This year we have been growing rice on a trial basis. As we don't have any traditional rice fields, we simply replaced the flooded field with a thick layer of mulch. The mulch suppresses weeds in exactly the same way as flooding would. And lo and behold: our rice grew well, and we were able to harvest a total of seven 20-liter buckets from our four trial fields. This is comparable to what is harvested in the flooded rice fields in southern Tanzania - but without using pesticides and without the massive amount of water it would otherwise require.
This year we want to cultivate a larger field and try out a faster maturing rice variety. If everything works out, we can use the harvest to cover the rice requirements on our farm and in our coffee house without having to expose ourselves and our employees and guests to harmful pesticides!
