LU-MRRL Lecture Series: Mechanization and the Village Rice Farmer in Vietnam: A Photojournalism Journey

Will Sites spent three weeks covering the summer rice harvest in a small Vietnamese rice-farming village. The rapid rise of rice-farming mechanization - couples with the massive influx of high-paying factory jobs - is eroding the culturally important role of the village rice farmer. Rice farming is typically performed on small family-owned paddy fields dotting the landscape of rural Vietnam from the Mekong Delta in the south to the Red River in the north. Modern farm machinery is replacing the need for labor at the same time new industrial complexes are hiring thousands of young workers looking for a more comfortable and profitable future beyond the fields. The result may be catastrophic to an ancient way of life. Sites will discuss what he saw, what he was told, and how the future will likely unfold.