Richard Ha writes:
These are going to China.
They are eucalyptus logs, which are being harvested along the Hamakua Coast and marshalled at Kawaihae, ready for shipment to China.
Is China taking all the eucalyptus?
CONTEST! Write a Caption & Win a Prize
Richard Ha writes:
It’s another caption contest! (Here’s a link to the winners of our last caption contest.)
I took this photo yesterday, when I had to stop for a family of four pigs crossing the road in Hilo. I think they were going to a picnic in the mac nut fields.
Write a caption for this photo and send it to “leslie@leslielang.com.” Leslie, who helps with this blog, will judge the contest in order to keep things impartial. So you can enter even if you are friends or family of mine, and I will only step in if there’s a tie and we need a tie-breaker.
The winner can come by the farm for some fresh Hamakua Springs veggies, if they live locally. If you win but live at a distance, you might have to just bask in the glory from afar.
Pleae submit your entries by midnight HST on Monday, June 25, 2012. We’ll announce the winner here soon after that.
And have fun! We look forward to hearing what you come up with
Thanks to Governor & Legislators for Signing Local Farming Bills
Richard Ha writes:
If the farmers make money, the farmers will farm.
Mahalo to Governor Abercrombie, Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, Agriculture Chairpersons Senator Nishihara and Representative Tsuji, and to legislators who recognize that farmers have to make money in order to keep farming.
Hawaii Governor signs local farming bills, includes puuhonua
June 17, 2012 | Government & Politics, State News
FRIDAY, July 15, 2012 – Governor Neil Abercrombie today signed a number of measures into law including two bills that are aimed to benefit local farmers who want to sell their products and/or establish agricultural-based commercial operations.
Senate Bill 2375 authorizes agricultural-based commercial operations in agricultural districts which will increase our farmers’ability to sell their products and promote food sustainability for the islands. Senate Bill 2646 is intended to promote and support diversified agriculture by exempting certain nonresidential agricultural buildings that are on commercial farms from county building permit requirements.
“To truly support our local farmers we must empower them,”said Governor Abercrombie. “These measures not only provide for that to take place but it also promotes diversified agriculture. I want to thank the Legislature for recognizing the importance of helping our farmers.”
Senator Donovan Dela Cruz who introduced SB 2375 stated, “Farmers are being forced to diversify their products in order to make ends meet while continuing to provide local food for the community. This bill allows for additional opportunities for them to create revenue.”
Read the rest of the article, including several other ag-related measures Governor Abercrombie signed into law.
India Commits at least $100 Million to Thirty Meter Telescope
Mahalo, India!
India commits at least $100 million to TMT construction
Jun. 14, 2012
Pasadena, Calif. — Working through the State Department, India has committed to spending at least $100 million towards the Thirty Meter Telescope project, becoming the first government to make this commitment.
A Friend’s Blog: Ethiopia & Simple Pleasures
I know Shara Enay from when she was a writer for Hawaii Business magazine, and I knew from the start that she was a special person.
She decided to go to Ethiopia to help the children there and has an amazing experience there, which she’s written about on her blog. This post was written as she prepared to leave Ethiopia:
When I decided to return to Ethiopia to work with orphans, I knew I was setting myself up for a broken heart. Six months ago, I stepped off of an Ethiopian Airlines flight terrified, unsure of myself and not knowing if I would last even six weeks, but hopeful that I could make a difference in other people’s lives. This experience wasn’t easy: Some days were awesome and some were down right awful, but it was life changing. I am leaving Ethiopia with a very heavy heart – again – because I will miss the wonderful people I’ve met throughout this journey, but, this time, I am departing with a sense of pride and achievement. I am not just content with the way things unfolded; I’m happy.
…I’ve met some of the most honest, compassionate, generous, genuine people here; people I will be honored to call lifelong friends. Since most Ethiopians don’t possess a lot of material wealth, they find happiness in simple pleasures, such as eating dinner with family and friends, watching a football match with coworkers, or helping their neighbors with home projects. They still pick up the phone and call people just to say “hello” and it’s common for them to drop by a friend’s house unannounced for coffee if they happen to be in the neighborhood. In a place where poverty is so widespread and there isn’t a lot to see or do, people and relationships become your first priority – exactly the way it should be.
Read more of her blog posts here.
I am impressed with her. “If you neva go, you could not eva say you went. You the best,” I commented on her Facebook page.
Have a look at her blog. This experience has helped her to rediscover some of the most important things about life, and it’s a good reminder for us all.
Conversations With My Mom
Richard Ha writes:
I took Mom to Hamakua Springs to get a few tilapia for her dinner.
While we were there, we looked at some of the things we have going on.
Corn
Hamakua Springs bananas
Hydroponic lettuce, with special procedures to control slugs
Sweet potatoes
Zucchini
One thing that strikes me is how much water we have running through our 600-acre farm. We must maximize its usage.
Water Supply will build a new reservoir adjacent to this one and bring electricity right through the farm to the new well, which is right behind this reservoir
I really want to raise tilapia when the price of oil goes so high that bringing it in from Asia is prohibitive.
Tilapia for Mom. These are the small ones, to fry crispy.
And, while doing that, we want to demonstrate how Hawaiians were self-sufficient in ancient days.
Then while we are at it, we want to reforest the streams with ‘ohi‘a, koa, bamboo, kukui, hapu‘u, etc.
- Also, how about aquaponics with tilapia and taro?
- How about a certified kitchen to make lomi salmon, poi and other things where we and other farmers can add value?
- What about classes for at-risk students?
- Maybe a permanent imu.
- Events set around food?
- How about showing how food was produced then and now – ancient and modern?
Mom and I always have these kinds of conversations. I like it.
Report on Delegation to Ormoc City, Philippines
In late March, I went to the Philippines with a County of Hawai‘i delegation.
The visit, which cost less than $30,000, was worth every penny. I give Mayor Kenoi credit for having the foresight and determination to move Hawai‘i Island toward energy self-sufficiency.
Here’s the Report on the Hawai‘i County Economic Development Mission to Ormoc City, Republic of the Philippines:
March 22, 2012 – March 29, 2012
A delegation representing the County of Hawai‘i, leaders in Hawai‘i Island’s agriculture and energy industries, and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, traveled to Leyte Island in the Republic of the Philippines on an eight day mission to achieve three primary objectives:
- Sister City reciprocal visit and official signing ceremony with Ormoc City officials.
- Economic development fact finding tour of Leyte’s extensive geothermal energy generation facilities.
- Economic development fact finding tour of Visayas State University agriculture programs and area farms to observe how the industry advances regional food sustainability.
What Would It Be Like if We Switched to Geothermal?
Richard Ha writes:
What will happen to Big Island agriculture if we start replacing oil-fired electricity generators with geothermal electricity?
Food security involves farmers farming. If the farmers make money, the farmers will farm.
If we start using geothermal electricity, the "cold chain," the temperature control aspect of food production, will cost less. This starts with cooling at the farm and includes cooling at the wholesaler/distributor, cooling at the retail stores and cooling at the home.
Local produce will start to be closer in price to imported produce. Consumers will have more money in their pockets, so they will be able to support local agriculture.
Electricity on the Big Island has always been 25 percent more expensive than on O‘ahu. What if our electricity cost were lower, due to geothermal?
Value-added products manufactured on the Big Island would become competitive in the O‘ahu market. Having more income streams is beneficial to farmers.
Cheap, stable geothermal electricity will help local farmers make money. And, as we know, if the farmer makes money, the farmer will farm.
Farming Costs & Food Costs Are Rising: What Will Help
Richard Ha writes:
Like a rubber band, farming can only take so much before things snap.
An annual energy bill that was $30,000 ten years ago is now $120,000. It used be that it might take four years for an energy bill to accumulate to a total of $120,000, but now it's only one year's bill – and it's still rising.
Agriculture and energy are closely related. The price of oil has quadrupled over the last ten years, and that affects farmers in many ways.
All farmers who use electricity are affected. Farmers in Waimea use lots of electricity to vacuum-cool their greens. Papaya growers fly their product, and it takes a lot of energy to run the vapor heat treatment operation. The irradiator that treats ginger, lychee, bananas and other crops for export is similarly affected.
Wholesalers and retailers use lots of electricity to maintain freshness and they must pass on the cost.
Consumers who support locally grown products are noticing their food costs rising. They, themselves, can only take so much before they run out of options.
HELCO's plan to bring 72 MW of affordable biomass and geothermal online to replace oil will help farmers.
The cost of energy is critical to farmers, and time is short.
A Tomato By Any Other Name (Including a Hawaiian One)
We recently shared some tomatoes with the charter school Ke Kula O Nawahiokalaniopu‘u, sometimes known as Nawahi.
Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu is designed for families, teachers and staff who have chosen to speak Hawaiian as the first and main language of the home, and also those who are in the process of establishing Hawaiian as the dominant language of the home. The goal is to develop, enhance and maintain the Hawaiian language through education in the home and school. The purpose of academics and global learning i.e., foreign languages such as English and Japanese, is to develop skills to be applied in the revitalization of the Hawaiian speaking community through economic interaction with the outside world.
Afterward, I got this nice note from Jenea Respicio at the school:
Aloha e Richard,
Attached please find some pictures from the distribution of the delicious tomatoes that were so kindly donated by your company today.
We had the cases of tomatoes stored in the school’s walk-in refrigerator and had all of the students, faculty, and staff members meet outside of the lumi `aina (cafeteria) before being dismissed at the end of the day. Everyone expressed their gratitude and as you can see from the photos the kids just could not wait to get eat some of the fresh tomatoes!
Several parents also made sure to come up to me and express their gratitude and asked me why did the kids received such a generous gift. This was my response to both the school and parents who approached me:
“Hamakua Springs is a locally owned and operated family business. The proprietor of Hamakua Springs, Richard Ha, believes in his community and its people and feels that due to the strenuous economic times he just wanted to share the fresh tomatoes with the `ohana of Nawahi to enjoy; as we all know that with a stiff economy most families, unfortunately, are not able to purchase as much fresh vegetables as they would want, and Hamakua Springs just wanted to say mahalo to the local community for their support over the years with a token of fresh tomatoes.”
I hope that my response to the school and parents was satisfactory and if I was incorrect in any aspect I apologize as I was “shooting from the hip” when I was approached.
Nawahi will be sending you a leka (letter) but I wanted to send these pictures on my part. Again, mahalo nui for all that you do for our community.
Mahalo,
Jenea Respicio
