permaculture

["paul wheaton" <paul@richsoil.com>]

> What would be the alternative to terracing for annual cultivation in
> hilly terrain with gravity flow water and animal powered tillage?

Edible forest.

Pond irrigation.

Planting species that do not need as much water as rice.

Keyline system.

Plus there is the whole thing about how these terraces are level and
sepp holzer's are not.  And then there are the points about how they
have very few trees and bushes - that doesn't seem right.
Permaculture systems (in my mind) are more about setting something up,
caring for it for a few years, and then only showing up for the
harvests for years to follow - those terraces seem like they are going
to need a lot of care every year they are in service.

It also brings up the problems of too much water ...