Agricultural Sustainability in Puanui Ahupua‘a: Past, Present, and Future
Saturday, August 22, 2009
8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Picnic lunch included.
The focus of the Puanui Project is first to understand the agricultural field system of the Kohala drylands as cultivated by Hawaiians in centuries prior to European contact, then to apply that mana‘o (wisdom) to furthering current knowledge of agricultural sustainability. The hope of the project is to bring Native Hawaiian agricultural practices, as gleaned from oral traditions and sources such as Hawaiian language newspaper articles, etc., to contemporary archaeological observations and agricultural experimentation—a step towards cultural and agricultural restoration.
Within the ahupua‘a of Puanui in North Kohala, experimental māla‘ai (food gardens) were created for a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research project. The food gardens are also places for island students and community members to learn about and participate in the production of dryland crops such as ‘uala (sweet potato), kalo (taro), kō (sugarcane), and other mea kanu (plants)—crops that supported the Kohala population centuries before.
On this huaka‘i (excursion), we will learn about Puanui, where ma ka hana ka ‘ike (in working one learns). We will kōkua (help) in the māla‘ai and experience working and managing the field system as Hawaiians did for hundreds of years. We will directly learn: the ‘āina (land) is our best teacher.
Aurora Kagawa, research assistant for the Puanui Project, leads the event. She is from ‘Auwaiolimu, an area near the mouth of Pauoa Valley on the island of O‘ahu; the slopes of Pūowaina (Punchbowl), known for much smaller-scale ‘uala cultivation. Auroroa is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, MIT, and UH-Mānoa. She has found her dream job at Puanui, where she and Ala Lindsey, kama‘āina of Waimea and Kohala, both work under the direction of Stanford University ecologist and project leader, Dr. Peter Vitousek.
Participants must be in good health, able to walk up a pu‘u (hill), and ride in a 4WD van. Be prepared for sunny, windy, and dusty conditions.
Click here to download the registration form, then mail or fax completed forms to:
The Kohala Center
P.O. Box 437462
Kamuela, Hawai‘i 96743
Fax 808-885-6707
For more information, contact us at info@kohalacenter.org or at 808-887-6411.