Rice Harvesting Work under the Difficult Circumstances by Typhoon #19
エコプラスの休日農業講座「田んぼのイロハ」稲刈り編が、2019年10月13-14日に新潟県南魚沼市栃窪地区で行われました。今年のお米の成長が遅れ気味だったために1週間延期し、さらに台風19号の影響で1日遅らせての開催。日程をやりくりし、大混乱する鉄道網高速網をかいくぐってやってきてくれた7人が参加してくれました。
Ecoplus conducted rice harvesting workshop on Oct. 13-14, 2019, at Tochikubo village, Minamiuonuma, Niigata. Due to the slow growth of rice in this year, we once postponedthe schedule one week and caused by typhoon #19, or “Hagibis,” we set the workshop one day later. Students and adults from metropolitan area were struggled to come struggling confused train and highway networks. At the end seven participants succeeded to participate the program.
台風による大量の雨で、田んぼはびしゃびしゃ。稲はほとんど倒れない状況でいてくれたものの、刈り取り作業は難渋を極めました。しかし、初めて体験する高校生も、カマでの刈り取りと、ワラを使っての束ね作業を覚えていきました。
With the heavy rain by the typhoon, the rice paddies was covered by an inch or two of water. It was quite tough condition although most of rice were not knocked down by the wind. In such condition, a high school boy, who experienced the work first time, learned and acquired how to cut straws and to bind those by a year old straws.
作業をした田んぼは、10年以上にわたって一切農薬を使わず、有機肥料だけで育ててきています。そのため地面には無数の雑草が生え、コオロギなどの虫たちが動き回っていました。刈り取った稲を、ハザにかけて天日乾燥させることで、数十年前まで、何百年にもわたってこの地で続けられてきた稲作を体験することが出来ました。
In the rice paddy, no chemical pesticides nor weed killers has been used for over ten years. Only organic fertilizer has been used. Because of such efforts, many weeds were covering the ground and many insects were hopping around. Sheaves of rice were hung along the bars called “Haza,” for sun dry for around 10 days. Through this, participants experienced the way of traditional rice production of the area until some decades ago.
参加者たちは「毎回参加して、いかに食を作ることが大変か、自然と調和することが大事かを思う」「稲刈りの作業の中に、昔からの様々な工夫が知れた。昔からの蓄積があるのだなと感じた」などとコメントを残してくれました。
Participants left comments like “Accumulating the experience for long years, I am still feeling that how difficult to make food is, and how important to have harmonious relation with the nature is. ” “I identified so many knowledges embedded in the harvesting works and I felt the tick accumulations of knowledge for long years.”
