Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 4, 1 April 2018 — Producing food for the people [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Producing food for the people

MAULI OLA HEALTH i

GRANTEE SP0TIGHT: WAIPĀ F0UNDATI0N

By Treena Shapiro n the early 1980s, Kamehameha Schools considered selling land on Kaua'i's north shore to resort developers but area kūpuna and 'ohana protested, convincing Kamehameha to save the space as

a living learning center. Today Waipā ahupua'a, a valley spanning 1,600 acres from the high peak of malamahoa to makai, is being returned to its thriving, abundant state after being overrun with invasive species and degraded by deforestation for sandlewood, rice farming and cattle ranching. "I think at the core of everything we do, we are trying to connect kids and young people from here and from everywhere to their 'āina and resources so ultimately in the long term theyll want to take care of it," says Waipā Executive Director Stacy Sproat-Beck. Waipā founders were adamant the ahupua'a was a plaee to be farmed to produce food and feed people, notes Sproat-Beck. "So we try to grow things as big as possible, to feed as many people as possible. We also understand another big value of theirs was that sovereignty isn't just poliīieal sovereignty, but sovereignty is food sovereignty and also eeonomie and fiscal sustainability to some extent." Full restoration of the vast valley will be a long process, but little kīpuka have already been created on about 30 acres - food forests. cultural plantings, gardens, lo'i - where invasives are replaced with native and cultural use plants, and modern and traditional food plants. As Sproat-Beck points out, "We don't just eat kalo anymore. We love lychee and all kinds of fruits, and lettuce and kale." (In food demos, she explains how to lomi the kale for salads.) Student field trips, afterschool programs and enrichment activities, such as cooking with middle schoolers, and other group visits bring 4,000 people to Waipā eaeh

Waipa Foundation Community Workday > April 28, 9 a.m. to noon > Lunoh is provided, but RSVPs are required at https://goo.gl/ forms/NbmpyfTAEZvEXUMJ3

cies. Waipā also hosts two major festivals a year, celebrating kalo in January and mangos and music in mid-August. "Our goal is to target the visitor who wants to learn more authentic information and not just the visitor who wants to lie on the beach and

UIIU|JUU u. year. On Tuesdays, Waipā's Pili Au ; tour - a culture and food walking tour and food demo - ends just as a 1 weekly community farmers market starts. Twice a month, Waipā partners with Westin for a He 'Āina Ola Farm Dinner, a three course meal and wine pairing. A successful fundraiser last year, "Eat the Inva- ; sives," featured gourmet dishes five i chefs created from invasive spe-

do adventure activities," SproatBeck explains. Waipā is also very mueh engaged in food production and distribution. "Thirty years ago our founders felt poi was getting too expensive for our people to be able to eat as a staple food," says Sproat-Beck. "Then they realized that Hanalei grows 85 percent of the kalo in the state." By farming kalo themselves,

and buying from other Kaua'i farmers, they started inviting 'ohana to eome make poi together and keep costs down. Today, Waipā distributes fresh poi to the community at cost - about $4 a pound - and $2 for seniors. i Waipā was able to construct a new i commercial kitchen with OHA's help. There they create foods, whieh ean be tested and market products at the farmer's market - baked goods featuring food from the 'āina like 1 carrot eake, pumpkin crunch and

signature kalosadas. Other items include salad kits, laulau plates and kalua pig using pigs from the 'āina, makaki tea and shave iee, smoothies and frosties flavored with fruit from the valley. Waipā's success in generating its own revenue reduced its relianee on grants by 30 percent, whieh helped lead to a partnership with Ka Honua Momona (KHM) on Moloka'i. Their joint-project, "Ke Ola o La 'Āina," received a two-

year $500,000 programmatic grant from OHA. Waipā Operations Manager Johanna Ventura explained, "We started realizing maybe half-a-dozen years ago that it would be great to have a sense of sovereignty as an organization to do some of the things that other funders may not necessarily be interested in funding, or just to give ourselves a core base of revenue." Waipā will sharing some of its best practices with KHM, a group

restoring two fishponds and managing 1.5 acres of edible and medicinal plant gardens. In turn, KHM will mentor Waipā as it develops its its lā'au program, increases engagement at its community workdays and sharpens its focus on food as medicine. Waipā hosts

community work days every fourth Saturday of the month. Visit waipafoundation.org for more details. Monthly mālama 'āina opportunities are also available through Waipā's co-grantee, Ka Honua Momona on Moloka'i. Visit www.kahonuamomona.org for more information. Learn more about OHA's programmatic grant program at www. oha.org/grants, and learn more about Waipā at WaipaFoundation.org. ■

Stacy Sproat-Beck, Executive Director of the Waipō Foundation, shares the bounty and impael ihal Waipō ahupua'a provides to its community. - Photos: Kawena Carvalho-Mattos

A spread of fresh fruit from Waipō shows the diversity of food Ihal is grown in the ahunua'a.

Rows of large kale leaves line the Waipō fruit and vegetable garden.

Every tour of Waipō starts wilh fresh pa'i 'ai and pa'akai, pounded taro and sea salt.