New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- On a sunny and humid July morning, just outside Luang Prabang, the cultural capital of Laos, ancient rice terraces stretch out like a green blanket to the horizon. It is not yet 9 am but a handful of us, with conical bamboo hats perched on our heads, almost knee-deep in greyish slushy mud, are profusely sweating. We are trying to plant saplings as part of an immersive rice experience at Living Land Farm, a local collective, but the effort can be described as clumsy at best. A Laotian youngster from the collective, our guide, is very amused. Taking pity, he calls off the exercise and ushers us into a covered area and leads us through the rest of the process. The collective sigh of relief is audible.

Rice is a permanen...