In Sukhpara, in Jashore's Abhaynagar upazila, life revolves around the betel vineyards. Fresh leaves can be picked from the enclosures in every month of the year except Poush, and with proper care a betel vine lives 10 to 12 years. Prothom Alo photographer Saddam Hossain followed the growers through their working day.
The vines need close care: a roof of jute sticks overhead and, twice a year, 'pait bandha', tying the climbing plants to strips of bamboo. Growers pick leaves one day a week and take them to market. After costs, a bigha of land earns about Tk 1.5 lakh.
The pictures show a grower tying a vine with thatch grass held between his teeth, another binding a creeper to a thin bamboo stick, and rows of vines on both sides of a narrow path through the enclosure as a group tends the plants.
Elsewhere a grower sprays pesticide against insects, another picks leaves, one stands with a handful of freshly picked leaves, and another carries a bundled load on his head to sell at the market.
Photo: Government of Odisha / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); a representative picture of betel vineyards
Source: Prothom Alo
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