Rice (18)

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Rice-growing in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana is important sustenance for the cocoa farmer. More than 90% of the forests have been destroyed by logging, and in the low spots, rice-growing is practiced. You often see them from the car, as the land suddenly looks grassy and is periodically dotted with raised mounds topped with small, grass roofs. Children often sit on these mounds, taking potshots at birds with slingshots in order to prevent them from devouring the ripening grain.



1) RiceField1.jpg
Rice field near Gonate, Cote d'Ivoire, 2004. African rice, Oryza oberrima, is native to the Niger delta. It has a mildly basmati aroma and flavor and a slight stickiness that makes it appealing.





2) Rice3_med.jpg
Rice field near Batteguedea, Cote d'Ivoire, 2005.








3) Rice6.jpg
Rice field near Batteguedea, Cote d'Ivoire, 2005.








4) Rice8.jpg
Rice fields are peppered with mounds topped with small roofs, allowing children or women protection while they fend away the birds with slingshots. Rice field near Batteguedea, Cote d'Ivoire, 2005





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Rice field between Depa and Zereguhe. Note the "scarecrows." 2005.







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Pounding rice is woman’s work. Depa, Cote d'Ivoire, 2006.











7) Broguhe07.jpg
Pounding rice in Broguhe, Cote d'Ivoire, 2006.











8) Broguhe15.jpg
Two varieties of rice, the African on the left and the “Uncle Ben’s” on the right. Broguhe, Cote d'Ivoire, 2006.






9) Broguhe16_med.jpg
Freshly picked "Uncle Ben's" variety of rice. Broguhe, Cote d'Ivoire, 2006.










10) Depa11.jpg
Winnowing the rice after pounding it to loosen the











11) IMG_1825_Slingshot_Batteguedea.jpg
Slingshot used to scare off birds. Children typically sit on mounds in the middle of the rice fields, shooting pebbles at birds to scare them off. Batteguedea, Cote d'Ivoire, 2007.








12) IMG_2007_RiceDrying.jpg
Rice is harvested into sheaves that are laid out in the sun, then stacked against the wall of the kitchen. Galebre, Côte d'Ivoire. 2007.






13) IMG_2030_CrushedGrain_med.jpg
When you pound dried rice, you may get the hull off, but you also break many of the grains. That's why cooked village rice has such a nice texture and flavor. But to sell the rice outside the village, it needs to be husked and winnowed in a professional manner. Dawayo-Chantier, Côte d'Ivoire, 2007.



14) P8220137_Mortar_Stan_med.jpg
Pounding rice to remove the hulls in Dawayo-Chantier, Côte d'Ivoire, 2007.










15) P8200362_med.jpg
Winnowing rice in Depa, Cote d'Ivoire, 2007. Photo by Stan Thompson.








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Rice ready for cooking in Depa, Cote d'Ivoire. Photo by Stan Thompson.







17) DryingRice3.jpg
Tom holding a cluster of rice that has been drying in the sun. African rice is a different species than Oryza sativa. It is aromatic and slightly sticky—in my mind, perfect. Galebre, 2005.








18) P8220121.jpg
Rice drying in Dawayo-Chantier, Cote d'Ivoire, 2007. Photo by Stan Thompson.