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Aloha!
As Waipio Valley taro farmer Jim Cain frequently points out, there are about 200,000 people on Hawai'i Island at any given time, which means there are about 600,000 meals consumed per day. With an estimated 85% of our food
imported from off-shore, over a half million meals per day consumed on Hawai'i Island are produced by agricultural businesses thousands of miles away.
With this edition we kick off a new article series entitled "Building Local Ag Markets." The series features advice from local businesses that produce, distribute, purchase, process, and sell locally grown food. We can all learn from these enterprises how to strengthen markets for local food, both as producers and consumers.
Mahalo nui loa,
Craig Elevitch and Pedro Tama
for the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
http://hawaiihomegrown.net
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Events
Saturday, July 28, 2012, 08:00am - 05:00pm, Moloka’i
Permaculture -- It's All In Your Head
Saturday, July 28, 2012, 09:00am - 11:00am, South Kona
How to Grow Your Own Eggs
Saturday, July 28 - Sunday, July 29, 2012, 10am–5pm, North Kona
4th Annual Mango Festival
Tuesday, July 31 - Sunday, August 12, 2012, O'ahu
Summer Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Thursday, August 02, 2012, 09:00am - 01:00pm, Puna
Permaculture Planting Class: Perennial Greens
Thursday, August 02, 2012, 09:00am, North Kona
West Hawai'i Master Gardener Monthly Meeting
Saturdays, August 04, 11 & 18, 2012, Hamakua
Spirit-Centered Beekeeping
Sat - Sun, August 04 - 05, 2012, 9am - 4:30pm, South Kona
Introduction to Permaculture
Saturday, August 04, 2012, 10:00am - 03:00pm, South Kona
Waiho‘olu‘u: Kukui Dyes Workshop
Sunday, August 05, 2012, 08:00am - 04:00pm, Moloka’i
Permaculture Gardening - Moloka’i Style
Sunday, August 05, 2012, 09:00am, South Kohala
Lau Lau Pa'ina
Wednesday, August 08, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, South Kona
Homestead Foods: Jams and Jellies
Thursday, August 09, 2012, 09:00am - 01:00pm, Puna
Permaculture Planting Class: Taro and Root Crops
Saturday, August 11, 2012, 09:00am - 04:30pm, South Kona
Edible & Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 09:00am - 01:00pm, Puna
Permaculture Planting Class: Papayas, Bananas
Saturday, August 18, to Sunday, August 19, 2012, Hamakua
Waipio Camp Out
Monday, August 20, 2012, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona
Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers Meeting
Thursday, September 06, 2012, 09:00am, North Kona
West Hawai'i Master Gardener Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 09:00am - 01:00pm, South Kona
Homestead Foods: Fermenting Soy Sauce and Tempeh
Thursday - Sunday, Sept 13 - 16, 2012, Honolulu
Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Hawaii International Conference
Saturday, September 22, 2012, 09:30am - 02:30pm, Puna
East Side Seed Exchange & Harvest Festival
Saturday, September 29, 2012, 09:00am - 03:00pm, South Kona
Breadfruit Festival goes bananas
Saturday, Oct 13, To Sunday, Dec 09, 2012, Puna
Permaculture Design Course
View events calendar
Reports
27 July 2012
 Clear signage to promote local produce at Island Naturals
Russell Ruderman
Owner, Island Naturals
Develop strong marketing skills: become a spokesperson for your products
Russell Ruderman is committed to purchasing and marketing local food from Hawai‘i’s farmers. The focus on local food blossomed over the last six years, according to Ruderman, when a steady stream of farmers and food manufacturers began approaching the store and asking him to carry their products. Despite the increase in local food production, Ruderman is surprised at the number of gaps remaining in Hawai‘i’s local food production.
Read more...
Written by Sonia R. Martinez | 25 July 2012
 Coast View 'ohana Chris, Alexis, Braden, and KiliCoastview Aquaponics is a backyard farming operation on a half-acre lot started by Chris and Alexis Smith as a hobby three years ago. It was a way for the family to grow additional food to supplement their grocery purchases with fresh, organic food.
They were soon growing more than they could eat and began giving some away to friends and neighbors. "After a while people started offering us payment to help offset the expenses of growing the food" says Chris, "and this money was used to expand the system. Before we realized it, the hobby grew into a business as a result of demand from our neighbors."
The small aquaponic farm is at 1,500 foot elevation just off Mamalahoa Highway 190 on the slopes of Hualalai, just above Kailua-Kona, and is run with totally organic practices, where nothing gets wasted. Even the bags used to package the produce for distribution are biodegradable.
Read more...
Written by Yan Diczbalis | 26 July 2012
 Fresh lychee at Kona farmers market.The principal product derived from lychee is fresh fruit. In production areas where the quantity of fruit harvested exceeds demand, a range of processed products is produced that includes: whole in-shell and peeled dried fruit, processed and canned fruit, purees, and drinks.
World commercial lychee production is estimated to exceed 1.8 million metric tonnes (MT) with the bulk of world production occurring in China (1.0–1.3 million MT). Exporting countries include China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Africa, Mexico, Mauritius, and Australia. Export of lychee into the Pacific islands is minimal with Tahiti importing small amounts from Australia. New Zealand currently imports small volumes from Thailand and Australia. In Hawai‘i, 2008 production was 105 MT which was sold at an average price of $6.05/kg paid to the farmer (NASS 2009).
Read more...
Written by Craig Elevitch | 27 July 2012
 A well-balanced soil with plenty of decomposed organic matter is the basis for plant health.Most organic gardeners consider pests and diseases to be a symptom—as opposed to a cause—of poor plant health. From this perspective, pest and disease prevention focuses on plant health, which depends on three main factors: plant selection, soil health, and biodiversity.
Read more...
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Announcements
The Breadfruit Festival goes bananas is producing a groundbreaking introductory breadfruit cookbook that includes 15 recipes. If you are an enthusiastic cook who is willing to test a recipe before August 11, 2012, please email Dana Shapiro at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Hawai'i Organic Farmers Association is pleased to invite all organic and sustainable farmers and producers to join an exciting marketing opportunity! All businesses in the State
of Hawaii that produce, handle, distribute, sell, package, prepare, or provide a service to sustainable organic agriculture, are invited to list services on Hawaii's premier organic online
directory at http://HawaiiOrganic.org. The directory is the one-stop site for customers, visitors, chefs and retailers searching for certified organic crops and processed products in Hawaii. The Hawaii Organic Marketplace is also a source for suppliers of organic crop amendments, retail stores, and restaurants that serve organic menus. See simulated webpage hereRead more...
Contest inspires students to teach others about breadfruit
The Hawaii Homegrown Food Network, Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are presenting the Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu – Celebrating Breadfruit in Hawai'i Youth Art Contest.
 Breadfruit Festival 2011 winning entry by Prince Pecote.The Youth Art Contest is part of the educational outreach associated with the Breadfruit Festival Goes Bananas, which will be held at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona on Saturday, September 29, 2012. The artwork of contest winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd in each age group) will be displayed at the Breadfruit Festival and the winners will win great prizes.
The contest is open to all youth artists in Grades 1–12. To qualify, entrants must be full-time residents of Hawai'i County and must be affiliated with a school, home school group or organization. The school/organization needs to pre-judge the entries for submission. Each school may submit up to four works of art (one for each division). The divisions are: Grades 1–3, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12.
The deadline for submissions is September 14, 2012. Interested schools should indicate their intent to submit by August 9, 2012 to Fia Mattice at 896-5122 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Contest guidelines, and links to content standards and the submittal form are available at www.breadfruit.info.
Farmers' Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Visit our comprehensive directory of Hawai'i Island farmers' markets and Community Supported Agricuture.
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