Ka Mahi`ai Kalo

Community Contributed

Ka Mahi`ai Kalo

By Na ka Papa 4 o ke Kula Kaiapuni o Kualapu`u me Kumu Loke Han

Aloha! `O makou ka papa 4 o ke Kula Kaiapuni o Kualapu`u. Ke a`o nei makou i ka mea kanu Hawai`i – na mea kanu maoli, `apa`akuma, a i `ole i lawe `ia mai e na Polenekia. `O kekahi o na mea kanu waiwai i lawe `ia mai, `o ia ho`i ke kalo. He mea nui ke kalo i na kupuna i ka wa kahiko a paia pu no kakou i keia wa.

Ua kipa makou i ka mahi`ai ma UH Extension M.C.C. ma Mahana. Ma mua i Hawai`i, aia ma kahi o 346 inoa kalo – a ma keia mahi`ai, ua helu `ia 60 kalo `oko`a. Ua `ike makou i ka Aweu, `Elepaio, Manini Kea, Manini `Ele`ele, Mana `Opelu, Uahiapele, a me ka Lauloa Palakea-papamu.Ua `ike pu ka Apu, Moana, Iliuaua  Miyako a me Ulaula Poni. `O ka Zuiki ke kalo nunui loa a hiki ke `ai maka me ka sashimi! Kekahi mau kalo loa`a ka piko `ele`ele. Kekahi loa`a ka lau loloa. Kekahi `āpi`ipi`i ka lau. Kekahi `ano loloa ka ha.

Ua kanu makou i ke kalo. Pono ka wai e ho`opulu i ka honua. E eli me ka `o`o i lua no ke kanu `ana i ka huli. E `ulu ke kalo no na hoa e kipa hou mai i ka mahi`ai.

Ua ki`i makou i ke kalo he nui a na Kumu Loke i ho`omo`a no makou e `ai. Pono e `oki i ke kalo mai ka huli mai; a laila holoi a hemo i ka huluhulu. Ma hope o ka paila `ana, ua pono makou e ihi me ke puna a hemo ka `ili.  Ua `oki i `apana li`ili`i a ua `ai makou. `Ono loa na kalo like `ole! Ua a`o pu  makou ina `ai ka mu i ke kalo, `a`ole maika`i paha no kakou e `ai ai.

Ua le`ale`a ka huaka`i hele a ua hau`oli makou. He leo mahalo ia `Anakala Alton Arakaki,  `Anakala James Boswell, `Anake Faith Tuipulotu a me `Anake Keanu Kapuni no ka la a`o `olu`olu.

Aloha! We are the fourth grade class of Kula Kaiapuni at Kualapu`u Elementary. We are learning about Hawaiian plants – native, indigenous and Polynesian introduced species. One of the valuable plants that were brought to Hawaii is the kalo.
Kalo was an important plant to our ancestors and should be an important plant for us today.

We visited the farm at UH Extension M.C.C. at Mahana. Before in Hawaii, there were over 346 different names for kalo – and at the farm, we counted over 60 different varieties. We saw the Aweu, the `Elepaio, the Manini Kea, the Manini `Ele`ele the Mana `Opelu, the Uahiapele, and the Lauloa Palakea-papamu varieties. We also saw the Apu, the Moana, the Iliuaua, the Miyako and the Ulaula Poni. `The Zuiki is a giant kalo plant that can be eaten raw with sashimi! Some kalo have very dark piko and some have very large leaves. Other kalo have curly leaves and some have very long stems.

We helped to plant some new kalo. You need water to soften the ground. Then dig a hole with an `o`o and plant the huli. The kalo will grow for other friends to see when they visit the farm.

We got to harvest a lot of taro and Kumu Loke cooked it for us to eat. First we had to cut the kalo from the stem and then wash the kalo to remove the roots and soil. Afterwards, Kumu boiled the kalo and we had to remove the outer skin with a spoon. The kalo was cut into small pieces and we ate it. All the different kalo varieties tasted so good! We also learned that if a disease or insect infests the kalo, it might not be good for us to eat it.

It was a fun field trip and we were happy that we got to visit. We want to thank Uncle Alton Arakaki, Uncle James Boswell, Aunty Faith Tuipulotu and Aunty Keanu Kapuni for a wonderful day!