There are two rice growing seasons in most of S.E. Asia but the romantic pictures we have of coolie-hatted rice farmers in the fields hides the back-breaking labour involved in this work.  Men and women share the work equally – well, mostly – and usually, work from dawn to dusk.  In areas where the ground is fertile and the water abundant, fish are also farmed in the waters, adding some additional protein to the rice diet, or being sold at market to buy other essentials.

Rice Growing in Vietnam – Mari Nicholson