In the Philippines rice is served at every meal, putting rice on the table is just as important to Filipinos as it is for Europeans and Americans to have bread on their dish. However, before the rice will reach your plate, hard and back breaking work has to be done in the rice fields. Work done by strong men and women, up to their knees in water, using their bare hands, simple tools and water buffaloes to prepare the paddies, to plough and to till soil until ready to plant the young rice plants. The island of Mindanao is filled with rice fields, but in the province of South Cotabato these lowland rice paddies expresses the harmony between nature and mankind. They are like a beautiful colour palette, over the three to four months that the rice matures, the fields change from emerald green to intense golden yellow.