The Waru Waru system of the Andean highlands is one of the most remarkable examples of local resilience ever developed. Long before industrial agriculture, the people living around Lake Titicaca, in what is now Peru and Bolivia, created an agricultural landscape that enabled them to grow reliable crops under some of the world’s most difficult conditions.

Waru Waru, sometimes called raised fields, consists of long, broad ridges of cultivated soil separated by water-filled channels. The raised beds may be several metres wide and extend for hundreds of metres. The surrounding canals perform several vital functions. During the day they absorb the sun’s warmth and, at night, release it slowly, reducing the risk of frost that would otherwise destroy crops. The canals also collect rainwater, improve drainage during heavy rainfall, reduce drought stress during dry periods and provide habitat for fish, frogs and beneficial wildlife. Organic matter accumulating in the canals can be dredged periodically and spread back onto the raised beds, continually renewing soil fertility.

The system enabled communities living more than 3,500 metres above sea level to produce potatoes, quinoa and other crops reliably for centuries without artificial fertilisers, irrigation pumps or fossil fuels. It represented an elegant partnership between people and nature rather than an attempt to dominate it.

Modern researchers have demonstrated that reconstructed Waru Waru fields frequently outperform conventional farming in the same environment. The system requires more human labour but far fewer external inputs, making it particularly attractive where energy, fertiliser and machinery become scarce or expensive.

For those thinking about a future beyond economic growth, Waru Waru offers an important lesson. It shows that prosperity does not always depend upon advanced technology or increasing consumption. Instead, it can arise from careful observation of natural processes and the accumulation of local knowledge over many generations.

Localism naturally points in this direction. As global supply chains become less reliable and imported fertilisers, fuels and machinery become more costly, every locality will need to rediscover methods suited to its own climate, soils and landscape. The solution in Herefordshire will not be identical to that of the Andes, but the underlying principle is exactly the same. Farming should work with local conditions rather than against them.

The Waru Waru system reminds us that the future may depend as much upon recovering forgotten wisdom as inventing new technologies. Thousands of years ago, small communities created an agricultural system that was productive, resilient and largely self-sustaining. Those qualities may prove increasingly valuable in the decades ahead as local communities seek practical ways of living well within the limits of their own land.