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Add your commentBarbados Gooseberry
By: Mapuana Hanapi
MoMISC Volunteer
Almost every person on Molokai has hiked the Halawa trail once. For those people who remember it when there were no signs of invasive pests, they can tell you how beautiful it was. Now there are many invasives threatening the environment along the trail and one in particular that can really hurt a person. It is called the Barbados Gooseberry and it has some really nasty thorns that can ruin any hikers day.
Gooseberry looks like a vine but is really a cactus that came from the West Indies. It starts as little woody lianas and grows into thorny vines that can climb up trees. Once reaching the top of the tree this plant can form a dense, spiny thicket smothering out other plants. The thorns are 1-2 inches long and form clusters along the vine.
Have you ever seen a wana (sea urchin) in the ocean? Well picture the older gooseberry covered in dozens of "wana" attached to the entire vine. Definitely not something that anyone wants to mess with. The younger plants have thorns but they aren’t as nasty as the older vines. Gooseberry has 2-4 inch long, eye-shaped leaves that are a dark glossy green.
On the mainland this plant is reported to have flowers that are white, yellowish or pinkish, but the plants in Halawa have never been seen with flowers or fruit. Gooseberry has ½ inch wide fruits that are round or oval and yellow, orange, or red in color. It can be spread through seeds or various plant parts (leaves, stems, etc.). A person can mistake the younger gooseberry for maile. The major difference between them is the thorns.
MoMISC has been controlling and trying to eradicate this thorny vine for many years. There are multiple populations that have been established near the river. All populations have been reduced and kept under control.
MoMISC first started controlling the big populations by cutting the bottom of the cactus and applying herbicide. This killed the roots but left some of the cactus growing in the tree tops above. The smaller younger cactus was sprayed with herbicide which was very effective in killing them.
To deal with the tree top cactus we tried to attach latex products filled with herbicide at the cut ends, hoping that the cactus would drink the herbicide thus killing the plants up above in the tree tops. This proved to be only somewhat effective in eliminating the cactus in the tree tops. In order to eradicate the gooseberry in the treetops we may have to take those trees down.
When we first dealt with the populations we enlisted the help of other organizations and volunteers. We would like to thank those organizations and volunteers for all their help, you know who you are. With a staff of only two field workers we can only do so much and having help from the Molokai community is greatly appreciated. Now the Gooseberry populations are being checked every six months for regrowth. We can say with confidence that all the known populations in Halawa will be eradicated in the future.
MoMISC is asking the Molokai community to report any sightings of Barbados Gooseberry by calling 553-5236 ext. 204. We will ask for your name, phone number, mailing address or e-mail, pest location, how many you saw, and if any action was taken. It would also be helpful if you could photograph and take samples of the plant. Please don’t grow gooseberry. Instead, try growing native plants. For more information about Barbados Gooseberry visit www.hear.org or the Ho`olehua Airport kiosk during the months of December and January.
Denise Taueetia Earns 2007 Hand-Up Entrepreneurial Award
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Molokai Economic Opportunity Business Development Corp. (MEO BDC) has named Denise Taueetia of Denise’s Gift Shop/Molokai Furniture, the winner of the 2007 Hand-Up Entrepreneurial Award.
In 2002 Denise heard about MEO BDC and its loan program. With a start-up micro loan she was able to begin the first part of her business dreams.
Denise’s business did really well from the beginning, but she wished to expand in order to offer more for the people of Molokai. In talking with her customers, she discovered that they wanted a furniture outlet.
After about a year of operating her gift store, she decided to bring in hardwood, unfinished furniture. She thought this would be easier to handle, but dealing with a wholesaler located in Canada proved very costly for her and her customers. Again, she listened to her customers and decided to venture into Hawaiian style rattan and wicker furniture.
Denise has participated twice with MEO BDC booth at the Maui County Fair. She says that attending the fair brought her more contacts for products and sales than she could have ever found on her own. She thanks MEO BDC for their continued support in helping with her business.
Last month Molokai Furniture celebrated its 4th anniversary. They have outgrown the store areas they now occupy at the Kualapuu Business Center & will soon move into a larger space in a new building located in the same center. The new location will have a larger area to better showcase her furniture and island gifts.
When asked if she had any words of encouragement for new entrepreneurs, Denise replied, “They should really know what’s going on with their business…knowing the bookkeeping portion as well as the sales side and always paying attention to their customer’s needs and wants. Both play a large part in their business’ success.”
Denise Taueetia was nominated by MEO BDC Molokai Loan Fund Manager Kuulei Arce.
Molokai Furniture can be seen at www.molokaifurniture.com.
Molokai Moments: Book Review
By Marie Yamashita
We’ve met him before. Remember the one who wrote about Keli’i, the honorary mayor of Molokai? Well, Donald Sunshine is on our radar again. This time he has written another book, “Molokai Moments,” which is unlike his first one, solemn and serious. His new book is cheery and chatty.
Sunshine’s first book sought to educate about the need to preserve Hawaiian culture and traditions. “Molokai Moments” has no such intention. “Molokai Moments” seeks only to tell readers tales about his life on Molokai, which he does in an entertaining manner. It is a light-hearted book, and fast readers can probably finish it in less than an hour
Sunshine, a part time Molokai resident from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, has put together anecdotes of his experiences on our insular, under-developed island of Molokai. In one instance he got a chuckle out of me when he cited his travails in getting his house built on Molokai, where promises of completion in four months stretched into far beyond and costs went up correspondingly. We locals sympathize and laugh because we’ve been there, too.
Then there was an account of his benevolent attempt to produce a CD of a local musician. Wow! Did that produce umpteen problems, the strictly Molokai kind that he would never encounter in Virginia? Auwe
Among Sunshine’s recollections and anecdotes are the good times at Aloha Fridays at Hotel Molokai, the celebrations at Sunday church services, and the ordeal and conquest of the trail to Kalaupapa by his wife and him.
In “Peoples,” one of the sections of the book, Sunshine makes short and insightful observations about Molokai residents.
Sunshine’s writing shows great affection for Molokai and its people. Here, he says, people are not afraid to smile and hug. He is right on the button there. Shopping, he describes, is a social experience. Pretty accurate there, too. As a host and tour guide to visiting friends, he faces the same problem the locals do when answering the question, “But what do you do here?”
Fraternity of Molokai
Island name used for volunteer group inspired by Father DamienI was very pleased when someone e-mailed me your article “A Saint for Molokai” (October 29) about the cause for sainthood for Father Damien de Veuster. Molokai will definitely be proud when the day of canonization comes for this remarkable priest.
The article mentioned the history of the great works of Father Damien in Molokai, as well as the two miracles attributed to him that have been approved in the sainthood process. However, I would like to inform your readers about another compelling attribute of Father Damien’s legacy.
Chevy’s Restaurant Review
Kualapu`u Cookhouse, fine food, laid back style.
What’s this? Extra tables and chairs in front of Kualapu`u Cookhouse? This can only mean one thing – it’s Thursday night and the prime rib is being made to order! But don’t worry, if your not a prime rib person there’s plenty more being offered on the menu.
For those meat lovers out there who are not in the mood for prime rib, there’s rack of lamb with Jim Dean demi-glaze, and bbq baby back ribs with guava BBQ sauce to be considered.
Molokai Ranch (MPL) Withdraws La`au Point EIS
“I am not for the plan. I am not for La`au,” Solatario said. “If I don’t have a job tomorrow it is because I am honest. Only honest people they let go.”
Solatario’s defiant presentation brought tears to the eyes of many including several commissioners. Upon his exit, several hundred people in the room stood and applauded.
Withdrawal or Rejection
“The environmental laws are very precise, and they (MPL) chose the options they thought were best for the community and themselves,” Judge said. But at the end of the day, the lack of a thorough EIS proved too much for MPL.
“I think the EIS was withdrawn because they (MPL) felt it was going to be rejected,” Maui County Planning Director Jeffrey Hunt said.
LUC Executive Officer Anthony Ching said the OEQC will decide MPL’s next step. According to Ching the expected outcome will be for MPL to start the process over again by filing a new Draft EIS.
While MPL faces the task of recreating its EIS for the La`au Point development, it could be forced to concurrently author a separate EIS for water use.
A recent opinion by state Deputy Attorney General Myra Kaichi mandates MPL provide an environmental assessment in order to continue renting use of the state owned Molokai Irrigation System.
Molokai Community Advisory Council Meeting
The Governor’s Molokai Community Advisory Council will meet on Tuesday, November 20, 2007, at 3:00 p.m., at the Kulana O‘iwi, DHHL / OHA Conference Room, 600 Maunaloa Highway, Kaunakakai. The public is invited.Danny Tengan, hurricane program planner, and Ina Chan, population protection planner, for the Hawaii State Civil Defense will discuss preparing for hurricanes and other natural disasters. Their presentations include information about the state’s hurricane retrofit program for homes, how people with special needs can prepare for disasters, and recommendations about what to include in disaster preparedness kits.
The Molokai Community Advisory Council holds monthly public meetings on the third Tuesday of each month to seek community input and advise the Governor of important issues on Molokai. The council also recommends potential nominees for state boards and commissions.
Remains of a Rainbow exhibit on display at the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center
"We did not undertake this work to memorialize plants and animals that are destined to go extinct," said Liittschwager. "Quite the opposite. We have done it to call attention to their plight and with the hope that for most of them it is not too late."
In addition to Remains of a Rainbow, Liittschwager and Middleton are the authors of three other acclaimed books on endangered species – Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the World's Most Remote Island Sanctuary, which focuses on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Witness: Endangered Species of North America, and Here Today: Portraits of Our Vanishing Species, which focuses on California. Their work has also been the subject of an Emmy Award winning-1997 National Geographic television documentary, America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Goodbye.
The R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill Museum, a.k.a. Molokai Museum and Cultural Center, on Kala‘e Highway, is open for tours Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am-2:00 pm for a small admission; admission to the cultural center is free.Molokai Ripe for the Picking
Recently, I was handed a flier with a quote from Molokai Properties Limited's 2005 land value appraisal. I was shocked to read these words: "Molokai is the last undeveloped and unexploited major island in Hawaii. The physical diversity of land forms, it's proximity to Oahu, and the accepted need for economic stimulus in the community make the island a significant 'blank slate' ready for additional development in the near to mid-term."
Holy Moly! What is particularly disturbing about this quote - besides its obvious greedy and speculative nature - is that it was written sometime in 2005. This means that it was written either during or after the community process which created the Community Based Master Land Use Plan For Molokai Ranch, aka "the Plan." (That 2-year process went from Sep. 2003 - Sep. 2005!)
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