I have been asked what I would plant right now, if I were settling on a small parcel in Hawai'i, and if I want to grow most of the food for my family, and live somewhat sustainably.

My needs for a good combination of food crops are:
1) an abundance of calories, oils, protein, greens.
2) foods not too difficult to grow, harvest and prepare.
3) foods that are delicious to eat.

Kanu Hawai’i’s statewide Eat Local campaign is taking off on Hawai’i Island. Several island organizations are spearheading the effort here, including the Hawai’i Homegrown Food Network, the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown campaign, and Slow Food Hawai’i. Numerous events, workshops, farmers markets, restaurants and individuals are joining together for the week of September 25^th to October 2^nd to commit to increasing the amount of local food that is grown, offered and eaten. For detailed information about the week’s activities, see the following websites:

• North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign
• Hawai’i Homegrown Food Network
• Slow Food Hawai’i
• Kanu Hawaii

Featuring Workshops, Film and, of course, Food!

If you like FOOD—growing it, cooking it, eating it, and talking about it—the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign has something for you! Farmers, ranchers, hunters, and fisherman in North Kohala provide our community with so many unique and delicious foods. In conjunction with the Kanu Hawai’i statewide Eat Local campaign, the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign encourages you to seek out, cook out, eat out, eat in, and generally celebrate our local foods September 25–October 2, 2010.

The Keauhou Farmers Market has been active for almost 4 years and has a list of impressive vendors on its roster. Located in the parking lot of the Keauhou Shopping Center in south Kailua-Kona on the leeward side of the island, it has become popular with not only locals but many tourists who stay at the two large resort hotels nearby. Sponsored by the Kona County Farm Bureau, the market has strict rules about the origins of the farm produce and products sold, and stresses that value-added products must contain a large percentage of locally grown ingredients.

I am not sure where to start writing the story of the Kanu Hawaii Organizers Boot Camp. It's my tendency to want to report the specifics: who attended, who taught, what strategies were imparted. But I think this story starts with a story.

I was feeling like the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign was a one woman show. If I dropped it, would anyone even notice or care? Where were the community volunteers? Why didn't the community "get it?" Why didn't funders "get it?" Why did the same 1-3 people always end up doing all the work?