In addition to our studies, we also get to go to different activities that are pre-arranged by field-manager Vinh or our course leaders. One of these ‘activities’ was Farming Day! Our original farming day was cancelled due to bad weather, but the second one was a success! We all met up at the Balance Café in the morning, and from there we biked together to a place surrounded by rice fields not far away. It was a special day, because we took part in a completely new project, and so we were welcomed with singing and speeches (which were in Vietnamese, so we didn’t understand any of them, though the atmosphere was cheerful). There were also photographers there from the local newspaper.
The opening ceremony
Farming day, if I can name the project after that, is going to become a day-activity for tourists coming to Hoi An, and I guess we were the testers. (After the day was over, we had to fill out forms of feedback). It is always fun to be the first to experience something, as you get to influence the project and try lots of new things. The day included a range of activities, and we were divided into groups which all started at different stations. My group began with helping to prepare a small square of soil for planting.
Just as important as understanding how big an impact the tourism-industry has in Hoi An, I think it is equally important to acknowledge the more traditional Vietnamese life-style of farming, that, despite more industrialisation in the agricultural sector, coexists alongside other areas of economy. Even though we only got a glimpse of this through farming day, I think it was a great experience to take with me.
The next activity we went on was rice-planting, though not before we were served hot ginger and cinnamon tea. Rice planting happens under water, which helps the rice to grow. In Hoi An, conditions for growing rice are ideal, and the farmers often go through several cycles of harvesting each year. In fact, Vietnam is actually the world’s second largest exporter of rice after Thailand! On the picture are some of the other groups, planting rice under a (very) hot sun.
The sun really makes you appreciate your Vietnamese hat.
Before the rice can be planted, the fields need to be ploughed. The traditional way of doing this is by using a buffalo to drag the plough through the soil to make rows that the rice can be planted in. When not working, the Vietnamese sometimes lie on top of the buffalo to have a rest, which is something they also do with their motorbikes. I’ve seen an example of this on the way to the beach, where they also let tourists sit on top of the buffalo. Those of us that wanted to try to sit on the buffalo on farming day all got to do so, but I declined, thinking that the buffalo probably had had enough.
Right before lunch, we sat down in the shade under some trees where we got to paint masks! These are the kind of masks that the Vietnamese kids, though I am sure sometimes also adults, use for celebrations and dancing in the streets. However, we painted them whichever way we liked, so I don’t think they really looked much like the real thing.
The last two things on the programme was lunch featuring local cuisine, and afterwards a relaxing footbath, which was very enjoyable after having stepped around in the dirt all day. When everything was finished, we headed back again together, just a little bit more immersed in the local culture then when we came.
-Margrethe-