Photos In this part of the world, nearly every chile pepper farmer is a woman
News Source : NPR
News Summary
- Hundreds of villages in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu grow chile peppers.
- The farmers sow seeds from October to November and harvest the peppers from January until May.
- Women farmers agree that in the chile pepper fields, the demanding nature of the work discourages men.
- "Growing chile has always been a woman's job," says Pandiamma, 37, a farmer in Mattiyarenthal village.
- "If we labor hard enough in the fields for those few months, that extra income is enough to keep our homes running for the rest of the year"
Hard labor and sleepless nights, says Pandiamma, 37, a farmer, as she crushes the crackling dried red pepper in her palm. Thats what our lives are like when its the time of year to pick chile. [+10906 chars]
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