Rice farming

[Lorizael]

Oof.

[Aeson]

A turtle is a hunk of metal with teeth that you put a diesel engine on. Then you try not to let go of it while it vibrates wildly... because if it gets away from you, it can move through the rice paddy faster than you can. Given your aversion to automation though, it looks like you're going to be stuck with carabao (water buffalo). A turtle does in a day what it takes a carabao to do in a week, just so you know. Although the carabao will fertilize the fields for you a bit, which the turtle won't. Also, you'll need pasture, which is going to significantly up your water usage.

You don't want docile rice workers. They'll just stand there and get eaten by the fire ants, or the carabao will lead them around all day instead of otherwise. Also transplanting by hand takes very quick movements otherwise you'll never get the 20gazzilion rice seedlings transplanted in time. You want strong, quick, hardened clones, otherwise you're going to all starve.

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I hope you are planning on filming the endeavor for us to live vicariously through you during this great project. Though I think you should rethink the "sexy" issue.

[Lorizael]

A turtle is a hunk of metal with teeth that you put a diesel engine on. Then you try not to let go of it while it vibrates wildly... because if it gets away from you, it can move through the rice paddy faster than you can. Given your aversion to automation though, it looks like you're going to be stuck with carabao (water buffalo). A turtle does in a day what it takes a carabao to do in a week, just so you know. Although the carabao will fertilize the fields for you a bit, which the turtle won't. Also, you'll need pasture, which is going to significantly up your water usage.

Ah, so it's a plow? We won't be using water buffalo, because they're nearly extinct in the area where our little paddy field is going to be. But we do have one robotic tractor that malfunctions a lot and requires supervision.

You don't want docile rice workers. They'll just stand there and get eaten by the fire ants, or the carabao will lead them around all day instead of otherwise. Also transplanting by hand takes very quick movements otherwise you'll never get the 20gazzilion rice seedlings transplanted in time. You want strong, quick, hardened clones, otherwise you're going to all starve.

I suppose docile isn't quite the right word. Let's just say they're easy to please. But we're not sure about their level of intelligence, so we won't be letting them near the robo-tractor.

I hope you are planning on filming the endeavor for us to live vicariously through you during this great project. Though I think you should rethink the "sexy" issue.

I was actually planning on writing about it as I went, rather than filming it. Also, the rice paddy thing is only a small part of my "great project," as you say.

[Dinner]

If you can terraform a bit of desert:

1. There's still not going to be a lot of water, you'd think that many other less water intensive crops would be a good choice, even if you are fully efficient and never lose any water it's a lot of water to be tied up in a field.
2. There's technology around or being designed to fully automate rice production. If you have the technology to terraform a desert you'd be able to automate so much you'd only need a couple of people to run it probably.
3. If you did need bulk labour I can't see how making and training clones could be cheaper than either automation or shipping in ready made peasants with the skills you need.

With a hydroponics system you have very little wastage of water and can recover most of it so it would be perfect for farming in desert regions. I also recall a French experiment around 2000 or so where they tried to use architecture to create buildings that helped generate their own water. Basically they tried to capture the fog and condensation which happens in coastal desert regions so that the water droplets condense on the building but then drain into cisterns so that you could get cheap energy free water even in the driest deserts. The buildings would also be cheap to build using mostly materials found in the region so native people's could afford to construct them while solar or wind power would provide electricity (but unfortunately doubled the cost of construction). Even sewage could be recycled via different hydroponic systems and protein could be produced via carp living in the hydroponic water or, less efficiently, live stock which require little water like chickens or goats.

[C0ckney]

that sound very interesting oerdin. do you have a link to the study?

[Dinner]

No but Google living buildings or autonomous buildings or earthship Ecologies and I'm sure you'll find it. The concept is pretty old and has been around for a while but unfortunately hasn't been implemented to a large degree for one reason or another. My guess is because hydroponics systems are relatively expensive so peasant farmers can't usually afford them while people who are rich enough to have piped in water so they don't care. Sure, they can build the buildings with native materials but until they bring down hydroponics prices I don't see it working in the third world.