milpa

noun

1. (uncountable)A cyclical crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica.

   “Milpa is based on seed crops, particularly the uniquely productive combination of maize, beans and squash, and in the past its techniques were normally those of swidden cultivation.”

2. (countable)A small field, especially in Mexico or Central America, that is cleared from the jungle, cropped for a few seasons, and then abandoned for a fresh clearing.

   “These three plants are often grown together in a single field called a milpa, the beans creeping up the corn stalks while the squash plants catch along the lower leaves of the corn plants.”

   “That means that no one can get rich or make someone else rich by farming a milpa. Since it works against capital accumulation, it is antithetical to entrepreneurship. In short, planting a milpa optimizes resources in a very particular way.”