Very nice, Nepal is a country with great history. After centuries of petty rivalry between the three kingdoms, in the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha King, set out to unify the kingdoms. Seeking arms and aid from India, and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms, he embarked on his mission in 1765. After several bloody battles and sieges, he managed to unify the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding territory three years later in 1768. However, an actual battle never took place to conquer the Kathmandu valley; it was taken over by Prithvi Narayan and his troops without any effort, during Indra Jatra, a festival of Newars, when all the valley’s citizens were celebrating the festival. This event marked the birth of the modern nation of Nepal.
The rice here looks as if it is farmed in a very sustainable way. It seems it is not grown in water flooded paddy fields which give off methane and contribute to global warming. Very little machinery means very little dependence upon oil. They probably don’t use much pesticides or artificial fertilisers either.
If oil stopped flowing tomorrow, the developed world would starve. These farmers would carry on supplying the same amount of food as before. Food for thought?
Hi John: You are absolutely correct on all counts. They grow a type of rice
that does not use a lot of water. The paddies are flooded only in the very
beginning and then occasional irrigation suffices. No pesticides or
fertilizers were used in all the places I visited. They have the occasional
tractor but most work is done by hand and the tractor is used to haul the
barren rice stalks to the homes, where they are loaded up into big haystacks
and used as forage for the livestock throughout the year. Absolutely nothing
is wasted. And that goes for most other activities here. Of course, they
have some trappings of the modern world, cars, cell phones, etc. but as you
say, if oil stopped flowing tomorrow, they are still capable of moving back
to complete sustainability, whereas, most of us would perish.
This is a very educational video. I have seen how hard it is for rice farmers to harvest rice without any modern equipment. This actually makes me want to treasure every grain of rice that is served on my plate and not waste any. This value should be taught to everyone especially to kids so they can make it as a habit and it is a good habit.
Barbara, This lovely series on Nepal reminds me that if we ever have an occasion to have to survive on the land in the United States, we are doomed. But for the farmers and the Amish community, it would not be a pretty film clip like the one I just enjoyed.
Darrelyn: The same exact thing occurred to me. And just think what we could
do if the majority of our fertile cropland was not devoted to growing feed
corn for cattle. We could feed the world.
Hi Lady: What’s really funny is that I showed it to my friends here in Nepal
and they can’t imagine why I’d be shooting video of such commonplace things.
Barbara, you’ve done a great job on this video. Watching the rice harvested by hand feels like going back to a time when no machinery existed. Fascinating.
Its a great job Barbara, I m so happy to see this information about Nepal as a video..I like it.
Glad you enjoyed it Nabin. I love Nepal.
Very nice, Nepal is a country with great history. After centuries of petty rivalry between the three kingdoms, in the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha King, set out to unify the kingdoms. Seeking arms and aid from India, and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms, he embarked on his mission in 1765. After several bloody battles and sieges, he managed to unify the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding territory three years later in 1768. However, an actual battle never took place to conquer the Kathmandu valley; it was taken over by Prithvi Narayan and his troops without any effort, during Indra Jatra, a festival of Newars, when all the valley’s citizens were celebrating the festival. This event marked the birth of the modern nation of Nepal.
The rice here looks as if it is farmed in a very sustainable way. It seems it is not grown in water flooded paddy fields which give off methane and contribute to global warming. Very little machinery means very little dependence upon oil. They probably don’t use much pesticides or artificial fertilisers either.
If oil stopped flowing tomorrow, the developed world would starve. These farmers would carry on supplying the same amount of food as before. Food for thought?
Hi John: You are absolutely correct on all counts. They grow a type of rice
that does not use a lot of water. The paddies are flooded only in the very
beginning and then occasional irrigation suffices. No pesticides or
fertilizers were used in all the places I visited. They have the occasional
tractor but most work is done by hand and the tractor is used to haul the
barren rice stalks to the homes, where they are loaded up into big haystacks
and used as forage for the livestock throughout the year. Absolutely nothing
is wasted. And that goes for most other activities here. Of course, they
have some trappings of the modern world, cars, cell phones, etc. but as you
say, if oil stopped flowing tomorrow, they are still capable of moving back
to complete sustainability, whereas, most of us would perish.
What a great informational video! Thanks for putting this together Barbara – I really loved it! You were def. in Nepal at the best time of the year!
Thanks to you, ottsworld!
This is a very educational video. I have seen how hard it is for rice farmers to harvest rice without any modern equipment. This actually makes me want to treasure every grain of rice that is served on my plate and not waste any. This value should be taught to everyone especially to kids so they can make it as a habit and it is a good habit.
Hi Alicia: Thanks so much for your comment. I will also forevermore look at
rice in my dinner bowl in a different way.
Barbara, This lovely series on Nepal reminds me that if we ever have an occasion to have to survive on the land in the United States, we are doomed. But for the farmers and the Amish community, it would not be a pretty film clip like the one I just enjoyed.
Darrelyn: The same exact thing occurred to me. And just think what we could
do if the majority of our fertile cropland was not devoted to growing feed
corn for cattle. We could feed the world.
Great video, Barbara! I agree with Donna that it’s amazing to see rice harvested by hand after being so used to having modern machinery around.
Hi Lady: What’s really funny is that I showed it to my friends here in Nepal
and they can’t imagine why I’d be shooting video of such commonplace things.
I couldn’t agree more, this is a wonderful sight. Makes you love rice even more=)
Barbara, you’ve done a great job on this video. Watching the rice harvested by hand feels like going back to a time when no machinery existed. Fascinating.
Thank you Donna! I’m slowly getting better with the videos. I hardly ever
cut off anyone’s head any more! 😉