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Add your commentRemembering the Role of Taro in Hawaii
Annual Taro Variety Field Day will display taro varieties.
By Alton S. Arakaki
Today rice is our primary source of carbohydrate for the energy our body requires to conduct our everyday activities. Hawaii doesn’t produce any rice or other carbohydrate grains.
Most of the grains we consume are naturally adapted and produced in the temperate regions of the world. People that live within tropical latitudes primarily depend on root crops that are more naturally adapted to the climatic conditions for their carbohydrate needs. Root crops such as true yams, sweet potato, cassava and taro are heavily depended on to provide daily rations of carbohydrate. Breadfruit is also a carbohydrate source.
Not too long in our distance past, native Hawaiians produced 100 percent of their dietary carbohydrate needs. Those needs primarily came from taro. It has been said that each person consumed seven to nine pounds of taro per day on the average.
If Michael Phelps, the golden U.S. Olympic swimmer, got the 12,000 calories per day he needs to swim by consuming, just for breakfast, three fried egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise, followed with two cups of coffee, five egg omelets, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate chip pancakes, it is conceivable that native Hawaiians consumed seven to nine pounds to perform their daily activities to survive.
At that consumption rate, it would require 1.5 taro plants per day, or 550 plants per year. That’s the equivalent of 2,555 to 3,300 pounds of taro per person per year.
Enough numbers, you do the rest in figuring out how much taro was required to feed the population of Hawaii of our distance past. Even with our modern sciences and technologies today, we don’t even come close to that production level in Hawaii. Not even with rice. This is something we need to think about collectively as island dwellers when talking about food security for Hawaii and our need for dietary carbohydrate.
In order to produce that much carbohydrate, native Hawaiians developed advance land management and agriculture systems. We still see some of those systems in upper kula lands and in river valleys. They also developed and grew many taro varieties, some that were adapted to specific land districts and ahupua’a of the islands. Since taro plants don’t produce seeds readily like corn or mango, ancient growers needed to be pretty smart to develop new varieties. It is still a mystery as to how the varieties came to be. Some believe that it happened by accident or by nature’s plant mutation, and others believed that there were a few who understood the art of producing viable taro seeds. They had taro varieties reserved for the Ali’i, ceremonies and for medicinal purposes. At one time, there were more than 300 varieties grown on our islands. Today we have less than 70.
The Cooperative Extension Service will be holding their Annual Taro Variety Field Day on Saturday, Sept. 6 starting at 9 a.m. More than 60 of the rarest native Hawaiian taro varieties will be displayed. There will be discussions on the taro varieties and on how to grow them.
There will be a limited amount of planting materials, huli, of Hawaiian taro varieties for you to take home to grow and contribute towards perpetuating our native Hawaiian taro. If you wish to take planting materials, please come in your field attire because taro sap will permanently stain your clothes, and bring your digging and cutting tools, labels, marking pens, ties and a container.
Alton S. Arakaki is an extension agent with the county.
Governor Approves Condemning of Oahu Lands
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There was overwhelming support from over 300 residents who attended last week’s Molokai community meeting on Aug. 20, for the Maui County Council to authorize the Mayor to utilize the county’s power of “eminent domain” to acquire the developed and undeveloped lands held by Molokai Properties Limited (Molokai Ranch).
The county’s use of its power of eminent domain is supported by a recent precedent.
A few weeks ago on June 4, 2008, Governor Linda Lingle signed into law Act 140. This law was enacted by the state legislature to give the governor the right to use eminent domain (condemnation) for the public good as a means of acquiring lands privately owned by a real estate development company.
The new law states that “the governor or the governor’s designee shall immediately initiate negotiations to acquire the properties held by Kuilima Resort Company.” These properties are more commonly known as the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu.
Act 140 approved by the Governor further provides the following:
1. It is in the public interest to protect and preserve Hawaii’s cultural and historical heritage, and the proposed expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort on the island of Oahu is contrary to public interest;
2. It is in the public’s interest to acquire the public lands for preservation by purchasing those lands exercising the State’s power of eminent domain
3. Financing the acquisition may be by one or more of the following means: a) appropriations made by the legislature, b) general obligation bonds, c) exchange of public lands, d) federal funds, e) private funds, financing or donations, or f) any other means of financing the governor or the governor’s designee may negotiate.
State legislators concluded that the plan the Turtle Bay developer has for the Kahuku community is “contrary to public interest.” This conclusion mirrors how some Maui County officials and many Molokai residents feel about Molokai Properties Limited’s (MPL) “hunker down,” self-serving business plan the company is currently imposing on the Molokai community.
MPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GuocoLeisure Limited, a billion-dollar foreign company based out of Singapore. The company’s new plan for Molokai calls for shedding the company’s employee and utility operations expenses by shutting down operations, and land banking its property until better economic times roll around.
A recent document approved for publication by MPL’s CEO Peter Nicholas characterizes the new business plan currently being imposed by GuocoLeisure on our small island community of 7,300 residents as the company’s “doomsday scenario” for Molokai.
County Has Same Power as State
The County has the same powers as the State to initiate eminent domain proceedings.
At last week’s meeting on Molokai, there was overwhelming support for the county to exercise its power.
Molokai Councilmember Danny Mateo, who attended the meeting along with county spokesperson Mahina Martin, was asked to have the County Council introduce a county resolution similar to Act 140 enacted by the state legislature.
Such a resolution could find that new shutdown plan of Molokai Properties is contrary to public interest, authorize Mayor Charmaine Tavares or her designee to negotiate the acquisition of all or a portion of the developed and undeveloped lands owned by Molokai Properties, and grant the mayor the authority to exercise the County’s power of eminent domain to acquire the lands if a negotiated sale is unsuccessful.
Funding the “fair value” acquisition sale price that is paid to MPL could happen through a consortium of individual and corporate investors, as well as government and other funding sources, such as non-profit investment entities with missions to perpetuate the protection of natural resource, cultural, historic and social environments.
A “Buy the Ranch” campaign being waged by the community allegedly has $100 million on tap through a combination of funds pledged by an alternative energy corporation and an environmental investor.
Governor’s Support for Turtle Bay
In the Governor’s State of the State speech to legislators earlier this year, she listed the following Molokai-sounding justifications, which led her to initiate a drive to acquire the lands at the Turtle Bay Resort for public good:
I believe this is a once-in-a-generation chance to preserve both a lifestyle for thousands of residents, and a part of Hawai‘i that millions the world over have come to love and identify as the real Hawai‘i.
The purchase of this important property will create an opportunity for the community to shape a vision for this part of the North Shore.
I believe in my heart that this is the right thing to do for those of us living today, and for those who will be born in the decades ahead.
And I believe this will be a defining moment for all of us – a moment that communicates to young people that we care more about their future than about our present.
The residents on the North Shore call it “keeping the country, country.”
I call it fulfilling commitments to future generations…and I ask everyone listening today to join me in this effort.
It (the North Shore) is a place we take visitors when we want them to experience the “real” Hawai‘i.
It is a place that gives us comfort just by being there, even if we don’t go there very often.
And it is a community of residents who have chosen the North Shore because it provides a slower, more rural way of living.
The Governor concluded by telling the legislators that it “would be naive for anyone to think this land acquisition (of Turtle Bay) will be easy.”
An invitation to last week’s Molokai community meeting was extended to Governor Lingle. She did not attend.
DeGray Vanderbilt is a 30-year resident of Molokai and recently stepped down as Chairman of the Molokai Planning Commission.
Vet Visits Molokai Humane Society
Dr. Tina Gaines provides care for the island’s animals.
By Catherine Cluett
Dr. Tina Gaines is a visiting veterinarian on Molokai until Sept. 12. Gaines says she has been performing mostly spaying and neutering operations on cats and dogs on Molokai, but is ready to perform any services necessary.
Gaines graduated from Ross University in St. Kitts in the Caribbean. She has worked previously on two other Hawaiian islands, completing her residency training there. When she’s not working as a visiting vet, Gaines specializes in ultra sound, and is currently based in New York. She says her previous experience working on islands has prepared her well for working on Molokai.
Gaines would like to stress the importance of bringing in cats and dogs for regular vaccinations to fight diseases common on Molokai, as well as spaying and neutering animals of all ages.
The Molokai Humane Society is located on Kamehameha V Highway near the airport. Gaines expects to have walk-in hours Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. until her departure on Sept. 12.
The exam cost for walk-in patients is $30 (cash only) with other fees set by the veterinarian. Appointments can be made by calling the Molokai Humane Society clinic at 558-0000.
Halau Postpones Festival Trip
Group will represent Molokai in 2009 in Kona.
Molokai’s own award-winning Na Kupuna O Moana Hula Halau is postponing its entry into the 2008 Hawaii Kupuna Hula Festival due to changes required in festival programming. The Halau’s recent successful fundraising campaign will be used to support the halau’s entry into the 2009 Festival held each year in late September in Kona.
Na Kupuna O Moana Hula Halau has been awarded major recognition at past festival events and looks forward to representing Molokai in 2009. The halau is indebted to the many individual supporters and business donors in the community who have given their aloha and generously contributed to the halau’s fundraising efforts.
Kumu Moana Dudoit said, “We cherish the aloha that the community gives to us and next year, in 2009, we’ll come back bigger winners than ever.”
Statewide Program Takes Aim at the Flu
School-based flu vaccinations begin in October.
Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona.
As a new school year begins on Molokai, our Administration has turned its focus to protecting students ages 5 to 13 from seasonal flu.
It is part of our state Department of Health’s “Stop Flu at School” program, a voluntary effort intended to make vaccinating children fast and easy for hundreds of families in Molokai.
Last year, 544 school children in Molokai participated in the program aimed at reducing illness in schools and communities by preventing the spread of the flu among them and their families.
The school-based flu vaccinations will begin October, when all Hawai‘i public and private schools qualify to participate. Consent forms have been sent home to parents through schools. They are due Sept. 5.
And we encourage all parents to allow their children to participate if they are not already getting flu vaccinations from their own physicians.
Few illnesses have as great an impact on Hawai‘i’s health and economy as the seasonal flu, which can result in countless school and work absences, hospitalizations, and even death.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu has been linked to more than 80 deaths among children across the country in the first six months of the year. None of those deaths occurred in Hawai‘i.
Through this program, we have an opportunity to continue protecting our children from the flu.
In fact, Hawai‘i became the first state in the nation last year to institute this program statewide for elementary and middle school children. And more than 60,000 school children received free flu vaccinations through this program last year.
That represents about 45 percent of all school children in our state between ages 5 and 13. This year, our goal is to vaccinate at least 50 percent of our students in that age group. We strongly believe that vaccinating children against the flu not only protects them, it also safeguards their community.
A Match Made on Molokai
8.8.08 marks the date for newlyweds.
Photo courtesy of Chris Pala.
The Molokai Dispatch owner and editor-in-chief Todd Yamashita wed Ka Honua Momona executive director Noelani Lee on Aug. 8, 2008. In cultures throughout the world, especially China, the symbol “8” represents luck, wealth, and fortune. We wish all of these things for the happy couple.
New Maui County Ordinance
Aloha,The Molokai Police Department has recently received complaints from our community about lifted pickup trucks with protruding tires, and pickup trucks that are traveling on the highways with passengers riding improperly within the bed of the truck. A Maui County Ordinance is being provided to make the Molokai community aware of the law and to keep Molokai’s roadways safe for everyone.
MUDGUARDS REQUIRED $72.00 (fine)
No person shall operate on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer unless equipped with fenders, covers or devices, including flaps or splash aprons or unless the body of the vehicle or attachments thereto afford adequate protection to effectively minimize the spray or splash of water or mud to the rear of the vehicle.
Partnership Raises Drug Use Awareness
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New campaign to spread anti-meth message.
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Maui County and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America are working together to bring an anti-methamphetamine campaign to Maui County.
The Meth360 campaign kicked off last week Tuesday on Maui, with a press conference featuring several key figures including Mayor Charmaine Tavares.
“Our goal is to attack it from all angles,” said Jazmin Tinsley, BBBS Project Manager.
The campaign is targeting drug awareness by focusing on youth, caregivers, and parents. Workshops will provide professionals and parents with the necessary skill sets to help youth in dealing with exposure to drug use.
A workshop held on July 22 on Molokai drew interest from law enforcement officers, healthcare professionals, and individuals who work with youth. According to Tinsley, the attendees were key people in the community “with a lot of passion” towards combating drug use on the island and supporting the local youth.
BBBS Maui will be holding trainings on Maui from August 19 to 21, and will be setting dates for Molokai trainings soon. By employing positive prevention strategies that are provided in nurturing skills trainings, BBBS is hoping to help to support youth in combating drug use.
This is the first time BBBS has been outwardly involved in issues relating to substance abuse.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters has long recognized the epidemic proportions of substance abuse among our youth including tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs, cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana,” said Melissa Ross, BBBS Maui Executive Director in a press release. Working with youth on a daily basis, she added that with education and the support of partners, BBBS has the opportunity to show kids that crystal meth use “is not normal, or cool.”
For more information contact Jazmin Tinsley at 808-242-9754 ext. 204, or email jazmin@bbbsmaui.org.
The True Cost of The Ranch’s Water Problem
Editorial by Walter Ritte
This problem will affect ALL of our pocketbooks on Molokai, as the county may one day be responsible for Molokai Ranch’s water companies.
Here are the costs proposed by the PUC now: Kaluakoi will increase from $3.18 to $4.48 per 1000 gallons. Kualapu`u and Maunaloa rates will go way up from $1.85 to a staggering $4.10 per 1000 gallons. These rates are arbitrary, unprecedented, and ridiculous. The state government is siding with big business and putting the solution to this water problem on the backs of the public.
Molokai Ranch mismanaged their water systems, and now wants to dump them. We need to realize what the actual costs of this abandonment are.
Who will pay for the recent loss of permission to use the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS) as a means to transmit water from Well 17 to the West End? The cost will include an EA or EIS, and may very well include the need for a new pipeline from Kualapu`u to the West End
The Ranch also needs a new water permit to even use Well 17. Can you imagine the cost for these permit hearings before the State Water Commission? What’s more, the Ranch’s water supply from the mountain streams is now in jeopardy. Formal requests to implement “Instream Water Flow Standards” to protect the streams have been filed.
Add these three problems to the substandard water delivery system on the West End, and you begin to see the true picture of what the Ranch is dumping and what the true cost to ALL of us will be if and when the county takes over.
To create a crisis, the Ranch is now jeopardizing our health and safety by threatening to shut down their utilities come the end of August. So how do we protect ourselves in spite of a governor who is supporting Molokai Ranch and telling the county what to do?
The first important step is solidarity; attend the Water Community Meeting at 6p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, at 6 p.m. at Mitchell Pauole Center. We will invite our elected officials, and we will present a public voice and positions on this issue. The amount of people turning out for this meeting will determine who will end up paying for these mismanaged water systems: you and I, or big business.
We will demand that the government hold Molokai Ranch responsible for the mismanagement of its water systems and not the community. We will demand a physical and financial audit of the water systems. We will call for eminent domain proceedings against Molokai Ranch lands. We will denounce the PUC and DCCA for their negligence and shameful roles against the public, whom they should have been protecting. We will decry this shameful and dangerous precedent the governor has set in allowing her agencies to bail out big business and place the burden on the rate payers.
We need the community’s support as we begin to organize and speak as one on August 20 at MPC. Don’t let the governor and Molokai Ranch get away with this one.
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