EC Reactivates Project #7

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Project Leader and Chair of the Water Task Force, Kammy Purdy discusses the importance of reactivating Project #7 in order to continue developing a viable water use plan for Molokai.   

A New Look for Hotel Molokai

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Celebration marks completion of renovation

“One of the nice things about Hotel Molokai is that it’s a place where the locals can hang out — that’s so important,” Hoe said.

Drew described the hotel as a home away from home. “People get off work and want to come here.”

“We loved it here. We would sit by the ocean and watch the sunset,” Molokai resident Betsey Thomson said in remembering her first visit to Hotel Molokai in 1986.

The owner of Hotel Molokai and the Travel Advantage Network (TAN), Brad Callahan also saw something special here when he bought the property four years ago.

“Come here 20 years from now and ask who’s the owner; it will still be Brad Callahan. Brad doesn’t sell anything,” TAN General Manager Keith Beck said. TAN currently owns seven resorts and 1500 other different properties, mostly consisting of condos.

In order to revitalize the property, TAN brought in an Atlanta based company to completely gut and remodel 54 units over three and a half months. 20 Molokai residents were also hired for the renovation.

“It’s a 100% turn around. Complete renovation of guest rooms. Updated furniture, new linens,” Drew said. “Now we have a property we can be proud of.”

“A lot of people have lived here for years and years and they are finally seeing a face lift for Hotel Molokai,” Hotel Molokai Employee Earl Gorton said. “It’s a wonderful thing to see someone keeping it going. That’s what makes me feel good about working here.”

“I like the changes…Big difference from what it used to be,” Sylvia Pabalan, a Molokai resident who attended the tour said.

The hotel currently employs 57 Molokai residents and hundreds of community members visit the grounds each month. Drew acknowledged that the day would not have been possible without the support of the people around him.

“This is done for the employees and the people of the community. My goal is to bring back the glory days of Hotel Molokai,” Drew said.

Good Deeds Pay Off

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Non-profit provides technology to remote areas

Kamuela Kualii Lindsey of the Kumulipo non-profit presented KHM volunteer Ryan Dudoit with two laptop computers in recognition of all of his family’s hard work at the fishpond. Volunteers Kevin Dudoit, Mervin Dudoit, Hana Cook, Herbert Hoe and KHM Executive Director Noelani Lee celebrated with Ryan after a workday at the fishpond.   

By Jennifer Smith

Hard work has paid off for opio volunteers at Ka Honua Momona (KHM) fishpond. Last Saturday Kamuela Kualii Lindsey, from the Kumulipo non-profit organization, presented 16 year-old Ryan Dudoit with a laptop computer.

Ryan and his three sisters Ashlei, Ashlynn and Kiani have been volunteering at the fishpond for over three years. Kumulipo was able to recognize their efforts by giving the Dudoit’s two laptops, one for Ryan and a separate computer for his sisters.

KHM recently formed a partnership with Kumulipo to distribute even more computers on the friendly isle. “We are going to work with Noelani to get as many computers into the community as possible,” Lindsey said.

Lee would like to continue to recognize the efforts of other youth volunteers such as Kevin Dudoit and Hana Cook, who have supported KHM for several years. “I love when they get opportunities to be awarded or recognized,” Lee said. 

Kumulipo began its “Computers for Local Kids” program last year. They have distributed 40 computers so far, including one to a Hawaiian kid in California who was feeling homesick. 

A recent deal between Kumulipo and Dell will provide dozens of computers for KHM to distribute this year. However, once Kumulipo receives the computers there are still a few obstacles to overcome before distributing them.

“The biggest bottleneck right now is programming the computers,” Lindsey said. He mentioned that it takes six to seven hours to program each computer, and finding space and time to do so can present a challenge.

But, it is a challenge that Lindsey is ready to step up to. “Kids in order to stay competitive need computer technology and they need it at home,” Lindsey said.

“We load the computers with education programs for the kids,” Lindsey said. “When kids don’t have access to Internet this computer will give them access to information.”

Kumulipo’s name comes from the Hawaiian chant of creation. Lindsey works with partners Louis “Buzzy” Agard and Rubellite Johnson to ensure the non-profit’s goal to bring programming, computers, and distance learning to remote environments becomes a reality.

Finding the Source

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

By Jennifer Smith

‘Aha Kiole advisory member Vanda Hanakahi, Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Collette Machado, and Hawaiian Rights activist Walter Ritte, represented local concerns.

“Resources are almost gone,” began Ritte. As such he said the focus of the discussion should be on, “How to make resources stay alive for future generations.” 

Visitor Winona LaDuke, a former Vice Presidential candidate from Minnesota, and Louie Hena, a permaculture design consultant from New Mexico, provided a Native American perspective to the talk.

“We need to educate everybody,” Hena said.  

Hena teaches permaculture design, a method for building human settlements reflecting structures found in the natural environment. He comes from a sustainable community.  

Hena, who is also a member of the tribal council for Tesuque Pueblo in New Mexico, has been extremely active in organizing the efforts of indigenous people to protect their crops against major corporate interests.  

Observing several similarities between Hawaiian and Native American culture, Hena said “Hawaiians have akua, we have okua.” And while Hawaiians have Taro, for his people, corn is the major staple. Both cultures trace their ancestral lineages to their respective food staples.

Hena said that corporations fail to appreciate the richness of surrounding landscapes for more than what kind of financial return they can bring in.   

“To these corporate people there is no value to the tree, to the bird singing, to the waves crashing…all they see is a dollar sign,” Hena said.

From what I understand your community has been put, “through the regulatory arena,” Hena said. As a result he recommended the community unite as one, because “(corporate interests are) going to make you fight against each other.” 

It is about, “us overcoming those barriers in order to take control of these resources-those sources that gave us life in order to have them for future generations,” Hanakahi said.

“Government laws do not allow us to do that,” Hanakahi said. She mentioned the possible need for a bit of “civil disobedience” in regaining control of resources in order to ensure future generations have access to them. 

“It’s not just the legal arena,” you’ve got to work on the political and economic level as well LaDuke said.

She recommended taking control of areas in which a difference can be made. LaDuke has worked to take control of a school lunch program in her community in order to fortify students’ meals.  

She advocates working towards food and energy sovereignty, as they are two things we will always need and of which the prices continually go up on. By establishing renewable food and energy sources within your own community outside market prices have less devastating effects.

“You’ve got to have a strong core,” LaDuke said. “Strengthen your alternative community,” she said suggesting alternative energies such as wind, while weaning off of a dependence on petroleum.

“Saying it’s alternative diminishes it - saying it’s the ‘way’ strengthens it,” LaDuke added.

LaDuke recommends enlisting allies, even ones who might not initially be considered allies. “Some people want to do the right thing, if you give them a way,” LaDuke said.

“These things do happen if you have political will,” Machado said.  

“Sometimes you have to stick it out there,” she said in praising the efforts of Walter Ritte and “the boys” in fighting for Taro.

Hanakahi recognized other important community efforts where “pockets” of success can be seen, such as Mo`omomi.

Acknowledging Molokai’s successes, Ritte still said, “Everything has been stacked up against us so bad.” Looking at an odds game he wondered what could be done to prepare the community for future battles.

“Our people are not liberated in their minds,” LaDuke said. Having fought so many battles, even some with each other people inevitably become weary.  

Winona LaDuke and Friends Welcomed to KHM

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Gene Revolution Taking Over Traditional Farming

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Native Americans expose the threat GE crops pose to indigenous cultures.

By Léo Azambuja & Jennifer Smith

Indigenous rights activists joined Walter Ritte last week to educate the Molokai community about the threat of genetically engineered crops. The group traveled to Oahu on Monday, and on Wednesday they rallied outside the State Capitol, demanding that a bill to put a 10-year moratorium on GE kalo be heard. From left to right: Winona LaDuke, Ritte, Paula Garcia, Louie Hena and Andrea Hanks.

“People have a right to understand what is happening to them,” two-time Vice-Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke said as she addressed a crowd of over 100 Molokai residents at Mitchell Pauole Center Saturday night.

LaDuke, along with three other indigenous rights leaders Louie Hena, Paula Garcia and Andrea Hanks, visited the friendly isle during a trip to Hawaii to support bill SB958, asking for a 10-year moratorium on the cultivation and research of genetically engineered (GE) kalo.

The four Native American leaders spoke of the dangers that GE crops pose to their homelands and cultural traditions; a problem they say that communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands are also facing.

“Many of us are afraid,” homestead farmer Walter Ritte said. “We don’t know what’s happening.”

Ritte opened the informal meeting saying that GE farmers came in the “backdoor” and that the community now has “no clue on what they are growing.”

What kalo is to Hawaiians, wild rice is to the Ojibwe tribe. “(Rice) has fed our bodies and souls. We honor our rice,” LaDuke said.

The White Earth Reservation LaDuke lives on is located in northern Minnesota, a prime place for wild rice which grows naturally on lakes and rivers.

The Ojibwe shake the rice into their boat, dry, mill, and then dance on it. The harvest is followed by celebration.

After 40 years of trial and error, the University of Minnesota (UM) finally figured out how to domesticate wild rice in man-made paddies, using tons of pesticides and harvesting with combines, according to LaDuke.

“It gutted our rice economy,” LaDuke said. “Two men in a canoe cannot compete with a guy in a combine.”

Then in the year 2000 UM cracked the DNA sequence of wild rice.

GE was such a new technology that many didn’t know much about it. LaDuke said UM assured the tribe that the risk of GE contaminating Indian rice paddies was one percent. “This is too much for us,” she explained.

The White Earth Recovery Project (WERP), an organization LaDuke founded, set out to expose the potential dangers GE rice could have on the Ojibwe’s wild rice livelihood. Bringing together rice harvesters from several states they are working to fight against bio-piracy, genetic manipulation, patent struggles and labeling issues.

Without long term environmental studies on the surrounding ecosystems of GE crops, several factors still need to be measured before safety levels can be confirmed.

Studies have shown caddisflies dying after eating Bt corn (GE). Those insects are the primary food source for the fish in wild rice lakes.

LaDuke mentioned the possibility of ducks cross pollinating crops. However, the ducks weren’t taken into consideration in the UM’s environmental impact statement.

When LaDuke took the issue to the legislature in Minnesota, trying to stop the production of GE wild rice, the first witness against her case was GE giant Monsanto. The company that owns 88 percent of the world’s GE patents was not even interested in growing wild rice. However, LaDuke said Monsanto was worried the case would set a precedent.

“Monsanto does not want anyone to stop genetic engineering,” LaDuke said.

UM provided a questionable argument, claiming that what LaDuke was proposing would “thwart our ability to combat bioterrorism.”

“There are no long term health impact studies,” LaDuke said.

Agreeing with the need for long term health studies on GE, Hena said “these huge companies don’t care about us.”

Hena said his people still live in the same communities they have lived in for centuries. “I’m still using my seeds that I grew with my grandfather, that he grew with his grandfather, so whatever happens to corn is going to happen to me,” Hena said.

Corn is to the Tesuque pueblo what kalo is to Hawaiians. The Tesuque culture uses all parts of the plant for food and cultural practices.

“From the bottom of the ocean to the top of that peak, that’s who you are,” Hena said in describing humans’ relationship to all things around them.

“I can go anywhere on Earth Mom and it’s a special place for me,” Hena said.

GE plants are killing off other plants and bugs, according to Hena.

With crops being used to fuel vehicles, food prices continue to soar. “Pretty soon people won’t be able to buy food, it’s going to be out of our reach,” Hena said.

“We are all in this together,” Hena said. “When Earth Mom is gone, we’re gone.”

A former student of Hena’s permaculture class, Garcia was raised in a family that has been growing corn for generations.

Garcia’s homeland corn boasts stalks of all shapes and sizes, while the GE corn on Molokai “looks like Robots.”

“It’s hard to see places like Molokai,” Garcia said. “I feel like crying.”

But Garcia believes it’s not too late for corn. “There are still places where it’s pure as the creator intended it,” she said.

“En la madre la Tierra, su sangre es el agua.” (The blood of Mother Earth is the water.) With this strong statement, Garcia said the water was privatized on her homeland.

Council member Danny Mateo said Molokai should take advantage of the visiting Native American’s expertise in dealing with their respective legislatures, “so we don’t have to recreate the wheel all over again.”

Mateo criticized how cultural issues are often overlooked in the political realm. “Every state deals with their own special issues, and cultural issues are not there.”

On Jan. 16, the legislature’s opening day, Hui Ho`opakele `Aina (rescue the land) members rallied outside the state Capitol, and demanded that bill SB958 be heard. Dozens of Hawaiians, plus the visiting Native Americans rallied together.

The bill asks for a 10-year moratorium on genetic research of kalo, the most important food staple of the Hawaiian culture.

Last year House speaker Calvin Say stopped the bill at the legislature, according to Ritte. The bill was introduced again this year, and Ritte is asking residents to call or email Say, asking that the bill be heard. Say’s phone number is 808-586-6100, and his email is repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov.

Enterprise Community Reconvenes

Friday, January 4th, 2008

EC meets for first time since USDA mandated break

By Jennifer Smith

Enterprise Community Board Members reconvened meeting on Dec. 20. A recommendation by the US Department of Agriculture in April  asked the board to temporarily suspend action.

For the first time since the federal government requested for the Molokai Enterprise Community (EC) to temporarily hold off on any board actions, the EC met Thursday night. What began as a public quorum, ended in a private session.

While the majority of practices under review by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) dealt with the EC board’s representation of the community’s interests, the end result allowed for the community to be further removed from EC actions.

The USDA now “allows us to conduct our business in private,” Board President Stacy Crivello said immediately after calling the meeting to order.

The decision came as a result of informal inquiries by EC board members discussing inabilities to conduct business efficiently in light of “public outbursts.”

Reading a letter from the entity that provided $10 million of funding for the EC’s creation in 1998, Crivello said that after six months of review the USDA found no rules had been broken.

The USDA also ruled that “land trust members do not have a fiduciary interest in the EC,” however they will opt not to vote on EC funded MLT projects in the future, according to Crivello.

As for Molokai Properties Limited (MPL) employees, the USDA decided they should not vote on land use issues. Past EC decisions concerning land use issues remain valid because the review found that MPL employee votes did not have a determining affect in the outcome.

Immediately after Crivello announced the USDA’s decision, board member Cheryl Corbiel’s motion to conduct the majority of the EC’s business in private was passed. 

Several objections followed, as board members Bridget Mowat, Leila Stone, Sybil Lopez and Josh Pastrana addressed the necessity of keeping the community involved in the process.

Mowat argued issues such as Project #7, a water moratorium on large scale development, have “always been a community-involved project and should remain that way.”

However, a 6-4 vote decided the fate of Thursday’s meeting, setting a precedent in future community involvement. EC meetings will now include open and private sessions.

Crivello said the community will receive “generic information” regarding project updates and be allotted time for comments and questions during the open portion of EC meetings. The rest of business will likely take place during private sessions.

True to this new format, Thursday’s meeting provided updates on EC projects and time for the community to comment and ask questions. The board then closed the public portion of the meeting to reconvene in private.

Business to be covered behind closed doors included EC, otherwise known as Ke Aupuni Lokahi (KAL), board appointments, officer elections, 2008 Board of Directors elections, financial updates and a discussion of the motion to reactivate Project #7.

While, public information was not available before the holidays concerning the Dec. 20 private session, board members did answer a few questions on the agenda before closing the comment period.

Executive Director Abbey Mayer said appointed board members John Pele, Rick Cooke and Stacey Crivello’s terms had expired, and were up for nomination and direct appointment that night. Anyone could be nominated, but the candidates would be appointed by the board for two-year terms. Mayer said the board hoped to fill these spots during the private session.

Elected board members Russell Kallstom, Josh Pastrana, Sybil Lopez and Shannon Crivello’s spots will expire in early 2008. According to Mayer, board members retain their positions until elections are held. A date for the EC board member election is not currently set.

Crivello said a board development committee, usually made up of executive committee members, will decide on a date and whether any new spots will be created. Any new position created must comply with the USDA mandate that 55% of the board be publicly elected.

The nomination period for the KAL board members will be Dec. 20, 2007-Jan. 4, 2008.

Crivello did say the board would consider providing “executive summaries” of closed sessions, and that the minutes will be available once they are approved at the following meeting.

Administrative staff at the EC said the board decided, during their private session, to change the time of future meetings.The next meeting will be held the third Thursday of January at 4:45 p.m. in the DHHL conference room. 

A Turbulent Year for EC

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Molokai Enterprise Community Year in Review

By Jennifer Smith

With unprecedented voter turnout, heated public meetings, and an internal review by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2007 marked a year of controversy for the Molokai Enterprise Community’s (EC). The organization, which was meant to stimulate Molokai’s economy, won approximately $10 million in federal funding when it was created in 1998.

The following is a review of some of the highlights from the EC in 2007.

2007 EC in Review

January

January 31 saw the largest voter turnout in Molokai EC history. With 1,284 official votes, more people turned out to vote in person than did for general elections in 2006. The vote ended in challengers Bridget Ann Mowat and Leila Stone, known anti-development candidates, trouncing opposition by a wide margin.

February

The February 15 EC board meeting was cancelled when five Ke Aupuni Lokahi (KAL) board members had planned not to attend. It would have been the first assembly to include newly elected board members Mowat and Stone. The five absentees- John Pele, Rikki Cooke, Shannon Crivello, Treasurer Russell Kallstrom, and President Stacy Crivello – are all proponents of Molokai Properties Limited proposed development at La`au Point. The four members who did show for the meeting were anti-development proponents. Official EC board meetings need just five attendees to commence.

March

The five missing board members showed for the following March 15 meeting voting 5-4 to reappoint two former EC members, Colette Machado and Cheryl Corbiell. The pro-development board members cited “past practices” of replacing vacated seats with people who were runner-ups in recent elections. The meeting also included a heated discussion of the re-opening of project #7, a water moratorium on large scale development. A vote to reopen the project was put off.

April

The scheduled April 19 EC meeting proved a climactic response to the heated discussions of the previous March 15 meeting. Before the meeting began board president Crivello, announced that the meeting would not proceed as planned. Reading a letter from the project’s federal grantor, the USDA, Crivello revealed that the EC board had been asked to suspend public meetings until the EC actions could be reviewed.

The inquiry was triggered by a community generated petition of 606 signatures, citing misconduct within the EC. It was submitted on April 17.

November

After six months, the USDA finds that Molokai EC board members had not broken rules. An ethics and conduct workshop is held where pro-development and anti-development board members are critical of each other. A December meeting is planned with a 2008 EC election on the agenda. The stage is set for what is shaping up to be another interesting year for the EC and Molokai community.