An extremely long explanation of the wonderful “‘home garden’ system” ((Their scare quotes, not mine.)) of Wayanad District in the south Indian state of Kerala, from the Satoyama savants at UN University. There’s a video, natch, which is very pretty and very informative. One scene of four women pounding what looks like millet looks lovely, dangerous, and unnecessary. Couldn’t they get a mini-mill?
What I don’t get is why the headline says “South Indian agricultural model mimics fragile ecosystem”. Looks to me like the agricultural model is a lot more robust and resilient than the ecosystem. But what do I know?
Yes they could get a mini-mill. Remember this is Kerala state, with hyperactive trade unions and a fully outfitted leftist government. So the grain pounders would either have to carry a lot of weight in their ‘panchayat’ (village council) or be politically well connected enough to neutralise the enormous labour implications. Besides, rural Kerala society is surprisingly patriarchal (there’s a complex left-gender struggle). So a mini-mill may be good for a discussion, as long as it stays a discussion. But yes the Wayanad gardens are true cultural landscapes, and you’ll see variations of the same all the way up the west coast of India (the Malabar, then the Konkan) to Goa, parallel with the wondrous biodiversity of the Western Ghat hills.