Everything about life in my community revolves around agriculture, and I have been able to see the end of the rice cycle. This rice is called arroz nuevo (new rice) and is harvested when the husk is not completely dried out.
1) Plant/Sembrar- This is the only step I have yet to witness. Occurs in April or May and takes about 6 months to ripen.
2) Harvest/Cosechar- I hiked to a family member’s field in another community about an hour away for a morning of harvesting. Strap an acha (mini ax) to the palm of the dominant hand, and cut off the top part of the rice stalk that has the tiny rice grains hanging off. Gather in handfuls, fill sacks, and carry home.
3) Raspar/Scrape- Scrape the rice grains off the stalk with a hardened shell of a gourd. Collect the rice grains.
4) Tostar- Toast the grains in a huge pot over a fire, constantly stirring.
5) Pilar- Smack the toasted grains of rice until the husks fall off.
6) Soplar- a huge plate with rice grains so that the husks separate from the grains of rice. Save the husks for composting.
7) Quality control- Before cooking the rice, spread it out on a plate and pick out the remaining husks.
8) Enjoy- it’s a whole lot better than white rice! I definitely appreciate every tiny grain of rice more after realizing how much work is involved in the
production.
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