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["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@bellsouth.net>]

[Douglas should like this. - LL]

[PDF]
NATURAL FARMING IN THE : PHILIPPINES - Terraquaculture
http://www.terraquaculture.net/articles/Workman_Natural%20Farming%20in%20the%20Philippines_2011.pdf
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The terraces protect the soil, preventing erosion from surface
run-off and the forests above ensure continued water and nutrient flow
to the rice terraces as the ...

From the .pdf [what a find!]:

TERRAQUACULTURE:

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The village of Bulpog is located at approximately 2400 metres above sea 
level in Ifugao province,
central Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines. It is an area 
characterized by mountainous terrain,
steep river valleys and large forests. The village is inhabited by a 
clan of Kalanguya tribes people,
farmers and foresters.
The farmers here operate a traditional system of farming, variations of 
which can be found throughout
the mountains of northern Luzon and in other remote regions throughout 
Asia. It is a system of farming
that was dominant in the Asia Pacific region before the introduction of 
mechanized/chemical
agriculture and/or pastoralism. It is a system of terraquaculture 
(earth-water farming),1 a natural
farming system that utilizes the existing features of environments 
(eco-structures) in developing highly
productive and sustainable systems. In particular it works with the 
natural flows of water through the
landscape, making optimal use of the water and the nutrients it carries.
In the steep mountain valleys surrounding Bulpog the basic pattern of 
the farming system is terraced
rice paddies as low down in the system as possible with vegetables grown 
around the edges of the
paddies and managed forest (pinguo) above. The forest is recognized as 
the source of water and fertility
that keeps the whole system productive. The terraces protect the soil, 
preventing erosion from surface
run-off and the forests above ensure continued water and nutrient flow 
to the rice terraces as the water
percolates through the humus of the forest floor and seeps downhill into 
the terraced paddies.

FOREST FARMING, COMPLEX POLYCULTURES & SELF-SEEDING PROPAGATION OF CROP 
PLANTS

The Bulpog clan of the Kalanguya people are true forest dwellers. Much 
of their food, their medicines,
shelter and many items used in daily life are products of their forests. 
Their cash crops of coffee and
betel nut are grown throughout the forest. Food grown in the forest and 
on its fringes includes avocado, coconut, taro, cassava, chili, citrus, 
papaya, banana, pineapple, rattan, ginger, yam as well as various
fungi and wild honey. The distinction between farmed and wild food is 
truly blurred in these forests. In a sense everything is ‘farmed’ in 
that selective ‘weeding’ of the forest is done in order to promote the
growth of the most desirable species but at the same time everything 
grown in the forest is somewhat wild as self-seeding is the main method 
of propagation and everything is grown in truly complex polycultures.