Gettin' Down and Dirty with SRI

Marking the fields for the rice seedlings

So as I had mentioned earlier, System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is simply a method of growing that allows for more rice yield from less seeds while using less water than the traditional method. The seed is the same, but just the technique can have a big difference.

The rice paddies we worked on

We went to a farmers house in a village to help him plant his rice (the season is just now starting), and help him improve his SRI technique. I was kind of uneasy at first about getting into the mud to plant the rice, but I eventually yielded to pressure (it was probably one of the best decisions ever). The farmers and villagers were all really nice and very inquisitive about how life is in America. The farmer who we worked with had actually served in the Indian Army for 38 years until he recently retired!! It was very interesting to ask him about his experiences during all the Indo-Pak wars. Probably the newest thing to me was how everyone served chai everytime you came to one's house. I had three cups today before lunch ended!

Once I got into the mud, it was actually pretty fun markng spots and planting the seeds (the mud is actually much deeper than it looks!). Unfortunately, we didnt finish planting everything because the monsoons came and we were forced to run from the fields back to the house. Hopefully I will get to plant some more next week!