#EthicalNepal | Ropain – A Day for Celebration of Rice

#EthicalNepal | Ropain – A Day for Celebration of Rice

A visit to Nepal in monsoon season is a must. Especially for the Ropain festival which you can attend via Socialtours. You’re probably thinking what is Ropain? Well, it’s a rice planting festival which signals the start of the planting of this crop. Farmers across Nepal come together happily to plant rice to supply to the rest of Nepal. Eager and enthusiastic tourists come together to help out and join in on the activities. Making it a fun and lively atmosphere!

What happens? 

Participants give a go at planting rice. They get ankle deep in the mud one takes two seedlings of rice upright and plants it about half a finger deep into the mud.  Each seedling is planted in rows about six inches apart! Once the planting is over, the field must be waterlogged for a further two months or so. When the field is well waterlogged, it’s ploughed by bulls or by tractor and levelled. Then weeding will occur 2-3 times to remove excess extraneous plants. This is hard work for local farmers, especially their back as they spend most of the time working bent down!This festival promotes the identity of Nepali culture! 

Check out this photo-feature below from celebrated Nepali wildlife photographer, Tashi R Ghale, who also participated in this event with his family and friends!

When you participate in this event it leads to lots of fun and mandatory pictures. Here are some photos we took. Below is Bijay, who hails from the highlands in Manang, where rice seldom grows because it’s above 3000m, enjoys his share in the spotlight, post-planting some.

Later in the day, the mud Olympics begins. The activities start with running races, as the mud brings out the child in people making the enjoyment of getting muddy extremely fun. A particular event people enjoy is mud rugby! Which is played once participants have their share of planting snacks. These consist of succulent buffalo salads and a potato salad. Which are downed with copious quantities of the local bear, thyo.

This is truly an event for all! A bonding time for families, fun in the mud does not stop.

The day concludes with a sumptuous Newari meal of beaten rice, lentils, chicken, potatoes and spinach. It is supported with some more local brew! Topping off the great day. For more information on attending the Ropain event visit Socialtours.