THE JOURNEY OF RICE
By: Carla M. Pacis

Step 1 The farmer soaks seeds gathered from the last harvest in a baluyut or small rice basket to germinate. As soon as they have roots…

 

Step 2 He plants the seedlings into wet, prepared fields.

 

Step 3 He waits for 4 months until the rice is ready for harvest.

Step 4 The rice stalks are harvested.

Step 5 The rice stalks are threshed. The farmer and his helpers pound the rice stalks against a wooden board called hampasan to separate the rice husks from the stalks. However, many rice farmers have modernized and use a machine to thresh their rice.

Step 6 The farmer and his helpers pound the rice in a pestle with a mortar to open the husks.

 

Step 7 The rice is winnowed or tossed in a bilao or grass tray to separate the rice grain from their husks.

 

 

Step 8 The rice is weighed and put in sacks for delivery to markets and supermarkets.

 

 

 

Step 9 The rice is bought.

 

Step 10 The rice is cooked.

 

 

 

Step 11 The rice is eaten! Yummy.