RICE FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES | (The Traditional Method)

Pea takes viewers on a hands-on field trip to a rice farm in the Philippine provinces, personally riding a carabao and wading into the paddies to demonstrate the entire traditional rice production process from plowing to milling. The video doubles as a love letter to rural provincial life, with Pea narrating each step while visibly enjoying the mud, the animals, and the childhood memories the setting evokes.

The setting: rural provincial Philippines ​

• Pea and Jen trek down a narrow path to reach the rice paddies
• Pea remarks on the beautiful green scenery and says it reminds her of childhood memories — "it's very similar" to where she grew up
• They encounter Jen's son and a shy female cow along the way

Provincial water source and daily life ​

• Water flows out from under rocks through a bamboo pipe
• Locals use this single water source for drinking (unboiled, straight from the flow), laundry (detergent wrappers visible nearby), and bathing ("Filipino style — bucket style under a big acoustic tree")
• No running water infrastructure — everything happens at this one natural spring

The carabao (water buffalo) — "the star of the video" ​

• Called water buffalo by foreigners, carabao by Filipinos
• Described as the "main workhorse of rice production" — ubiquitous across the entire country
• The one featured is a four-year-old female, described as "very docile"
• Pea rides one carabao to reach the working carabao that does the plowing
• She hooks up the plow herself (noting it's heavy) and rides the carabao through the paddy

Step 1: Plowing the rice paddy ​

• Each section must be plowed thoroughly using the carabao-pulled plow
• The goal is to turn the soil into a "mushy paste" — that's the indicator the field is ready for planting

Step 2: Preparing rice seedlings ​

• Soak rice grains for two nights and two days until sprouts emerge
• Plant the sprouted grains in a designated section of a rice paddy
• Wait for seedlings to grow to transplanting size

Step 3: Transplanting seedlings by hand ​

• Pull the grown seedlings from the nursery section
• Plant them in the flooded rice paddy — the water must sustain the rice stock
• Each seedling goes 2-4 inches deep and 6 inches apart to allow growing room
• Must be planted in straight lines to make harvesting easier
• All done entirely by hand while standing in the water
• Pea does this herself, noting she's simultaneously getting "a mud bath, sun tan, and hair spa day"

Step 4: Waiting ​

• At least three months until harvest-ready

Step 5: Harvesting ​

• Rice turns golden yellow when ready
• Cut manually using a scythe (called "galab" in Visayan)
• Done by hand across the entire field
• Workers are barefoot — "no boots or gloves, this is how it is"

Step 6: Drying the rice grains ​

• Rice grains are separated from the stalks
• Laid out to dry under the sun
• The leftover rice stalk detritus is kept to feed the carabaos — nothing goes to waste

Step 7: Milling ​

• Once fully dried, grains are collected into sacks
• Delivered to a milling station where the rice husk is removed
• The finished product is the white rice grain sold in supermarkets
• Pea notes it's "very difficult to peel the rice husk manually"

📺 Watch the full video on YouTube

🔔 Subscribe to The Filipina Pea