Balinese boy in red clothes carries loads in baskets hung on a shoulder board

A Balinese boy in a red T-shirt, running shorts, and rubber thong sandals walks along a village path carrying his produce in two baskets hung from a shoulder board.

Boys and girls in many parts of rural Southeast Asia begin helping their parents with farm work by about eight years of age.

Polished shoulder boards, with notches carved at the ends to keep hanging loads from slipping off, are a common carrying device in Southeast Asia. Unlike girls, boys in Bali are not taught to carry loads on their heads.