Of Sickles and Cells...

The sharp sickle made a clean slice as it cut through the small bundles of rice grass. The early morning sun puts a deep golden orange glow on the already gold stalks. A smoky haze is over the rice fields as we begin to cut. As I’m bent over, I can hear the sounds of the other sickles crunching and crackling through the golden stalks. I am so excited that I finally get to do this!
It’s a BanglaHope tradition to have as many people from the orphanage come out on the first day and help start the rice harvest. So all the staff, some of the caregivers, and the first and second graders all come and help. Everyone just finds a spot at the beginning of the paddy and blazes their own trail through the field.

The sickles are so sharp it doesn’t take any sawing back and forth to cut the rice. Just one swipe and it’s through. The rice grows in bundles and we could average about 3 to 4 bundles across as we moved ahead. When a rhythm was created, we could get moving pretty fast especially if a little competitiveness kicked in. (maybe the competitiveness was just me. hehe) When we got a handful we just laid it neatly behind.

Then someone else came tying them all up and handing them to the kids who carried them to the awaiting carts. We did about four paddies in about an hour. But the experience was so worth it! I have to say that the laborers that do it all day, bent over in the hot sun have my respect. It’s not an easy job but being able to do it for a few hours was a blast!