Have you ever made your own sushi and enjoyed it while listening to Hawaiian chants and experiencing hula? How about learning how to graft an avocado tree, or compost with worms, or cultivate honey bees for pollination, or the do’s and don’ts of macadamia nut cultivation and production?

These were some of the featured presentations at this year's Fourth Annual Avocado Festival, which took place on February 20, 2010 at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona. Leading island experts in agriculture and and gardening demonstrated their knowledge and skills for an overflowing crowd of nearly 3,000. Attendees learned about avocados and many other locally grown foods in a festival atmosphere of local arts and crafts and the din of countless conversations and stage entertainment.

On March 18-19, 2010, Una Greenaway and Leon Rosner of Kuaiwi Farm hosted a two-session chocolate making workshop. For a minimal price they provided easy-to-follow demonstrations and instructions for making chocolate from scratch. With eight participants, everyone had a chance for a hands-on experience at each step in the process. The process began with cracking and winnowing the cacao beans and ended with pouring tempered chocolate into delicate molds. The smell of chocolate was intoxicating and at some points it seemed like magic was taking place in the kitchen.

On March 3^rd, 2010, Mala'ai, The Culinary Gardens of Waimea Middle School, the inspirational model of the school garden movement on Hawai'i Island, held its five-year anniversary celebration. At the mid-day event, as cloud-shrouded Mauna Kea stood sentinel against a bright blue sky, the trade winds stormed across her slopes towards Waimea. Nearly two hundred young and old gathered in the wind by the garden, equally divided between student-gardeners and community supporters to hear Kumu Pua Case present the opening pule.

In the very moving introduction that followed, Kumu Case -- who is also the Ike Hawai'i teacher for Waimea Middle School -- declared  that, “Five years ago we pledged to create out of this land a learning tool and experience that would help make our children healthy and our school community whole – and we did.”

A Project for Hawai'i Island

Continue Reading

Print Email

Aloha! The Hawai'i Homegrown Food Newsletter has been published monthly since April 2009 with a primary purpose in mind: To build local, sustainable food communities on Hawai'i Island. The newsletter connects people to each other, events, markets, and resources, and will continue to do so. Continue Reading Print Email Honey bees—Specialty Crop Profile Honey bees can provide multiple products, in addition to essential pollination services. There are several bee species that are cultivated for their products and pollination services but the most widely used species is the honey bee, Apis mellifera. In Hawai‘i and in the Pacific, there is a great potential for beekeeping at all scales. Rural areas in the Pacific are ideal for supporting beekeeping activities because of the abundant year round floral sources that can provide enough honey for family and/or community needs with the possibility of additional income from the selling surplus honey. Continue Reading Print Email More Articles ... Culturing the Micro-Flora of the Body and the Soil Sweetpotato ('Uala)—Specialty Crop Profile Announcement UH CTAHR’s Sustainable Ag Program Saving wild honey bees Mothers and Gardens 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 BREADFRUIT TALKING STORY RESOURCES Farmers Markets/CSA's Websites Books & Magazines Featured Organizations Videos & DVDs ABOUT Vision, Mission and Values Supporting Organizations Board and Advisors Sponsors History Project Team FAQ Farmer's Markets Legal & Press Info Privacy Policy Conditions of Use Sponsors Press Info Contact Contact Us Volunteer HOME