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This composite video and photo essay provides a glimpse of the jute harvest in West Bengal, India. For over a month at the peak of the monsoon season, the ponds along the rural roads become a workplace for many Bengali jute farmers. As the video shows, the environment is challenging and the profits are modest - at least for the farmers. In India alone approximately 4 million families are involved in jute production. The history of industrialized jute production dates back to the mid-1800's. The first operating jute mill was built near Kolkata (Calcutta) on the banks of the Hooghly River. Jute is second only to cotton in the amount of finished fiber produced. India is the world's largest producer at about 2 million metric tons - over half of the world's annual production. Bangladesh, West Bengal's eastern neighbor, is second with 1.5 million. 75% of India's jute is produced in the state of West Bengal. The export value of India's jute crop products is $167 million annually.