Chiang Mai, Thailand

Rumor has it that the City of Chiang Mai has an abundance of money these days, and have decided to redo the sidewalks surrounding moat of this ancient city. Quite a large project!

The earth must be prepared first to even out the lumps before pouring the concrete. This work is done most often by women. They cover themselves from head to toe to avoid sun exposure which tans their skin. Having a 'fair' complexion is quite highly prized here in Asia.

The concrete is poured. Men direct the machinery, and the women direct the cement.

Women take on these jobs because they pay about 200 baht a day (about $6 USD) and are considered high paying jobs here in Thailand.

Doing this work has the same 'nose to the ground, back to the sky' position as working in the rice fields.

With everyone covered from head to toe, the only way you can tell the women from the men are from the headgear they wear. The two workers in the middle are men.

Women wear the wide floppy brimmed hats to keep the sun at bay. Ankle deep in freshly poured concrete, one women inadvertently walked out of her boot! The 'boss man' is the one on the far left, having a chuckle with his crew.

The ladies are directing the pour of the cement. One hat is sometimes not enough to ward off the sun. They will wear two, plus a headscarf. Remember now, it is near 100 degrees outside and the humidity is in the high 90 percent! The woman in the background is smoothing the texture of the cement with a long wooden spatula type tool.

Taking a short break, the girls chat, waiting for the cement truck to give another load.

Back to work they spread the fresh concrete. While there I witnessed three loads poured.

The men are holding the funnel in place while the women direct the pouring. The makeshift funnel at the end is corrugated metal with two-by-fours nailed to it for handles. The weight of the cement broke this device twice while I was watching.

Smoothing out the cement with long rakes, being careful not to step backwards, or into the moat they go!

These women worked very hard, were proud of their jobs and always kept their Thai smile.