Clove harvesting in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, I was particularly interested and touched by the clove culture. In these gardens owned by families, which are often the only source of income for the men and women working in it, the flowers clusters are picked at the top of the trees, 8 meters high, and are later put away to dry in various places, on the houses’ roofs, on the side of the road, at the heart of daily life. The harvesting of this spice, which has been a fragrant part of our cooking for centuries, is so much work, danger and beauty. We often forget the humanity that goes into each clove thrown in a stock, put in an onion… or magnified in a spice blend.