Back to the land

As the morning mist settles and a soft outline forms around the distant summit of Mount Agung, a farmer in a conical hat peddles his bicycle down a trail that meanders past fields sown with cassava and corn. Ducks peck at the earth in search of worms and snails, and glints of sunlight refract off waterlogged rice paddies before cascading into rays.

I’m at Subak Uma Lambing, a vast green carpet of agricultural land to the southwest of Ubud, Bali’s spiritual capital. Home to a community of 250 — the term refers to the water-sharing collectives that underpin the island’s ancient irrigation system — is also the base for an ambitious social enterprise called The Astungkara Way, which champions regenerative farming while giving visitors an opportunity to reconnect with nature and learn something about traditional food cultivation.