Farming around the World

Farming around the World

Farming styles are different around the world. The Incas in Peru worked with some of the harshest mountain climates in the world to grow resilient crops of potato, quinoa and corn. They built canals, irrigation systems, and terraces that helped them work against steep slopes. Today, Peruvians are beginning to reclaim traditional crops and embrace the ancient planting methods that had been lost during the Spanish invasion.

In Japan, there are two main ways of growing. One, in the irrigated rice fields, called Tambo or Suiden and non-irrigated fields called Hatake. Tambo and Suiden are used for rice, and Hatake are mostly used to grow vegetables. If you take a train out of the metropolitan centers, you’ll start to see more and more small garden plots peppering green throughout the landscape. Though many younger people have moved to the city, their elderly relatives continue to tend the land.

Despite the fact that much of farming has now become about mechanization and optimization, we can’t forget that there is so much to be learned from those who have been doing it for thousands of years. Our lineage of great spirits, keeping us connected to the land.