Waffle gardens at Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico circa 1910-1925. Waffle gardens are sunken plots with hard, hand-built adobe-like walls that catch and hold water close to plant roots for extended periods. This method—which offers wind protection and temperature control, while limiting evaporation and erosion—was developed at the neighborhood scale to ensure harvests, while combating the unpredictable water availability and inadequate soil quality that are common to desert environments. Photo 5 of 8 in We May Already Have the Technology to Survive a Climate Crisis—We’ve Just Been Ignoring It

We May Already Have the Technology to Survive a Climate Crisis—We’ve Just Been Ignoring It

5 of 8

Waffle gardens at Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico circa 1910-1925. Waffle gardens are sunken plots with hard, hand-built adobe-like walls that catch and hold water close to plant roots for extended periods. This method—which offers wind protection and temperature control, while limiting evaporation and erosion—was developed at the neighborhood scale to ensure harvests, while combating the unpredictable water availability and inadequate soil quality that are common to desert environments.