is really nice to live in a place where we are able to observe the agricultural rhythms around us.
Peta
Absolutely stunning photos!!
Not one grain of rice is wasted? We can learn a great deal from this!
Thank you! I enjoyed capturing the process and taking portraits of some of our neighbors .
It is interesting how much food gets wasted in Western countries. And when one thinks about the amount of work, time and resources that go into getting one bag of rice ready for market.
Peta
Well, doesn’t it make a difference to know where your food is coming from? And in your case, how could you not know, it’s all around you!
Thanks for sharing, and for caring. Great photos, and lovely paintings, nice to see them folded in with what inspired them. I could hug a water buffalo right now.
Johnny, it is always such a pleasure to read you.
I am sure you too would be inspired here by the natural light and the beautiful scenery. Come and visit us and see for yourself. I’ll have paint and canvas ready for you.
Ben has tried to hug a water buffalo.. somehow cows are a bit easier as the huge horns on the water buffalo are a bit intimidating.
Peta
There’s nothing quite like a field of rice – such a beautiful rich green. Lovely photos you two, and I especially like your painting Peta of the buffalo with the man.
I remember a trip from Hanoi to the Pearl River years ago driving past the rice spread on the road and being told that it is illegal but that they do it anyway because they have no where else to dry it.
Alison
Alison it is so great to live in amongst the rice fields. We have experienced it in Bali for extended periods and in Sri Lanka where we lived. It is a real case of “same same, but different”. Of course all the steps of the rice cultivation process are fundamentally the same but each country, geography and culture has a different feel and visuals to the process.
If it’s illegal to spread the rice, then there is a whole country of farmers breaking the rules quite a bit… probably one of those unenforced “rules”.
Thank you for your compliment on the photos and paintings. I enjoy the process of both.
Peta
This has been fascinating. You’ve written about the rice fields on several occasions and each time I learn a little more. Like you said in your commentary with Anita and Richard, in NA we are very disconnected with the origins of our food. I think if I was visiting Viet Nam for the first time and witnessing the roads covered in rice left out to dry I would be completely gobsmacked. Even now having seen your photos, I think I would have some mental barriers to overcome to walk across the rice.
Your paintings injected into the post are wonderful. I especially like the 2 farmers in the field. You clearly have an eye for capturing the essence of a scene!
It’s interesting Joanne, because even though we have witnessed and watched the rice harvest here in Hoi An, many times, we never ever tire of watching the process. There is something quite magical about watching farmers going about their work. One knows they have done it a thousand times, and so have their parents and grandparents. And the visuals are something that captivate us over and over.
That is a really nice compliment on my paintings. Thank you.
Peta
Thanks for this informative post. I’ve seen much rice growing, but never knew anything about the harvest. And what a complete picture of the process, even down to the protocol for driving one’s moped over the golden road. The short videos also bring the process to life … literally. This would make a great feature in an agriculture class. Well done. ~James
Thanks James… We were going to include lots of rice food dishes as well, but decided that it would take the focus onto off the process. Because the food made from rice is something quite astounding in terms of the variety and quality and tastiness.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the videos so much. Videos do bring the process to life and add an added dimension to a post.
Peta
I so enjoyed the videos and your paintings interspersed Peta. The rice harvester looks like a huge improvement but I imagine will impact employment opportunities. The statistics of percentage of land used for rice growing and the 10 million employed are astounding.
Sue thanks.. so glad you enjoyed the footage with my paintings interspersed. Most farmers here are self employed so the machinery doesn’t impact employment it just makes life a bit easier. Probably farmers rent a machine for a few days and or share it with their neighbors.
Peta
Hi Peta and Ben, Living in my part of the world, I do not think about rice too much. I appreciate learning about how critical rice is and how many food products are made from rice. You reinforced how every grain of rice is important and not wasted. I honestly will not look at rice the same after reading your post. Your photos are spectacular! Interesting how you interspersed paintings and photos. I appreciate you sharing all and opening up my eyes to another part of our planet:) Thank you!🙂
Erica, it is interesting that rice serves as the primary food staple for so many on the planet and is so core and central to lives. We are certainly pleased to be able to share the process from our small corner of South East Asia. If it has changed the way you look at rice, going forward, that is a lovely compliment to this post.
Glad you enjoyed the interspersing of photos and paintings.. which reflect our current ecosystem.
Peta & Ben
It’s a fascinating process to be so close to. We have rice fields here in Portugal but I’ve never had a close look. 🙂 🙂
Jo, I wonder if the process in Portugal is mechanised. i would assume so but it would be interesting to know…
Peta
Thanks for taking us through the process with these wonderful photos – and paintings. 93% of arable land for rice – that is staggering. It is amazing to think that one item is so crucial to the wellbeing and economy of the nation. Do you know what type of rice they grow in Hoi An?
Thanks Jeff, so glad you enjoyed this post and the photos and paintings. We have no idea what type of rice is grown but assume there are many different varieties of white rice.
Peta
I love rice products! Fantastic photo essay – I felt I was right there, greeting the rice farmers and walking on the rice. I’d have been a bit clueless as to what to do approaching a road full of rice. Many people probably wonder whether the rice gets dirty or contaminated this way, before it’s packed up. Any insights on that? I assume once the rice is dry not much sticks to it. But, I can’t image they rinse it all again after it finally dried.
I really liked how you interspersed Peta’s paintings throughout the blog post. And, as always after I read one of your posts – or see the photos – I’m so ready to go to Asia again! One of these years…
Thanks LIesbet.
Once the rice is packed up we assume that it then goes to the mills, at which point the husk is probably removed. So whatever the rice was exposed to while drying probably gets sloughed off during the process. However, most food processes have contaminates in them. We only have to look at what is inside chickens that people eat in the U.S. to get an idea of how much we have strayed from a “pure”/clean product. I think we only get that when food is grown and produced at very small scale levels.
Nice to know our posts inspire you to return to Asia. Am sure you will really enjoy it when life delivers another trip to Asia for you. There are so many favorite places we have encountered and we often think we will go back, and hopefully we do….
Peta
I so enjoyed learning about the Vietnam rice harvest, Ben and Peta. Thanks so much for the informative descriptions, videos and photos. Really enjoyed the lovely paintings, too.
Thanks Jet, glad you enjoyed the rice harvest with us and nice to know you enjoyed the paintings as well.
Peta
How interesting to see the process from beginning to end so close to home. Peta’s paintings really capture the story too.
Yes, there is something really unique about living in the middle of a rice farming community and observing the cycle of growing and harvesting through the various stages. It also brings all our neighbors onto the little pathways that weave through the rice fields, as everyone is involved in some part of the process.
Peta
Wonderful artwork Peta!
Thank you so much!
Such an amazing video and photo essay, Peta. And I especially loved to see your paintings interspersed among the other photos.
In response to the comment on rice growing in Canada — we don’t grow it here because it is too cold. However, the ongoing drought in California impacts rice production, which is water intensive. Canada has been pressured to export water to the US (e.g., because of California water shortages) but has developed policies against large scale water exportation. I looked up California rice reproduction, and read that in California, rice is seeded from planes and harvested by machines. It is the least labour intensive crop in California, employing only 1 person for every 1000 for every acre-feet of water. Quite different from Viet Nam!
Jude
Thank you so much for the compliments. So glad you enjoyed how Ben immersed the paintings with the photos to give the work context.
What an interesting and fascinating contrast between rice crops in California and in Viet Nam. Wow could not be more extreme. Interesting how when machines start doing farming, it gets easier and quicker, but we lose traditional hands on farming passed down from generation to generation.
Peta
This is a very interesting post. I loved learning how the rice is harvested. And your paintings are fabulous.Well done.
Thanks Darlene!
Peta
Rice – the grain basket for so much of the world. It’s such a labor intensive crop, requiring close connections among the populace. Thank you for this visual history of modern rice production. I especially love the photos of the people and animals crucial to producing rice. Peta, your paintings are absolutely lovely so I analyzed why the appeal. You paint a warm, intimate portrait, whether of people, animals, or landscape. Not a line by line reproduction, but an emotional vision of what you see. Your paintings speak to my heart. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Sharon for such a thoughtful compliment about my painting. Yes, I try to capture the feeling perhaps more than the geometric accuracy. It has been challenging for me to work on such small scale as I have tended to paint on very large canvases (5’x5′) in the past. The downside of such large paintings is that while they look great once hung or in a gallery, they are a pain to deal with in terms of storage and are uniquely inappropriate for a nomadic painter such as myself. So glad these paintings speak to you.
The rice harvest cycle is back in full swing. As I write this, the rice fields that were bare just a couple of weeks back when we returned from Japan are now a luminous green. As we are nestled amongst rice fields, this means that every one of our motorbike rides takes us through a green canvas that I hope to capture in future paintings.
Peta