Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 8, 1 August 2001 — 'Taro roots' group grows self-determination [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Taro roots' group grows self-determination

By Naomi Sodetani The famed Hāna Highway has kept East Maui in relative isolation for centuries. Visitors who brave the slow-going drive are rewarded with scenic views and respite from Maui's resort areas. But for coastaI residents, the 30-mile commute limits their job opportunities or, in many cases, forces them to leave. Ke'anae resident 'Awapuhi Carmichael regards the long, winding road as a protective buffer that has kept her community's lifestyle and native cultural traditions alive over many generations. The energetic 64-year old awakes several days a week at 3 a.m. to drive to town, where she sells loealgrown produce at farmer's markets and makes deliveries to stores and restaurants. Carmichael manages day-to-day operations for Nā Moku Aupuni o Ko'olau Hui, a Kanaka Maoli-eon-trolled non-profit corporation eomprised of over 500 loeal residents and their families. Housed in a small rustic office located on the grounds of St. Gabriel's Church, Nā Moku was organized in 1996 to enhanee, preserve and protect the quality of life and the environment for the Kanaka Maoli descendants and tenants in the Ke'anae-Wailuanui ahupua'a.

The "taro roots" group has done big things with mostly kōkua-eapi-tal, asserting self-determination and

cooperatively managing natural resources, while reinventing eulturally based activities as sustainable eeonomie development. Nā Moku's efforts include the cultivation of taro and omamental plants and aquaculture. Apple snails are

raised īn tanks, thus ■ tuming a pest that has

caused extensive damage to taro crops statewide into a lucrative gourmet product. Nā Moku aims to create job opportunities for loeal youths while preserving traditional subsistence practices, Carmichael says. "So many were headed for trouble, like with drugs. We asked, how could we help them get on a better track?" Eaeh year Nā Moku holds

a ho'olaule'a to raise scholarship funds for youths with genealogical ties to the area. (See Calendar on page 9 for Aug. 18 event.) Sol Ka'auamo, a member of the group's education committee, says, "We're here to help our kids get a ehanee to succeed- — not only the

smart' ones who do well in school, but also those who don't want to go to college but want to develop their talents in farming or the arts." "I like helping out my community," says Ali'iloa Kimokeo, 25, who has worked at Nā Moku since 1998. "And I don't have to drive far; just walk up the road." A 1995 county-sponsored study called the Ke'anae-Wailuanui eom-

munity a "cultural kīpuka" — whieh, like an "island" of plant growth spared by lava flows, maintains the integrity and lifeways of native culture and perpetuates traditions for future generations. The group, whieh has restored a dozen lo'i to date, plans to open up 115 more acres. But

critical to Nā Moku's future growth is the restoration of waters to East Maui streams now being drained dry by Alexander & Baldwin's East Maui Irrigation Company ditch system. Asserting their constitutionally protected right to those waters as downstream users, Nā Moku is currently contesting A&B's application to renew its water lease. "We will take a protec-

tive stance whenever our people's well-being or any ceded lands in this moku are concerned," Carmichael declares. Like the long road Carmichael drives at pre-dawn, Nā Moku's challenging journey bridges its community's past to its future. "We feel strong, we know where we're going," she says. "Self-deter-minaūon to us is being self-suffi-cient and caring for the 'āina and wai that give us life." ■

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— m y i Carmichael

Ali'iloa Kimokeo and Leo Ka'auamo caring for Na Moku's lo'i.