Building Farm Terraces
By Kaitlin Johnson
Terracing is useful for many functions and has been used by cultures throughout the world for centuries. Used
responsibly it is a great tool for utilizing greater amounts of the landscape of steeper terrain. In the case of Kalu Yala it is
used as an agricultural conservation practice and demonstration site for crop plantings. I particularly liked the idea of
terracing this hillside because I had seen such beautiful examples of this practice as well as how versatile it can be while
in Peru, the Inkas having been masters of the design.
Image 1: Terraces in Pisac, Peru
Terracing is the act of cutting into a hillside and leveling the resulting soil to create a flat surface. Doing this
multiple times upon a hill creates a stair-step like design perfect for garden beds, among other uses (Image 1). To further
utilize the unique option of creating garden beds from scratch, the two beds I created have different soil types. This is a
mirror of how Peruvians altered their terraces, creating a multitude of different soil types to grow crops otherwise
impossible for the region. Having different soil environments in each terrace allows comparison of plant growth and
health side by side, viewing factors that could be caused by differing soil compositions. Due to construction time, little
observation of plant success has been noted but will be an interesting study as life at the farm continues.
Notes on Construction
Throughout the process of planning and construction I learned many things about
terracing design as well as about working in a Panamanian valley. For one, the hill where the
two terraces were constructed was amazingly rocky and took quite a bit of extra time to dig
and sift. Rocks were visible above the surface but like icebergs, only 10% visible. There were
often large rocks at the surface, then progressing to smaller stones for a few inches depth,
changing to a very tightly packed horizon with plenty of small rocks and larger in a heavy clay
soil. The amount of small stones and pebbles was often just as difficult to deal with as the
huge boulders simply by their sheer number (Image 2).
Image 2: Varying rock sizes
found in soil
To release the stones from the soil, a small hand shovel was
often the best tool. It allowed “picking” around the small pieces which
were well embedded in the hard clay soil. Some small rocks were left in
the soil as they help with drainage and air flow, also because it would
have taken another 2 weeks to pick them all out. Conveniently all sizes
of rocks were needed for a grey water filtration project also being
completed during the summer semester so they were able to be put to
good use. Large rocks and boulders were removed, often with the help
of some extra bodies. Most often the rock was moved above or below
the terrace wall to be used later. Some weighing over 300 lbs, such as
the one in the photo above, were most often just rolled into place and
used as structural stone in the wall. In order to remove the larger rocks
Image 3: failed attempt to unearth boulder with ropes. It
was eventually rolled into the lower wall.
it was often necessary for extra depth to be dug around their odd
shapes (image 3), so it was important to have an untilled area immediately adjacent to stand on, as well as a place to
pile soil in the terrace so it could be easily reincorporated.
Timeline and Changes Made
As with schedules in the city, many things in the Kalu Yala
valley do not always happen as scheduled. My hope had the terrace
completion during week 8. In reality, the last shovel finished work in
week 10. A lack of materials was not an issue with this project as all
supplies were on site. Delays simply came because of the landscape
involved.
For the first week and a half the terraces were a one woman
project and were very slow going. Later on, a handful of other interns
joined in and work progressed much faster. As one person, about 5-6
feet got done in 5 half-days of work. With 4 to 5 people, the first
terrace was completed in just a few days and the second took just
over one week. During the construction and tilling of the second,
higher, terrace the lower ground was walked across many times.
Because of this the land needed to be tilled an extra time to eliminate
the compaction that occurred (Image 4).
Having about 5 people working on one terrace seemed a
rather optimal number. Each could have their work space and were
Image 4: Retilling of terrace 1 after being walked on.
able to freely move their shovel or dig bar without fearing contact
with someone else’s face. It became many people’s favorite place to work in the afternoon because of the wonderful
view of camp and the convenient location near the water tank for drinks.
Another force that slowed down the digging was rain. During the rainy season when construction was occurring,
heavy rainfalls made it difficult to stand on the hillside as well as climb up and down from the slope. Hopefully some
stairs can be created on the path which will help eliminate some of the risk. Even with access to the hill in the rain, it
would still be better to not work on digging during those times. When the soil is so heavily waterlogged, every step
causes a great deal of compaction making the soil less productive and harder to dig. While it feels good to always be
working and making progress, the compaction you cause around the area by just standing and walking will make digging
on later days even harder.
Image 5: Two Complete Terraces before planting.
Terrace construction was a great project to feel true accomplishment every day. Although the digging and
picking at rocks is exhausting, hot and a bit tedious, you always get to see the pile you have unearthed at the end of the
day (and all the little rocks and soil colors are rather beautiful and fascinating too). Solo or in a group it is a project that
can easily be picked up and worked on for even just a few hours with little direction needed. I hope the transformation
of the hillside continues as the Kalu Yala farm develops in the future. Soon there can be many terraces producing food
and flowers for the people living at Kalu Yala with little expense other than hard work.