Another overload

We found out that these tricycles came about from WWII. The Americans used motorcycles with side cars for transportation during the war. The Filipinos adapted the idea and designed these trikes. A Jeepney was also designed from the US WWII Jeeps. The Filipinos adapted them as a form of transportation. They elongated the jeep and made two longs seats facing each other in the back behind the driver's seat. The back door is always open or there is no back door. People just hop on and off. The Jeepney and trike will stop anywhere, and anytime to give someone a ride. The Jeepney is cheaper than a trike for a ride. This is the only form of transportation for the missionaries, besides buses or rented Jeepney vans.

Trike overload!

I have waited one year to get this picture.

We see this just about everyday. Six people on a motorcycle. Three adults and three BABIES! This was a hard picture to get because we see it from our moving vehicle and the motorcycle is also moving as we pass them. I can't believe our camera took this good of a picture while we were all in motion. I have tried so many other times and it just didn't work. My heart sinks every time I see this because of the babies.

When she is done, she still has to pay the rice broker for her little bit of rice.

This women is gleaning some rice from the field.

She does not have a thresher. She is just threshing in the wind.

This is a pile of the golden husks of the kernels of rice.

This dried rice is then put again into a rice bag.

It is ready to be milled. I picked up one grain of rice and pealed away the golden husk and found a white kernel of rice. The husk did not come of easily. I haven't seen the milling process that removes the husk and polishes the rice to a nice white grain.

The bags of field rice are then laid out on any cement or asphalt surface to dry.

I don't know how long it has to dry. I do know that it is a tough grain because you can walk on it or drive on it and it won't hurt the rice.

This rice field is being harvested

First, the workers cut the rice grasses and place them in small piles all over the field. The workers then gather several small piles of rice grasses and they take their bundles to the small gas run thresher. The thresher spits out the grass and makes piles of rice that is put into rice bags.

This field is ready for harvest.

A close up view

If you enlarge this picture, you will see the rice grains on the top edges of the blades of grass.

A rice field not ready to harvest yet

I have often wondered how rice is grown and harvested and then prepared for use. I see rice fields all over the Philippines. It is their staff of life. This field is not too young and not ready to harvest yet.