Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 6, 1 June 2008 — Hilo poi factory may close as owner hopes to retire [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hilo poi factory may close as owner hopes to retire

By Blaine Fergerstrūm | Ka Wai ūla Staff

With roots planted in the 19th century in Waipi'o Valley, the Chang family has been providing sustenance for Hawai'i for more than a century. Grandfather Chang Huang and Grandmother Aehoi Lee emigrated to Hawai'i and, at first, planted the staple of their Chinese culture, rice, in the fertile North Hāmākua District valley. They later added kalo to the paddy, whieh heeame a signature of their family in the Hawaiian Islands. Their son, Leslie Chang, started Puueo Poi Factory more than 60 years ago. The factory, situated in a Quonset hut off Kekuanaoa Street in downtown Hilo, grew in its heyday to process most of the poi in town. Their grandson, Gilbert Chang, assumed the business from the family in 2000 and has spent the last 18 years continuing the family tradition of cooking and grinding kalo root to feed hungry Hawaiian food fans. "But I only have one daughter, and she's not interested in continuing the business," says Chang, who plans to fully retire. He took out a classified ad in the May issue of Ka Wai Ola, whieh immediately attracted some attention: "HILO POI MANUFACTURING business or equipment for sale.

-1 Call Gilbert at (808) 935-8435." OHA Coimnunications Director Crystal Kua, upon hearing of the ad, blurted out, "That's Gilbert Chang, Puueo Poi! That's all the poi in Hilo!" Kua is a native of Keaukaha Homestead and grew up eating Puueo Poi. She wondered where residents would get their fresh, locally produced poi if the business were to close. Derek Kurisu of KTA Super Stores was a little saddened at the news that Puueo might close. "That's real tough. It must break the family's heart" to see the business for sale.

Puueo Poi is "one of those companies that have been around for such a long time. That's a real big loss, so unfortunate." "Gilbert's father, Leslie, worked real hard," said Kurisu. "They always tried their best to provide. They were a real big part of the coimnunity, really went out of their way." Kurisu bemoaned the cost of poi, a staple in the Hawaiian diet. "You ean buy a 20-pound bag of rice for $6 or $7, the same price you pay for one small bag of poi, only enough for one meal." "I guess it just comes down to supply-and-demand," said Kurisu. "There have been problems with shortages" in the kalo supply recently. KTA stores currently carry Puueo, Taro, Mountain Apple Brand, and Hanalei poi. Gilbert Chang sits behind the desk in his simple office surrounded by calendars, a eloek, the phone and pictures of his family. He is quick to swivel in his chair to point out a photo of his parents, Leslie and Ahna Chang. Above their

photo hangs a large black-and-white print recognizing his grandparents as the founders of the family business. He talked about the difficulty of obtaining quality kalo. "All the wet taro now is bad. All the lo'i are over-fanned, some for a thousand years," he said. "They don't have the ehanee for the land to regenerate." He complains about the state of kalo growing, "The taro comes in and they're (the roots) all small, covered with snail bites. Those apple snails are ruining the taro." Chang now buys dry-land kalo from Maui. "I ship it in by barge. They harvest around Thursday (in Ke'anae), take it to Kahului and ship it."

It comes into Hilo Monday and by Tuesday the shop is in full production. This week he produced 500 pounds of kalo. "We make for lū'aus and the catering businesses, and we make little bit for some stores," but says the factory could produce "thousands of pounds" a day. Dry-land kalo "is the future of the business. Lots of guys don't know it, but the future is now. Pretty soon they'll all realize that that's where the business is going." He also makes a few trays of kūlolo, whieh are cooling on a table in the shop. A large sign, whieh hangs outside the processing area, catalogs all the delicacies formerly produced there. "We used to make kālua pork, laulau, all kind, but since I hurt my back a eouple of years ago, we cut back." Chang, in his 70s, thinks it's time to take a break and pursue his other interests. He's been dabbling in woodcarving, an example of whieh hangs over the air conditioner in his office: a beautifully carved Puueo Poi Factory sign. □

PĀ'OIHANA - B U S I N ESS

Above: Gilbert Chang shows photos of his parents, Alma and Leslie Chang, founders of Puueo Poi Facfoiy in Hilo.

I lnsef: Gilberf Chang, owner of Puueo Poi Facfoiy in Hilo, sfands I oufside his shop near ū small pafch of dry-land kalo. Chang sfands I near one of fwo huge pressure cookers used fo steam kalo. - Photos: I > | I Blaine Fergerstrom