E pili ‘ana āpau; everything is connected!
In Hawaiian thought, just as in ecology and physics.
Pili is to bring together, to bind. It is also the first stage in poi-pounding when the taro is beginning to stick (Pukui and Elbert, 1986).
Aloha aku aloha mai
Cultivar collections
The core Hawaiian food crop plants are, by tradition and natural morphology, multiplied by clonal offshoots (huli, corms, tubers, maka, tip or shoot cuttings). The mindful protection and perpetuation of varietal biocultural diversity requires multiple levels of care, from on-farm (in situ) production, to ex situ cultivar collections and in vitro storage, as well as pono commitments to the work. A network of sites and organizations in a variety of conditions, elevations and locations across Hawaiʻi provides a safety net within our islands.
kalo varietal identification
EKKA provides kalo varietal identification and verification for our partners, as well as guidance on how to care for Hawaiian crop cultivars to improve the accuracy and health of collections for in vitro, botanical garden, agriculture station, and individual farm collections as a regular part of our work.
Places
E kūpaku ka 'āina endeavors to care for one place well. Kuapapa is our home base and a place where learning, practice, and sharing knowledge are at the center of everyday work. It is a place that demonstrates a balanced relationship with the land as the source of abundance. We raise all the Hawaiian kalo varieties that still remain with us from the time of Bulletin 84, as well as those that have returned to us from historic planting sites, and a small number of Pacific Island varieties that arrived in Hawaiʻi before 1970, along with a diversity of other Hawaiian food crop cultivars and native plant species.
Landscape level habitat restoration is part of caring for Kuapapa where we are just beginning the careful steps of invasive species removal.
Kuapapa is also Hālau o Hāloa's field school of traditional Hawaiian agriculture.
Youth, Families and Community
Hawaii is dependent on imports for more than 85% of its food and poi (made from kalo), the most important staple starch in a healthy Hawaiian diet, is limited and unaffordable to many families.
Hōʻumeke ʻai program
Hōʻumeke ʻai is to bear fruit; to have enough to eat, and more so, to have a full poi bowl. Beginning in 2010, our Hōʻumeke ʻai program has supported community well-being and food security with planting material, the core staple starches of kalo, ʻulu, maiʻa, and ʻuala, as well as ʻōhiʻa ʻai, lāʻau and more to feed kino and naʻau (body, heart, mind and spirit) for families, cultural and community gatherings. This program is currently paused while we restore and plant new ʻāina.