The Batdam ( 밭담 ) dry stone walls (no mortar) of Jeju Island have been likened to black dragons crawling over the landscape: 21,108km of volcanic field stone dug up by hand and built gradually over the last 1,000 years: without these most agriculture here would be impossible.
The walls protect the little soil there is from wind erosion, they keep livestock out and create a better microclimate at ground level, and provide habitats for wildflowers, insects, animals, and effectively mark family properties.
Due to the rough surface of the volcanic stone and the built in gaps winds can't blow them over. The walls make mechanization difficult preserving and actually contribute to building soil over the centuries which means more and more of the island can be farmed each generation.
At least in 2013 (things might have changed) the dry fields and orchards of Jeju island made for prosperity: farming households here had a 21% higher income than on mainland ROK.
Today there are about 220,000 individual fields, each with its own unique soil composition and depending on location and elevation, its own types of associated flora and fauna. Few agricultural systems are so. well placed for a return to 100% human scaled sustainable farming.
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