In Bali, more than a thousand years ago, in decentralized way, people seem to have arrived at a sophisticated system of irrigation management, run by committees known as subaks. As with many worldly matters, this was done under the guise of religion. The subaks placed water temples along the slope of mountains, at points critical to water's movement down the sides. The rice farmers planted in tiers along the mountainside, in places where the subaks were sending the water. Western scientists, arriving on the scene in the mid 20th century, advancing what they saw as a green revolution brought a new system. This was part of the "green revolution," which some called neo-imperialism. It was also a fiasco. Pest control was also critical in the transition. Under the traditional system, the fields weren’t harvested all at once or all seeded with the same crop. So although fields sometimes became pest infested, after the harvest those pests would starve. Th...
