Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 5, 1 May 2020 — Hawai'i's Kalo Supply Takes Another Hit [ARTICLE]

Hawai'i's Kalo Supply Takes Another Hit

J POKENŪHOU V > NEWS BRIEFS "

Kaua'i's Keālia Farms, whieh supplies 10% of Hawai'i's eommercial kalo anel sources the ieonie Hawaiian-owneel Waiāhole Poi Factory, is being evicted by landowner Keālia Properties LLC, part of the inventory owned by Nolan Capital, a private equity and real estate company based in Southern California. The eviction goes into effect on May 13th. Kalo farmer Adam Asquith, owner of Keālia Farms, leases 100 acres from Keālia Properties LLC, about 60% of whieh is under kalo cultivation. The farm has been in operation for ten years. Kalo is already in short supply, and poi prices so high that it is slowly being rendered a "special occasion" item instead of something our lāhui ean consume daily or even weekly. So the loss of yet another kalo farm, particularly in the midst of this pandemic where food sovereignty for our islands is top of mind for many, is even more egregious. The eviction notice, served in February, caught Asquith by surprise, as he has several years remaining on his lease. His greatest eoneem, however, is that he has kalo in the ground that will not be ready to harvest for another year. His request to the landowner to be allowed back on the property to harvest the kalo when it matures was denied. Said Asquith, "we can't seem to get any traction on increasing kalo production in Hawai'i. Every time we take one step forward, we take two steps back."