The South-East Asian Rice Farm consists of three terraced rice paddies, a gravity fed irrigation system; a shelter hut; a shadehouse for seedling raising; a landscaped garden with tropical plants such as bamboo, taro and palms; a pond and small stream for frogs, lizards, insects etc; a scarecrow; signs in Indonesian and Japanese language, and so on. Further extensions, such as an outdoor classroom and a number of linked Learnscapes, have since been added.
This demonstration model is fully operated by the students, with assistance from parents and teachers. The working of the farm follows similar farming practices and growing cycle as in South-East Asia, i.e. raising seedlings, preparing ground manually, transplanting seedlings, harvesting, threshing, selling or cooking of the rice (with seed being saved for the cycle to continue). With 3 rice paddies, more than one class can be involved at the same time, at varying stages of the rice growing cycle. As the cycle progresses, the appropriate language and cultural aspects of life in South-East Asia are drawn into the learning, with an environmental perspective.
A practical project such as this gives students the opportunity to put what they are learning into practice. The program has a predicted life span of perhaps 5 years, with at least 2 complete (overlapping) rice-growing cycles per year.
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