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Rice is the mainstay of Balinese cuisine. It's grown all over the island. For over a millenium the Balinese have used a system of irrigation called subak. Think of it as a water management association. If you're a rice farmer you join your local subak. You share, not only water but also the work of repairing dams and canals - for everyone's benefit. Subaks make decisions about planting and harvesting times, pest control, fertilizing and more. Water from mountain rivers is first channelled through temples (there is a spiritual component to just about everything in Bali) and then into canals and finally into man-made terraced paddys. The system is resilient, sustainable, democratic, productive, flexible, collaborative, community-based and so, in 2012, it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape Status. And as you can see, it's also quite beautiful. |