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Newsletter 26 - April 2011

Aloha!

This edition marks our third year of publication. Mahalo nui loa to our sponsors (see below), article contributors, and subscribers! It is an honor and pleasure to participate in a systemic shift in our food system towards local and sustainably produced food.

 

Enjoy eating local & sustainable!

Mahalo nui loa,

Craig Elevitch and Pedro Tama
for the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
http://hawaiihomegrown.net
visit us on Facebook

Breadfruit tree in South Kona.

Events

Every Thursday, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Hilo
Raw Food Made Easy

 

Every Friday, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Hilo
Vegetarian Cooking Made Easy

 

Friday, March 25 & Saturday, March 26, 2011 -  09:00am- 05:00pm
Cho Global Natural Farming Basic Seminar

Saturday, March 26, 2011, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Hilo
Kalalau Ranch & Victory Garden Tour

 

Saturday, March 26, 2011, 05:30pm - 08:30pm, North Kona
Farmers & Friends Benefit Dinner: A Localvore Experience

 

Thursday, March 31, 2011, 09:00am, North Kona
Fungi Expert to Speak to Coffee Farmers

 

Saturday, April 02, 2011, 10:00am - 12:00pm, South Kohala
Vermicomposting Workshop

 

Saturday, April 02, 2011, 10:00am - 12:00pm, South Kohala
Backyard and Worm Composting Workshop

 

Saturday, April 02, 2011, 02:00pm - 04:00pm, South Kona
Backyard and Worm Composting Workshop

 

Saturday, April 02, 2011, North Kona
9th Annual Kona Chocolate Festival & Symposium

 

Sunday, April 10, 2011, 12:00pm - 05:00pm, Ka’u
Earth Matters Farm: Farm Tour, Luncheon & Talk

 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hilo
Natural Farming Meeting

 

Friday, April 15, 2011, 09:00am - 01:00pm, South Kona
From Bean to Bar

Saturday, April 16, 2011, 09:00am - 12:00pm, North Kona
Greening Your School  for a Zero-Waste Revolution

 

Saturday, April 16, 2011, 10:00am - 12:00pm, South Kohala
Rainwater Harvesting

 

Monday, April 18, 2011, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona
Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers Meeting

 

Tuesday, April 26 & Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 08:30am - 03:45pm, North Kona
Successful Branding, Marketing and More of Value-Added Products

 

Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:00am, North Kona
Farmer & Chef Presentation

Saturday, April 30, 2011, 10:30am - 12:00pm, South Kohala
The Canoe Is an Island, the Island is a Canoe

 

Wednesday, May 04, 2011, 03:30am - 05:00pm, South Kona
Conventional & Organic Coffee Orchard Practices

 

Saturday, July 30, 2011, 10:00am - 05:00pm, North Kona
Healing Garden & Mango Festival 2011

 

Saturday, September 24, 2011, South Kona
Hawai'i Breadfruit ('Ulu) Festival

 

Friday, September 30, 2011, South Kohala
Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agriculture Festival

View events calendar

Reports

Written by Sonia Martinez | 25 March 2011

Ian Coie of the Breadfruit Institute speaks at Ka O Ka La Public Charter School.
Ian Cole of the Breadfruit Institute speaks at Ka O Ka La Public Charter School.
On March 12 and 13 The Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kaua'i, in conjunction with the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network, presented two day-long educational workshops: 'Ulu from Root to Fruit. The March 12 workshop was held in Kona at the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook, while the March 13 event took place at the Kua O Ka La Public Charter School in Puna. The workshops were designed to raise awareness and revitalize the custom of growing, cooking and eating 'ulu, a traditional Polynesian food and, along with kalo, sweet potato, yam, banana and coconut, one of the original Hawaiian canoe plants. 'Ulu is an underutilized, nutritious, abundant, delicious, and easily grown food resource on the islands.

Read more...

Written by Scott Middlekauf | 23 March 2011

Use the power of weeds and your life will get easier.
Use the power of weeds and your life will get easier.

Making friends with the neighborhood bullies

I'll tell you a secret: find ways to use the power of "invasive" plants and your life will get easier. This little article is intended just to get the conversation going.

Cane grass (Elephant grass, Pennisetum purpureum): We see the stuff all around, and it mostly brings to mind the thought of abandoned, underused land. In Puna, the papaya fields lie fallow in cycles of several years, and cane grass is usually the primary invader. This plant makes a thick, impenetrable barrier up to twelve feet tall. Cane grass grows readily from nodes, and seasonally disperses wind-blown seed. I have looked at cane grass as an annoying invasive plant pest...until I didn't.

Read more...

 

 

 

 

Written by Sonia Martinez | 23 March 2011

Kekela Farm Market in Waimea.
Kekela Farm Market in Waimea.
This farmers market is a bit different from any other on Hawai’i Island for a couple of reasons. First, it is located on a farm; and second, there are only two vendors . . . but don’t discount it because it's different. This market opens every Tuesday and Friday from 2 to 5 in the afternoons -- perfect for both weekly and weekend shopping -- and supplies an abundant variety of its own farm-fresh vegetables. Plus goat cheese, coffee, honey, fruits and vanilla beans from other producers.

Read more...

 

 

Written by Andrea Dean | 24 March 2011

 

Enjoying locally grown food in a the Kohala Intergenerational Center.
Enjoying locally grown food in a the Kohala Intergenerational Center.
Community Harvest Hawaii takes an idea intrinsic in Hawaiian culture - that of preparing and sharing food together - and creates a process that makes use of food that is currently going to waste in our community.

During a monthly “Community Harvest” day, community members are invited to bring their abundance from home - lemons, limes, tangerines, avocados, mangos, banana, etc.- to the Kohala Intergenerational Center to be processed. Local experts will be on hand to help facilitate the processing and preserving of the food, including freezing, canning, pickling, smoking, fermenting and dehydrating. The community will then enjoy a feast, everyone gets to take food home, and raw and processed food will be distributed to the community through the Food Basket and the Senior Nutrition Program. Local harvest teams will also be available to harvest fruit for Kupuna or other community members who would like assistance with harvesting and are willing to share their excess with the community.

Read more...

Written by Scot C. Nelson and K. T. Cannon-Eger | 25 March 2011

Black pepper vine and berries.
Black pepper vine and berries.
Aside from salt, pepper is the world’s most important and valued spice. It is used as an important component of many recipes and to flavor foods. From the berries of Piper nigrum are produced several condiments: black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, and “Tellicherry” pepper. Many grades of these peppers are recognized in the spice trade.

Read more...

 

 

 

Written by Bob Bogle | 25 March 2011

'awa, a medicinal plant found throughout the Pacific.
'awa, a medicinal plant found throughout the Pacific.

On the weekend of March 5-6, 2011, in a comfortable, open air setting at Hawaiian Sanctuary in Puna, David Bruce Leonard introduced workshop participants to traditional Hawaiian plant medicine. Leonard is the author of Medicine at Your Feet: Healing Plants of the Hawaiian Kingdom, a classic compendium of cross-cultural uses for 49 different Hawaiian plant medicines used here (and elsewhere) for well-being and healing purposes. He is an acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine practitioner with nearly 20 years experience studying Hawaiian medicinal plants.

Read more...

 
 
 
 
 

Announcements

Breadfruit Harvest for Hunger

Is your breadfruit going to waste, and if so, would you like to donate it to people who want and need it?
Is your breadfruit going to waste, and if so, would you like to donate it to hungry families who want and appreciate it?
The Hawaii Homegrown Food Network is looking for a select number of landowners on Maui, O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island with excess breadfruit. A two-person harvest team--expertly trained and equipped by the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden--will harvest your breadfruit at pre-arranged times (liability insurance included). The breadfruit, raw and processed, will be distributed to food insecure families who value breadfruit as a delicious and nutritious food. Landowners will retain a percentage of the fruit and have the satisfaction of knowing that breadfruit that would otherwise fall to the ground and go to waste will feed some of Hawai‘i’s hungry families.

Read more...

Send your local and sustainable food announcements to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Other announcements

Farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

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

Web Resources

New web site listings

Other web resources

Supporting Organizations

Hawai'i Organic Farmers Association
Hawai'i SEED
Hawai'i Tea Society
Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers
Know Your Farmer Alliance
Kona Coffee Farmers Association
Kona County Farm Bureau
Kona Outdoor Circle
North Kohala Food Forum
Slow Food Hawai'i
Sustainable Kohala

Sponsors

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This newsletter is published by:

Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
PO Box 5
Holualoa, Hawaii  96725  USA
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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