Arcél tropical agriculture
From Almeopedia
This zone includes Belesao and its satellites, as well as the Linaic peoples to their west, the Minche to the east, and Kereminthic nations, including Xamsan, on the eastern coast.
The equatorial zone is of course warm year-round, and much of the land was originally covered by rain forest. There’s a very dry season early in the (southern) year, ending with heavy rains (the łɛ̀); the rest of the year has intermittent rainfall. Generally two crops are possible during the growing season that starts with the łɛ̀. Periodically the łɛ̀ is delayed or doesn’t come and there’s disaster, especially as most equatorial plants have evolved to germinate only when flooded.
Ecologically, the zone extends eastward into Ȟaibalai, Kereminth, the southern coast of Curym, and to northern Neinuoi. Most of the flora and fauna are found in both areas or have been spread there. In fact Xamsan is an offshoot of Kereminth both culturally and linguistically.
The chief food crops, with their Lé names, are sorghum né, stripcorn desú, streff łuhì, teng beans tèŋ, hardroot mɔ̀čɛ̀, yams âraŋ, and keng nuts kêŋ.
The chief domesticated animal is the nawr ox (ŋáɔ̀r); there are also the turkey-like gallenes (jàr), as well as dogs and cats (chiefly used for companionship and pest control, but sometimes used as a food source as well). There are no other reliably domesticable species, though a wide range of jungle species are hunted as supplemental food sources— small pigs and rodents, tree cats, various tropical birds, certain grubs. A wide range of fish is also eaten.
The chief textile crops are truca (trukà), a type of palm, and petay (pɛ̌té), which produces a cotton-like cloth. Truca cloth is rather raspy, and petay is a pain in the ass to gather; in Belesao it’s much preferred to grow cotton and huar in the highlands. On the other hand, there’s no great need for clothing in this zone; in most areas only skirts or loincloths are worn.
