MAUI AGRICULTURE ISSUES
OVERVIEW: BUILDing Maui's Local Food Movement
Maui is a like a miniature version of the planet, with an incredible diversity of ecosystems and microclimates all packed into one small island. As a result, the options for farmers and gardeners are enormous. Name a food plant, and chances are that it can be grown on Maui. Temperate crops like cabbage, kale, onions and squash all thrive in Kula. Traditional Polynesian staples including taro, sweet potato, breadfruit, and coconut palm are at home in the lowlands of East and West Maui. Tropical fruits like banana, citrus, lychee and mango all like it hot, as do a great variety of lesser known fruits and perennial greens. Delicacies like cherimoya and persimmons find their niche on the slopes of Haleakala, and so do grass-fed cattle and other livestock. The island can also produce more avocados than we can eat, with better quality and variety than the mainland offerings. Plus irrigation can bring the island's Central Valley to life, supporting bamboo, sugar cane, hemp, sunflowers, and many other food, fuel, and fiber crops. Continue reading
Mālamalama Maui: Highlighting Solutions and Solutionaries
Anyone who cares about the future of agriculture on Maui will want to check out the website of Mālamalama Maui. The site is part of a larger initiative funded by Art Place America, and led by Maui artist Lehua (Lele) Simon. From the project website: "The...
The Mālama ‘Āina vision for Maui’s Former Sugarcane Lands
Just over a year ago, the last sugarcane harvest by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company marked the end of an era in Maui’s Central Valley. In the early Plantation Era, Hawaii’s multiethnic character was established as Chinese, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Korean,...
Re-envisioning Agriculture on Maui, with the Story Connective
Rebecca Rhapsody and Loxley Clovis of the Story Connective have put together an excellent series of podcasts and interviews that provide an introduction to agriculture on Maui. This post gives a short overview of their first podcast in the series, and the...
Building Maui’s Local Food Movement
Maui is a like a miniature version of the planet, with an incredible diversity of ecosystems and microclimates all packed into one small island. As a result, the options for farmers and gardeners are enormous. Name a food plant, and chances are that it can be grown on...