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Newsletter 17 - July 2010

Aloha!

Hot off the heels of last Saturday's Holualoa Summer Farmfest & 'Ukulele Jam, we are excited to see how local food is gradually being emphasized in our communities. The Farmfest featured homegrown food from a wide range of local producers and restaurants (see story), and similar happenings are taking place around the island.

Check out the wide array upcoming events and workshops in the calendar below. You can also follow events in a comprehensive calendar that is updated in real-time at the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network web site. With Sonia Martinez' help, the Farmers' Market and Community Supported Agriculture page is also continuously updated.

Keep us posted on your successes with local and sustainably grown food!

A hui hou,

Craig Elevitch
Pedro Tama
http://hawaiihomegrown.net


Events

Friday, June 25, 2010, 01:00pm - 04:00pm, North Kona
Self-reliant Home Garden Techniques

Friday, June 25, 2010, 01:15pm - 07:00pm, South Kohala
Food Self-Reliance Talk-Story with Neil Abercrombie

Saturday, June 26, 2010, 01:00pm - 04:00pm, North Kona
Self-reliant Home Garden Techniques

Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 06:30pm - 08:30pm, North Kona
Bugs, Slugs and Garden Thugs

Friday, July 02, 2010, 05:30pm, Hamakua
Farm Community Potluck and Seed Exchange

From Wednesday, July 07, to Sunday, July 11, 2010, Hilo
Hoea Ea 2010

Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 03:30pm - 05:00pm, South Kona
First Wednesday Coffee Talk -- Solar Drying

From Saturday, July 10, 09:00am to Sunday, July 11, 2010 - 05:00pm, Puna
Korean Natural Farming workshop

Saturday, July 10, 2010, North Kona
Learn Aquaponics Now!

Saturday, July 10, 2010, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Hamakua
Bread is Easy!

Sunday, July 11, 2010, 10:00am - 04:00pm, South Kohala
Artisan Cheesemaking

From Monday, July 12, 09:00am to Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 05:00pm, Hamakua
Korean Natural Farming workshop

Saturday, July 17, 2010, North Kona
Learn Aquaponics Now!

Sunday, July 18, 2010, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Puna
Volcano Natural Farming Community Meeting

Monday, July 19, 2010, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, South Kona
Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers Meeting

Saturday, July 24, 2010, North Kona
Learn Aquaponics Now!

Sunday, July 25, 2010, 09:00am - 04:00pm, North Kona
Biochar for Self-Reliant Garden and Farm Abundance

Sunday, July 25, 2010, 01:00pm, Puna
At-Home Small Animal Butchering and Slaughtering Demonstration Class

Sunday, July 25, 2010, 02:00pm, South Hilo
Mozzarella Workshop

Saturday, July 31, 2010, North Kona
Learn Aquaponics Now!

Saturday, July 31, 2010, 10:00am - 05:00pm, North Kona
Hawai'i Healing Garden  Mango Festival

Wednesday, August 04, 2010, 03:30pm - 05:00pm, South Kona
First Wednesday Coffee Talk -- Cupping Your Coffee

From Saturday, August 28, to Sunday, August 29, 2010, Hamakua
Slow Food Hawaii Annual Waipio Campout

Friday, September 10, 2010, 05:00pm - 08:00pm, South Kohala
Mealani "Taste of the Hawaiian Range" and Agricultural Festival

From Friday, September 24, to Sunday, September 26, 2010, Kaua‘i
20th Annual Hawai'i International Tropical Fruit Conference

 
 

View events calendar


Reports

The Pa’auilo School Agriculture Program


Written by Donna Mitts | 24 June 2010

Kids holding chick at Pa'auilo Elementary & Intermediate School garden.
Kids holding chick at Pa'auilo Elementary & Intermediate School garden.
Pa’auilo Elementary & Intermediate School is located on the Hamakua Coast, between Honoka’a and Laupahoehoe. Its student population is around 275 and is the last K-9thgrade school in the state. The school has had a long history of promoting agriculture and I started the garden here as a volunteer ten years ago. I’ve been leading the school’s agriculture program since then. Besides staffing the parent center, my purpose is to teach students how to produce healthy food and care for small-scale livestock. 

Read more...


Hilo Coffee Mill—Market @ The Mill

Written by Sonia Martinez | 23 June 2010

Market owners Jeanette Barcia and Katherine Patton
Market owners Jeanette Barcia and Katherine Patton

The Farmers Market at The Hilo Coffee Mill has the distinction of being the only farmers market found on a working farm in East Hawai’i. The market grounds are graced by the farm’s collection of chickens, milling around and scavenging for treats, while visitors shop, eat breakfast and enjoy live entertainment.

Located on 24 acres, The Hilo Coffee Mill farm’s beautifully landscaped property consists of several acres planted in coffee and tea as well as fruit trees; gardens featuring native plants and some non-native ornamentals; chicken coops; a drying shed and the farm’s coffee roasting building; and the central building which houses a café, coffee tasting bar and gift shop.

Read more...

 

Holualoa Summer Farmfest & 'Ukulele Jam

Written by Paul Maddox | 24 June 2010

 
 
 
 
Music and dance performance at Holualoa post office.
Music and dance performance at Holualoa post office.
 
The Holualoa Village Association presented its 2nd annual Summer Farmfest & 'Ukulele Jam on June 19th, 2010. The celebration featured over two dozen local food purveyors who offered samples and sales of Hawai’i Island local food bounty along with local music in the historic upcountry village.
 

 


Announcements

 

 

Farm Work-Trade for Lodging in South Kona

We have 16 acres of fertile land above the Konawaena School in Kealakekua with 2 little houses for gardeners. Macadamia, avocados and a small organic veg. garden. Free lodging in exchange for work on the land. Please contact Jean-Luc at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


New CSA: Kuaiwi Farm in South Kona

 

HOFA-Certified Organic Veggies, fruits BE HEALTHY, EAT LOCAL. Baskets available weekly or bi-weekly ( every two weeks)  in the Kona districts.  Home Delivery from Captain Cook to Holualoa.  A typical basket will include:  Assortment of salad and cooking greens, plus one or two bags of other hardy veggies and fruits. We can work around allergies, and true dislikes to vegetables. We encourage our customers to try and taste these vegetables again, and check out new recipes.  Baskets can be personalized. Communicate with me by email about veggie and herb choices/preferences/dislikes etc.  Baskets $25.  Eggs $7/dozen extra (from our free ranging chickens fed on only certified organic feed and organic produce and organic nuts from our farm. NO GMO GRAIN; eggs are not certified organic).  Contact Una Greenaway, 33 years organic practices, 328-8888 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Pu'u'ala Farm & Ranch Roadside Stand & Nursery in Hamakua

Every Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm: Catered Hawaiian BBQ w/ smoked grass-fed beef, pork, vegetarian luau, taro fries, other dishes, & KAVA.  Also Open Daily with Taro and Taro leaf for sale until supplies last. Location: between mile markers 39 and 40, makai side, south of Honoka', Hamakua. Look for the sign. All farm grown and ORGANIC.  We sell Taro, Noni Juice, Taro Hulis, Taro Leaf, Fruit by season (Starfruit, grapefruit, soursop, lemons, limes, mango), vegetables by season. We also have a nursery full of plants for sale: coconut trees, ti, neem trees, flowers, etc. The farm is run entirely by volunteers. For more information call manager Zach Gibson, 937-4687, or farm at 776-1100.


Coastview Aquaponics Roadside Market & Tour in North Kona

Saturdays, 8 am to 12 Noon. Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4 - 6 pm. Location: 73-1202 Ahikawa Street, Mamalahoa Hwy, one street north of Ka'iminani, turn makai. Organic lettuce, greens, herbs & flowers. We are a neighborhood farm in the Kona Coastview subdivision (near Kona Palisades). We grow our completely organic produce in an aquaponics system.  Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics.  The fish provide the fertilizer for the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish. We want to give our community a local alternative to the poor quality, overpriced, imported produce that is sold in the stores. After several months of construction our second and much larger aquaponics system is now up and running.  We are very excited to have this completed and look forward to being able to offer a wide variety of produce on a more consistent basis. We invite you to come by every Saturday morning and see what we are doing new. For more information contact Chris & Alexis Smith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and see http://www.coastviewaquaponics.com

 

Other announcements

 


 

Specialty Crop of the Month

Taro (kalo)—Specialty Crop Profile

Written by Harley Manner | 24 June 2010

 
Taro growing in Holualoa, North Kona, Hawaii.
Taro growing in Holualoa, North Kona, Hawaii.

The primary food products from Colocasia taro throughout much of the Pacific islands for both subsistence and commercial purposes include: corm, leaves, and petiole, which can be prepared in a number of ways. The corm is boiled in water, baked, fried, or steamed in underground earth ovens (known in various languages as imu, umu, um, and lovo). The leaves and petioles are often boiled and served as a kind of spinach.

Read more...

 
 

 
 

Farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

 
Please visit our new comprehensive page dedicated to Hawai'i Island farmers' markets and Community Supported Agricuture.
 
 

Web Resources

New resources

Other web resources


Project Advisors

Amanda Rieux, teacher at Mala ‘Ai Culinary Garden at Waimea Middle School
Andrea Dean, sustainability consultant andreadean.com and local foods advocate, North Kohala
Bruce Mathews, professor of Soil Science, UH Hilo
Deborah Ward, retired UH CTAHR extension agent and farmer, Kea‘au
Geoff Rauch, director of Know Your Farmer Alliance and farmer, Kapoho
Hector Valenzuela, vegetable crops extension specialist, UH Manoa
Jerry Konanui, mahi 'ai and educator, Pahoa
Joe Kassel, naturopathic physician and farmer, Holualoa
Ken Love, tropical fruit horticulture and marketing specialist, Captain Cook
Lyn Howe, director of Know Your Farmer Alliance and farmer, Kapoho
Mary Lynn Garner, Konawaena High School teacher and farmer, Kealakekua
Nancy Miller, marketing specialist and manager of Keauhou Farmers’ Market
Roen & Ken Hufford, Honopua Farm, managers, Hawaiian Homestead Farmers Market, Waimea
Ted Radovich, crop specialist, Sustainable Farming Systems Laboratory, UH Manoa

Supporting Organizations


Sponsors

 


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This newsletter is published by:

Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
PO Box 428
Holualoa, Hawaii  96725  USA
Tel: 808-324-4427; Fax: 808-324-4129
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: http://hawaiihomegrown.net

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