Hawaii Homegrown Food Newsletter 24 - February 2011
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Building local, sustainable food communities |
Aloha!After returning from two bustling farmers markets this morning, it has become apparent that locally and sustainably grown food has had a breakthrough in the number of producers and consumers over the past two years on Hawai'i Island. If you haven't done so recently, check out our comprehensive page dedicated to Hawai'i Island farmers' markets and Community Supported Agricuture. There are now 26 Hawai'i Island farmers markets--ten of which are highlighted in full length articles by Sonia Martinez on our comprehensive page. Enjoy eating local! Mahalo nui loa, Craig Elevitch and Pedro Tama EventsEvery Thursday, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Hilo
Every Friday, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Hilo
Saturday, January 29, 2011, 09:00am - 11:00am, South Kohala
Tuesday, February 08, 2011, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hilo
Wednesday, February 09, 2011, 09:00am - 02:00pm, South Kona, and
Sunday, February 13, 2011, 12:00pm - 06:00pm, Hilo
Friday, February 18, 2011, 05:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona Saturday, February 19, 2011, 10:00am - 04:00pm, South Kona Monday, February 21, 2011, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona
Saturday, February 26, 2011, 09:00am - 02:30pm, South Kona
Saturday, February 26, 2011, 10:00am, North Kona Wednesday, March 02, 2011, 09:00am - 02:00pm, South Kona, and
Tuesday, March 08, 2011, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hilo Saturday, March 12, 2011, 09:00am - 04:00pm, South Kona
Sunday, March 13, 2011, 09:00am - 04:00pm, East Hawai’i
Monday, March 21, 2011, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona
Saturday, March 26, 2011, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Hilo
Saturday, March 26, 2011, 05:30pm - 08:30pm, North Kona
Saturday, July 30, 2011, 10:00am - 05:00pm, North Kona View events calendarReportsWritten by Sonia Martinez | 27 January 2011 
A scene at the busy Maku'u Market located between Kea'au and Pahoa in Puna.
Our recent visit to the huge Maku’u Farmers Market took place on a breezy but gloriously sunny Sunday morning. The market place was buzzing and the parking was ‘competitive’ with new arrivals waiting patiently for early birds to leave an empty spot…but the waiting didn’t take long as there was a steady stream of in-and-out, well-directed traffic. Written by Nicole Milne | 27 January 2011 
A regular Crop Share participant harvests a leek from Mala‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School.
Depending on the season, the fruit trees and gardens in our backyards are overflowing with more food than we can consume. Crop Share is an innovative project designed to gather these surplus fruits and vegetables from our communities and share them with individuals and families in need. Newly created non-monetary exchange markets, where no money changes hands, can serve as distribution channels for surplus backyard produce, and provide a welcoming environment where residents can share and trade community resources. 27 January 2011 
Hair sheep grazing in Ka'u citrus/avocado orchard.
Imagine owning a lawnmower that makes its own blades, moves itself around the lawn, requires no gasoline (it runs on grass), makes very little noise, replaces itself every year or so, and you can eat it as a delicious high protein food. All you need to provide is a fence around the pasture, a small shed, some water, and mineral supplements. Sound like a crazy fantasy? If you have some land with grass on it, and you can afford to put a fence around it, tropical hair sheep are a viable option. Written by Janice Uchida | 28 January 2011 
Vanilla beans in the process of curing, Honaunau, Hawaii.
The highly aromatic, cured pod (or “bean”) of the vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is the primary product. Vanilla owes its properties to vanillin, a compound that is formed during pod maturation and in the curing process. Vanillin is believed to be one of most popular scents in the world. Natural vanillin is expensive by weight, but when used as a flavoring it is affordable. AnnouncementsHOLUALOA, HAWAI‘I—New extension publications advise farmers in developing value-added products from sustainably grown high-value crops in Hawai'i.
A series of new extension publications about high value crops including chocolate, coffee, tea, and vanilla has just been published. The photo-rich booklets focus on management, production, marketing and value-added processing in Hawai’i and the Pacific region. Specialty crops such as these provide a rapidly growing economic opportunity for farmers and gardeners who are interested in diversifying their crops and who are willing to innovate their production methods, post-harvest processing, and marketing. These publications are part of a series of specialty crop booklets designed to promote agroforestry and value-added product development in the Pacific. The specialty crop series is being coordinated by Craig Elevitch of Permanent Agriculture Resources in Holualoa, Hawai’i. The publications can be downloaded for free at http://agroforestry.net/scps.
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