The machine is a grain thresher "tirelessly" crawling its way to work along the main road near the Koronadal-Tampakan border in South Cotabato, Philippines. Walking alongside it is its equally "tireless" owner-operator.
Traversing the 8-kilometer road linking Tampakan and Koronadal, however, has remained a tiresome endeavor for most motorists as a good part of it remains unpaved and very rugged. In her last State of the Province Address (SOPA) last year, the former provincial governor had promised to have the road finally paved before her term ends in June 2010.
Koronadal is the capital city of the province of South Cotabato. Tampakan is its neighbor to the east, and is a largely agricultural municipality which hosts SMI-Xstrata, one of the world's largest mining investors.