1. Rice farming is labor intensive work and planting is done by hand. The first step is to select seeds that will be planted. Seed selection is also done by hand and the seeds come from the previous year’s crop. They are then planted in a small incubation paddy where they are nurtured for 20 days.

4. As the rice matures it turns a radiant shade of green that deepens as the rice matures.

6. Our farmers plant 100% organic black rice once at the end of August (at the beginning of the rainy season) and again around the new year.

8.Our farmer’s families and neighbors go about the task of planting rice twice per year. Planting rice is difficult, labor intensive and very hot work. However, by working together, with our friends and families, it is really fun too.

10. Being 100% organic means our farmers have to work very hard after the rice is planted. The most difficult work comes as the rice matures, as the fields must be tended daily. Because we don’t use any pesticides or herbicides, the weeds are all pulled by hand—every single day.

2. When the seeds have sprouted, and are strong enough to survive in the larger paddy, they are uprooted and the plugs are replanted in the large paddy where they will mature over the next 100-110 days.

3. This picture is a photograph of black rice about ten days before the harvest. As you can see, the color is a dark and rich. Beautiful rice like this is an example of what nature intended us to eat.

5. The paddies must be flooded with water for the rice to grow well. Most years here in central Thailand, we get plenty of rain during the rainy season. When there is not enough rain, the paddies can be irrigated with river water that has been treated naturally for two months first.

7. This picture was taken just after planting was finished. As you can see, the color is a soft shade of yellow-green.

9.The rice has to be planted very carefully, and gently. If you hurry or are careless, the delicate plants are at risk of not surviving until harvest and each plant is precious.

11. When the rice is fully mature, it is harvested. After this step, it will go to one of our organically certified mills where the rice is cleaned, the chaff is separated from the outer shell, and the grains are polished. There is no further processing. None at all. Nothing is added, treated or sprayed.

12. Brown jasmine rice and white jasmine rice are the same, except that white rice has gone through additional processes to remove a layer of chaff.