Panna Devi Rice Mills

Panna Devi Rice Mills is out in Dhobahat, in the Lariyari part of Koraon. It is a rural area, and the mill is a big part of our daily life. The air around here usually smells like grain and dust. We spend our days watching the machines and making sure the rice is being processed correctly. It is loud work, and you have to shout to be heard over the noise of the milling equipment. Farmers from all around Lariyari bring their harvests to us. We have been in Dhobahat for many seasons now, and we have seen good years and bad years for the crops. The mill building is old and shows its age, but it still does the job it was built for. We don't have an office staff; we mostly just have people who know how to run the machines and handle the heavy bags. It is physically hard work, and we are usually covered in a fine layer of dust by the end of the day. There is no corporate structure here. We just work according to the seasons. When the harvest comes in, we are busy from morning until late at night. In the off-season, things quiet down and we spend our time fixing the parts that wore out. It is a basic, honest way to make a living in Koraon. We just focus on the grain and the people.