"Shan Farmers", New Gallery Available

A new gallery, "Shan Farmers", is now available at my personal photography website for viewing.

This gallery of  29 photographs from last month's trip to the Thai-Myanmar Border documents the harvest activities of Tai Yai (Shan) people.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/People/Shan/Shan-Farmers/29310329_V3VQWv

Ban Nai Soi - Soybean Workers

Soybean Worker Carrying Bamboo Ties

As we drove north on Highway 1285 towards Ban Huai Phueng in search of more garlic workers after our first visit to the garlic fields, we came upon one more group of field hands.  I parked alongside of the road and walked down a trail to get where the people were toiling under the hot and bright sun.  If their labor were not difficult enough with the sun and heat, the sky, as is typical this time of year in Maehongson, was filled with a smoky haze.  Mae Hong Son province is very hilly and covered with large forests.  During the dry season, especially at the end of the season in April, Hill Tribe people burn the hillsides as part of their slash and burn agricultural technique.  In addition to the people set fires there seem to be many naturally caused fires.  The burning forests fill the sky with smoke, with the heaviest smoke often settling into the many valleys of the province.  Sometimes the smoke is so heavy that flight operations at the Mae Hong Son (Maehongson) Airport.

There are many fires burning unattended and without any effort to stop them.  At this time, it is necessary to put the fires into a proper perspective.  My wife often tells me "Thailand not like America"  Well in the case of forest fires; forest fires in Thailand not like forest fires in America.  There is a story about the famous American environmentalist, John Muir, encountering a forest fire in the Sierras in the early 20th century.  When the fire approached him, he got up and stepped over it.  A similar situation exists in the forests of Mae Hong Son Province - not that I would try or even recommend trying to step over them.  The trees here drop their leaves due to heat and the lack of water.  Many of the trees are teak which drop very large leaves approximately 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter.  Without fire the forest floor would quickly be covered to knee depth with debris.  If a fire were to occur with knee deep debris, the living standing trees would most certainly become involved in the fire - just as happens every year in Western USA where fire have been suppressed for over 50 years or more.  Here in Thailand with just about yearly fires, the forest floor is kept relatively clean.  The fires burn through an area quickly and relatively cool due to the lack of fuel, more accurately kindling.

Everyday that we drove along Highway 1095 we encountered many areas that were burning sometimes at the edge of the highway. Only a couple times did we see a smoldering tree laying on the ground.  Most of the time we saw burning leaves and weeds. Besides greatly reducing the risk of major forest fires, the fires benefit the environment by returning organic material (carbon and minerals) to the soil and also keep insects under control.

We left Maehongson at 4:00 A.M. and drove a major portion of Highway 1095 in the dark.  At one point I was confused.  In the middle of no where, I was trying to figure out what large village we were approaching. As we got closer and the road turned to give a better perspective, I realized that I was looking at an undulating fire line crossing across several hillsides.  Although the line of fire was very long, the fire was burning slowly and appeared to be no more than 18 inches high.

Women Gathering Up Soybean Plants

It is under these smoke filled skies, that the people of Maw Hong Son live and work year after year.  The second group of workers that we encountered along Highway 1285 were not garlic workers.  They were people harvesting soybeans.  The sun dried soybean plants were being gathered and bundled together using narrow strips of bamboo.

A Worker Carrying Soybean Bundles to A Pick Up Truck

A man would suspend the bundles on each end of a long bamboo pole carried on his shoulder and carry them across the parched fields to a pick up truck parked alongside of the hut where the workers eat. Just as with the previous garlic workers, these soybean workers were just as kind, hospitable, and amused.  I was immediately offered and accepted a drink of water from them.  Duang and I arrived just before lunch so we went with the workers to their rest hut which was located at the end of the fields and adjacent to the flowing stream that runs along the length of the valley.

As the workers relaxed and ate their meal, I stood around and talked to them through Duang.  Without any warning one of the men reached out and gently touched the hair on my forearm - something that has happened many times to me while in Southeast Asia.  I have a great deal of body hair which my wife refers to as "Koh Ling" (Monkey Hair).  Men in Southeast Asia do not have much body hair so in addition to standing out as a foreigner, my hairiness sets me apart from others.  Rather than get upset about people touching me, I make a joke of it all - putting my hand out and asking for 20 Baht ($0.60).  The people are typically shocked and when they realize that I am only joking - we share a good laugh.  I have found that if you are willing to laugh at yourself you will always find someone to laugh with you.  With your guard down and demonstrating that you are approachable, the fun usually begins.

Women Shelling Soybeans Next to Rest Hut

Some of the women had set up next to the hut and were removing soybeans from the dried pods.  One of the women gave me some to eat.  I moved around to take their photographs.  As I was standing taking some photos, the man who appeared to be the big boss was talking loudly to someone.  I continued to shoot when I realized that he was talking to me.  I looked at him to see what the problem was.  Between his pantomime and motions of the women next to me I realized that I was standing on some of the soybean plants.  I was so embarrassed and apologized   I went over to him and offered my forearm and told him that he could have TWO touches for FREE,  He laughed like crazy telling Duang that he was just joking.  He took his two free touches and indicated to Duang that I was a pretty hairy guy.  I pulled my shirt down a little to expose part of my hairy chest to him.  He seemed impressed and laughed. Through Duang I told him that I had a lot more hair but that I was not going to show it even if he paid me.  We all shared a great laugh.

We spent about an hour and one-half with the soybean workers.  Asking and answering questions about each other's life.

We found no other workers that day, and headed back to Mae Hong Son.

We had an objective and were pleased to have attained it.  The key had been making our own decision with input from others.  Our willingness to take a chance to seek out workers and to engage them were paramount to achieving our objective.

Once again our photography efforts were a sort of allegory for life.  One needs an objective to develop a plan to achieve that objective.  Having and embracing a desire to explore the world about you presents opportunities for you to enrich your life and the life of those that you come upon.  As much as we may be tempted to live in fear; mindlessly in fear despite what the actual risks may be, life is so much more enjoyable when lived to its fullest extent.

Toiling In the Fields of Ban Nai Soi

The Garlic Workers of Ban Nai Soi

After our visit with the Monk who lives in a cave, we stopped at  Tham Pla Forest Park (Fish Cave).  We did not stop to see the fish.  We stopped to eat and drink.  Over the years of traveling throughout the world I have developed some rules that help make travel more pleasant.

One of the rules is "Go to the bathroom where you can".  The best time to go to the bathroom is when you find proper facilities or what you suspect are the best facilities for the remainder of the day.

Another rule is to "Eat where you can".  The best time to eat is when you find a place that meets your expectations or at worse, your minimum standards.  This helps to reduce the number of times that you may be forced to compromise.

Following the second rule dictated that we stop at Fish Cave.  We had eaten there four years ago and enjoyed the variety as well as the quality of the food.  Once again on this trip we were shocked at how few tourists there were.  We ended up eating at the same food stall that we had enjoyed our meal on the previous trip.  There were only three other people at the stall and roughly a total of 5 others at the other food stalls.  The owner of the food stall remembered us from our previous visit when we had spoken with her for about an hour.  In talking to her this year, we found out that tourism is down significantly starting about three years ago  After a relaxing lunch of sticky rice, grilled pork ribs, and a coconut water/sugar cane soft drink, we left and continued north to hopefully achieve another objective of this trip.

Duang Helping With the Garlic Harvest - 01 April 2009

Four years ago we had witnessed porters carrying bunches of garlic from the field, across a bamboo bridge, and up a hill to store them alongside the road to be picked up by trucks.  We followed the porters on their return trip to the garlic fields - down the rather steep hill, across a flowing stream using a rickety bamboo bridge, and across the dry rice paddies to where a crew of men and women were harvesting garlic.  It was very interesting and I wrote a blog about our experience.  http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/04/maehongson-april-1-2009.html 

The Garlic Porter - 01 April 2009

One of my objectives this year was to revisit the area and photograph the people harvesting the garlic.  We had checked with the staff at our hotel, and they had informed us that the garlic harvest had concluded.  We had seen many pick up trucks stacked 10 feet high above beds with bundles of garlic, so I expected that there were some activities associated with the harvest still ongoing.  It is always good to ask around for information but in the end the decision has to be your decision as to what YOU will do.  The information from the hotel was valuable in that we knew not to expect a great deal of opportunities for photographs of people working in the fields.  Undeterred we set out for the fields along Highway 1285 on the way to Ban Huai Phueng.  We spotted some motorbikes parked along the road  and a very large square mound of garlic - a definite sign that people were working down in the fields.  Down and some distance from the highway people were working.

I parked the truck a little further down the road to ensure our safety as well as others along the narrow road. I walked alone to scout out the area down the dirt road that lead from the garlic pile to a bamboo bridge that crossed the same stream that we had encountered four years ago.  Tentatively I climbed up the wide pace rungs that brought me to the bridge.  From my vantage point on the bridge I could see people working the fields.  Pleased and excited at this discovery, I returned to the truck to get my camera gear and Duang.

Porters Bringing Garlic to the Highway

We were soon joined by some of the workers transporting garlic bunches suspended from both ends of  bamboo pole balanced on their shoulder.  One of the people appeared to be the big boss and commenced to be a great model for me, sitting on the garlic mound and redistributing the bunches on top of the mound.

The Big Boss

More Garlic for the Pile

After talking with the people along the roadside, we walked down the dirt road and crossed the bridge to where the other workers were loading up bamboo poles with garlic bunches.

More Garlic to Be Hauled Across the Bridge

We had apparently arrived at the worker's lunch break, because after photographing for a while all the workers walked across the bridge to a small raised hut that dot the fields of Thailand.  These raised huts are constructed of timber and have thatched roofs.  The huts provided shelter from the sun during breaks, and are the locations where the workers eat their meals.

One of the Garlic Workers Prepares and Serves Lunch

Curious as to what was going on I wandered over to the hut.  I was immediately offered a cup of cool water from the communal water jug.  In the 95 to 100F heat, I definitely needed a drink and gratefully accepted their hospitality.  Duang caught up with us at the hut.  We were offered to share their lunch but since we had already eaten earlier, we thanked them and declined.  I may be going out on a limb but I do not believe that anyone would go hungry or thirsty in  rural Thailand.  The people are all too willing to share their food and drink; even with strangers.

Workers Eat Lunch With Fresh Banana Leaf "Tablecloth"

As I wandered about taking photos and the workers ate their meal, there was a very animated as well as loud exchange between Duang and the workers.  As much as we were interested in their lives, they were interested in our life - especially about Duang's experience living in America.  This is typical of all our travels, people are curious and interested in others; especially those who obviously have come from far away.  I suspect that these workers in a secluded area of Thailand and out in their fields have not encountered too many foreigners let alone to be able to speak with them for much time.  Our stops along the roads and streets of Southeast Asia often last one hour or more - better opportunities to understand what we are witnessing and to share our experiences with others.

A Worker Crosses the Bamboo Bridge

We left the workers and continued our trip to Ban Huai Phueng.  We encountered some soybean workers further up the road and spent two hours with them - or rather I spent two hours with them while Duang rested in the truck.  As I was returning to the truck she was coming down the trail looking for me.

During our last visit in 2009, we discovered a large open barn where garlic bunches were hung at multiple levels to dry.  Several workers were also working in the field adjacent to the barn which made for some nice photographs - photographs that hoped to replicate during this trip.  I was not exactly sure where the barn was.  Fortunately when we stopped at the Fish Cave to eat there was a loaded pick up truck of garlic.  I had Duang question the driver about the garlic barn.  Although we didn't remember the exact location, we were able to give him a very good description of it.  Without any hesitation, he told Duang that it was in Ban Nai Soi.  I remembered seeing the signs for the road to Ban Nai Soi so on our way back to Mae Hon Song, we took a side trip to Baan Nai Soi.

The Garlic Barn of Ban Nai Soi - Late Afternoon April 03, 2013

We found the garlic barn without any difficulty.  Unfortunately, the field next to the barn had not been used this year - it was just a mass of dry weeds.  I got out to photograph the garlic barn and noticed that a large area in front of the barn was covered with garlic stalks laid in orderly rows.  A man came along and Duang talked to him.  She told him of our wish to take photos of people working the garlic harvest.  He told her that the next morning starting at 8:00 A.M. he would have people working at the barn.  We thanked him and promised him, or maybe we warned him, that we would return the next morning.

Workers Tying Garlic Stalks Into Bundles

We returned to the barn in Ban Nai Soi the next morning and found several Shan workers squatting on the ground gathering stalks of garlic and tying them into bundles using strips of bamboo that had been soaked in water to make them flexible. I am often amazed and impressed in the ability of local people here in Southeast Asia to utilize and incorporate readily available and cheap materials into their work.

Under Smoky Haze, Shan Woman Bundle Garlic In Ban Nai Soi

I was thrilled to achieve another one of the objectives for this trip - much to the amusement of the workers.  They were quite amused and entertained as I crouched and squatted amongst them getting different angles and perspectives to photograph their toil.  My antics and sharing some of the photographs with them put them more at ease and consequently better photographic subjects.

Some of the women had yellow faces.  They were not suffering any type of liver failure or disease that I was aware of.  Rather than suffering liver failure, they were wearing  the traditional Myanmar make up called "Thanaka" or "Thanakha".  Thanaka is a yellowish white paste made from ground up tree bark.  Men and women in Myanmar (Burma) use it as a sunscreen, perfume, and refresher for their exposed skin.  Some women press a leaf into the paste on their cheeks to make a pretty leaf patterned stencil print.

A Shan Woman With Thanaka On Her Face

Shan Workers Amused by a Foreigner

We left the garlic barn to continue our quest for the day to achieve more objectives of this trip.

Planting Rice - In January?

My Sister-In-Law Planting Rice on her Land

I have photographed people in Southeast Asia planting rice many times but those times have always been in July or August.  Last week we received a phone call from Duang's older sister telling us that they would be planting rice on Friday, 4 January.  She has a small farm just outside of Tahsang Village where she and her family grow rice, sugar cane, corn, and vegetables along with raising one cow and one water buffalo. They used to have pigs raised on their land but now cultivate mushrooms. The pigs were actually being raised by a poor family from their Christian Church.  Duang's sister let the family borrow the land.  Generosity is very common in the Lao Loum culture of Isaan.

Duang's two cousins and their families have joined their parents in living on the farm now.  That is how it is in Isaan, many children take care of their parents by helping on the farm. In return they have a place to live.

We were going out to the village to bring our grandson to our home to spend the weekend so it worked in perfectly with our plans.  The truth be known, we often accommodate family activities into our plans.  Besides the enjoyment of spending time with the family, there are always plenty of interesting people as well as activities to photograph.  We quite often will get phone calls informing us of something that people think that I would be interested in taking photographs of.  The fact is that there is very little that I am not interested in taking photographs and eventually writing about.

Duang's Cousin Brings A Rack of Rice Plants Out to the Paddies

Rice planting in January?  That was going to be a first for me to photograph.  Rice is typically planted here in July.  The reason that it is typically planted in July is because of the rainy season, the monsoons and has nothing to do with temperatures.  We are now in our "cold" season.  Night time temperatures typically get down to 65 F and there have been a couple nights when it has been down to 58 F.  The day time high temperatures are around 85 F.  This is my favorite time of the year - no air conditioning, no ceiling fans, no sweating or rather "much less sweating" for me.  It is also the time of no rain.  I like that too but then again I do not grow rice.

Planting Rice Seedlings In A Prepared Flooded Paddy

Here in Isaan, rice is grown using the wet cultivation technique.  Rice seed, saved from the previous harvest, is broadcast over a prepared and flooded paddy.  The seeds sprout and form a thick green carpet.  Insecticides are used to protect the seedlings.  After about one and one half months, when the sprouts are approximately 24 inches long (61 cm), the seedlings are pulled up from their mucky bed.  About four inches (10 cm) of the top of the seedlings are cut off.  The harvested seedlings are then transplanted in a final prepared flooded paddy.  In clusters of 3 to 4 seedlings, they are pushed approximately five inches (13 cm) into the 12 inch (30 cm) deep muck of the flooded paddy.  The rice grows in the flooded paddy for three months.  The rice paddy is allowed to dry out before the rice is harvested.  The cut stalks dry in the sun for three day before they are removed from the paddy.  Rain and water are detrimental to the harvesting of the rice.

Because of the need to have water to keep the paddies flooded during the growth stage of the rice, most farmers in Isaan produce only one crop a year.  Here in Isaan the rain falls from May until late October so the growing season is from July to late October.  Farmers do not have access to the large amount of water, cheap water, to grow during the dry season from November to May.

I had not been out to my sister-in-law's farm in two years.  I was shocked at some of the changes.  The farm is located at the edge of a large floodplain. Over the past two years a slough has been constructed along the back end of the farm.   I checked with Duang and she told me that her brother-in-law hired a company to dig the big ditch and that other land owners had paid for the work done along their property lines. No building permits, environmental impact studies, or permits were required prior to doing the work.  Now there is apparently a source of water as well as a source of fish year around for those property owners.  Duang's family is taking advantage of the new supply of plentiful and cheap water to grow a second crop of water.

My Brother-In-Law Planting With New Floodplain  Berm In the Background

For me besides the opportunity to take some family photos of rice planting, the day offered opportunities to do some experimentation with my photography.  Since it is "cold" season, I was taking late afternoon photographs. There was no need to avoid the heat of the day.  Since the shortest day of the year was less than a month ago, the late afternoon Sun is also lower in the sky than it is in July.  The quality of light now as well as the brilliant blue sky give elements for more interesting photographs of an activity that I have photographed many times before.

Working Together In the Late Afternoon

The great opportunities for photographs also presented challenges - especially for the automated functions of today's high tech digital cameras.  Modern cameras can take acceptable photographs by determining the aperture based upon the selection of  "film" speed and shutter speed, or by determining the shutter speed based upon the selection of "film" speed and aperture.  Many times this automation is not effective do to conditions outside of the "norm".

On the afternoon that I was going to photograph the rice planting I knew that automated functions would not work.  The bright background would cause the foreground, the people, to be too dark.  If I metered so that the people would be properly exposed, the background would be much too bright i.e. "blown out".  The background would have no detail.  There would be no blue sky, green vegetation, or rice stalks in the background. I was hoping for more dramatic effects in my photographs.

The solution to get more dramatic photographs was to go back to basics and taking the photographs the old fashioned way - manually.

I put my camera into "manual" mode, set the shutter speed high enough and aperture high enough to keep the background on the darker side and used an on camera flash with a Flashbender light modifier set to 1/4 power and also on "manual" to provide fill light for the foreground thus providing a more balanced exposed photograph.

Isaan Gothic

My Brother and Sister-In-Law

Posing Time Is Over, Time to Go Back to Work

As wonderful as modern technology and automation are, they do not always provide the best solution for every set of conditions or circumstances.  They will often provide "acceptable' results but not very often will they provide "exceptional" results.  For "exceptional" results and especially for conditions that are not "norm", the old time tested methods need to be used. Having been raised in a time and place where we were taught to seek and produce "exceptional" results, I am grateful that I still know the old ways.

Cassava Production



Cutting Cassava Stalks for Planting

Father's Day was a holiday here in Thailand on 5 December, but for Lao Loum farmers here in Isaan it was a day like any other day - a work day.  I have already written about the sugar cane harvest, the rice harvest, and the Kumphawapi Market so today I will write about the work associated with the cultivation of cassava.

Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava in the world.  Most of the exports go to China.  The largest producer of cassava is Nigeria.  I often ate cassava when I lived in Brasil.  You may even have a form or byproduct of cassava in your kitchen cabinet.

What is cassava?  Cassava, Manihot esculenta, which is also known as manioc and mandioca is a woody shrub originally from South America that has a starchy tuberous edible root.  The edible root is very much like a potato.  It is more fibrous and more mushy than a potato prepared the same way.  Cassava.  Unlike the potato, it is important to properly prepare cassava.  There are two varieties of cassava, sweet and bitter.  The bitter variety is typically used for industrial purposes. The sweet variety is the kind most likely to be eaten by people.  Both varieties can expose people to cyanide if not properly prepared.  The bitter kind has 50 times the concentration of cyanide compounds than the sweet.  Proper preparation of the sweet variety involves peeling and boiling the tuber ensuring to throw the water away.  the industrial variety needs to be soaked in water for 18 to 24 hours.

When the root is dried to a powdery or pearl type extract is known as Tapioca. Cassava can be eaten as "french fries", "potato chips", or "boiled potatoes".  In Brasil the tuber is dried, powdered, fried with butter, packaged and sold as "Manioc Flour" or "Farofel"  It is sprinkled on meat or beans for flavor and to thicken the consistency of the dish.

Cassava is a good source of carbohydrates but a poor source of protein for people.  It is grown because it does not require fertile soil or a great deal of water.  The cassava shrub is very drought resistant.  Because it can grow in poor soil and without a great deal of water, cassava is a natural choice for a cash crop here in Isaan.  It is called "mahn falang" by the Lao Loum farmers.  Cassava is used in rotation with sugar cane.

After the sugar cane is harvested, the land is plowed and cassava is planted.  After 6 months, the cassava is harvested and sugar cane planted in its place.  Currently cassava brings 2,700 Baht per metric tonne ($90.00 per 2,200 pounds) to the farmer while sugar cane brings 1,300 Baht per metric tonne.  Rice pays the most at 18,000 Baht per tonne ($600 USD).

Processing Cassava Stalks

For small farmers like Duang's relatives, they manually harvest the cassava tubers by first removing all the stems and leaves from the stalk.  The bare stalk is then pulled straight up to expose the tubers.  The tubers are removed from the stalk and placed in a farm truck or wagon.  Due to the rapid deterioration of the tubers after harvesting, they are taken directly to a local processor.  The bottoms of the stalks are cut off and the remaining 4 to 5 foot long stalk is taken back home to be processed for the next crop.

Cutting Up Cassava Stalks

Back at the farmer's home or at a willing relative's home, the stalks are stacked like cord wood.  The stalks are then cut into 8 to 9 inch long pieces with a heavy cane knife - one stalk at a  time - a job performed by both men and women.  The short pieces of stalk are collected in woven baskets.  The pieces are then brought over to a tub of water where they are washed and wetted down before placing them into recycled fertilizer or rice bags.  The stalk sections remain in the bags for three days, after which they are transported out to a prepared filed and planted by hand.

Wetting Down Cassava Stalk Sections

Packing Cassava Stalks Into Recycled Fertilizer Bags

Tomorrow morning, these sections of cassava will be planted.  We will be traveling out to Tahsang Village to witness and document the process.  Based upon her success in photographing me dancing during the street parade for Bun Kaithin, Duang is planning on photographing me planting "mahn falang"  Hmmm ... I may have to bring out that excuse that foreigners are not allowed to work without a "Work Permit" issued by the Thai Government.  Your wife wanting you to work is not sufficient authorization.

It's Miller Time - In Isaan

The Tahsang Village Miller Loads The Shaker Table

"It's Miller Time" was the slogan for a beer that is brewed in the United States.  Personally I would never drink the stuff again.  Besides not tasting good and being gentle on my digestive system I totally disagreed with their marketing strategy which blatantly targeted specific groups of the population. Such a strategy might work for electing public officials but i do not have to participate in it for purchasing beer.

It's Miller Time in Isaan is not even about drinking beer.  If this blog were to be about beer drinking here in Northeast Thailand, it would be about It's Leo Time or It's Chang Time.  Most of the people that I know out in the villages drink Leo which is also my preferred brand.  More affluent villagers may drink Chang.  No matter their choice, the locals will drink their beer out of a glass filled with ice cubes.  It may sound a little strange but I can attest to how refreshing it is on hot and humid Isaan days or nights.

It's Miller Time for this blog deals with the final processing of this year's rice harvest.  The rice has been cut, dried in the field, threshed to remove the grain from the straw, the rice grain dried at the Wat or in the yard, and stored in the family granary.  The stored rice has a husk covering the kernel.  Some bags of rice which will be used next year for seed will remain this way.  Some bags that will used to make "puffed rice", sort of like popcorn, which is used in making the Isaan treat (I call it Thai Cracker Jacks) "Kao Tawtek".  The remainder of the rice which will be eaten during the year must have the husk mechanically removed, milled, so that the rice can be steamed.

Gathering Freshly Milled Rice

On the morning that I recently wrote about when we visited our grandson's school, I had visited the home in Tahsang Village where the local rice is milled.  Well today, we had to go back out to the village so I headed directly back to visit the miller.

Like many businesses here in Isaan, the man mills the rice on his home property.  In the USA there was a time when industry was also conducted at home.  The term "cottage industry" refereed to the practise.  Well here in Isaan cottage industry is thriving.

Tahsang Village Rice Milling Equipment

The milling machine is located in a shed at the back of the miller's home.  I had first visited and photographed the operation back in October 2008.  I have written several times about the Thai expression of "Same, Same; but different".  During my visit on Monday after a hiatus of four years I realized that the milling operation was "same same but different".  At first I thought that the miller had gotten rid of two of his machines but upon closer inspection, I realized that the miller had reorientated the equipment 90 degrees.  I pointed the difference out to him and he confirmed that it had been reorientated.  Later when Duang joined us, I had her tell the man that he had done a very good job relocating the equipment because it looked like the very same spider webs from four years ago were still there seemingly undisturbed.  We had a  good laugh.  But seriously, the equipment was just as heavily covered with dust laden spider webs as it was previously.  I guess if you know what you  are doing you don't have to clean equipment to relocate it!

Visiting the rice miller was a smorgasbord for most of the senses.  The first sense that is stimulated is sound.  Even from the street, you can hear the rice being milled.  Once inside the shed you hear a symphony.  There is the sound of belts driving the numerous pulleys, wheels and shafts that power the various sections of the machinery.  There is the sound of dried kernels of rice rustling along the vibrating shaker tables that separate the rice from straw and other debris that was carried over from the threshing or drying operations.  You can hear the rice traveling through various chutes that connect different sections of the machine.  There is a rhythmic slapping of the power transmitting belts.  Occasionally a chicken will shuffle along the compacted earth floor of the shed clucking in satisfaction upon finding some rice that has spilled.

The sense of sight is tantalized by all kinds of oddities and peculiarities of the operation.  The work area is rather dark and the air is dusty.  But the most stunning sight is the actual milling equipment.  The equipment is old; very old.  I suspect that it very well could be 100 years old.  The milling equipment comes from the age when machines were still constructed of wood, rivets, cast iron, steel, fabric, and leather.

Wood?  Yes, the elevated work platform was wood which is not all that unique or surprising.  The support columns were also made of wood - a little less common but again not surprising.  What was unique and definitely surprising was that the housings for the vertical elevators and many of the chutes that transported the rice were made of wood, wood that had a nice patina due to many years of use.

Leather?  Yes, the many belts that transmitted power from the single floor mounted electric motor located about 2 meters from the equipment.  A long leather belt was attached to a large diameter wheel mounted on a long horizontal shaft close to the equipment.  Other wheels of various diameters were also mounted on the horizontal shaft.  Leather belts of various lengths and widths transmitted power to the various specific locations on the machine.  The machine hearkened back to the time before machine guards were used or required.  Care had to be taken to ensure that your clothing or fingers did not get caught up in the belts.  The miller had no need to be around those sections while milling the grain but an excited foreign photographer definitely had to take care!  Besides being used for power transmitting belts, leather was used to suspend the various vibrating trays and tables that separated the grain.

Chute and Fabric Connector Tie Vibrating Table to Vertical Elevator

Fabric? Yes, fabric was used to make the flexible connections between the moving parts of the equipment.  In more modern machines these connectors would be constructed of rubber, neoprene, or Nitrile. In some places coated Fiberglas or nylon fabric would be used.  For this machine I do not know what was originally used.  Perhaps it was canvas.  Whatever was originally used is long gone and replaced by the miller with whatever fabric the family did not need for other purposes.  In some sections of the equipment it appeared that sections were being held together by strips of cloth; cloth that was coated by spider webs and dust.  The dust coated spider webs hung from all sections and pieces of the milling equipment as well as all exposed surfaces in the work shed.  The overall ambiance was of a haunted house or some laboratory where Frankenstein would be created - a great place to explore and photograph.

Milled Rice Spills From Milling Machine Into Recycled Plastic Bucket

The colors in the work shed were rather subdued because of the equipment's age and the uniformity due to heavy accumulation of dust.  The subtlety of the color palette was broken in places where the golden grain had spilled or could be seen traveling through the process.  Richly colored recycled fertilizer or sugar bags also provided a punch of color in isolated locations of the shed.  A small but steady trickle of pearl white milled rice provided .some contrast

Making Some Equipment Adjustments

There was a very pleasant faint smell of grain wafting throughout the work shed.  It was somewhat reminiscent of baked bread but without the alcohol accents of real baking bread.

Checking Out The Milling Process

Just as you should not touch items in a museum, I was reticent to touch the equipment lest I disturb the rich patina of spider webs and dust.  However I was not shy to plunge my hand into the bucket of freshly milled rice.  The texture of thousands of grains of rice pressing against my skin was just as you would expect.  But for me there was a surprise, the rice was warm; warm from the friction of travelling through and being milled in the machine.

Bagging the Finished Product

Miller time in Isaan had proved to be a most pleasant way to pass the morning.  Besides being pleasant it was also extremely informative.  As happens throughout Southeast Asia when you take the time to get closer to the people and their life, you learn that there are so many ways to live and to live happily.  The people are very adept at making do with what they have and prove that you do not have to have a great deal to get by.  they are also very good at solving their own problems either through their ingenuity or cooperation with each other.

As a Westerner, you realize that you do not need all that you would like to have or even think that you need.  Sure the equipment is old, very old but it does the job.  Newer equipment would look better but at what cost to the people who use the miller's service?  Currently his fee is 20% of the finished product.  If he milled 50 bags of finished rice for you, he would keep 10 bags and return 40 to you.  He currently has 500 bags of his own in storage and will some to a broker in Udonthani to obtain some cash.