Last week we gave our workers fish from our first tilapia harvest.
Farm Manager and Son-In-Law Kimo, Grandma (my mom), my daughter Tracy, and my wife June
We are convinced that oil prices will keep rising, and that it will cost more and more to bring fish to Hawai‘i from all over the world.
Grandma, in the middle of the action
We are trying to fit tilapia production into a zero waste program. Since tilapia is a vegetarian fish, we will be experimenting with how to utilize our waste bananas as well as vegetables. We want to be prepared for when it might be profitable to produce tilapia commercially.
June has a full net
For those who have not tried locally grown tilapia, I can tell you that I was so surprised myself to find out how good this fish is. Chef Alan Wong serves it in his restaurant. That is how good it is.
And it’s heavy!
One of my favorite ways to prepare it is to get a smaller sized fish, deep fry it very crispy and eat the whole thing.
Grandma giving some fish to Aurellio
Farming is a tough business. We’d like to raise our workers’ pay but are finding it very difficult to do so right now. June is the one who made sure we are growing fish for our employees. We are committed to doing this from now on.
A couple days ago I got a note from Henry Curtis saying he was on the Big Island for a few days of rest and relaxation, and that he wanted to drop by and talk story. Henry is executive director of the environmental group Life of the Land.
Since I had planned to plant bamboo, I figured we could talk story and do that at the same time. So I picked up Henry and his partner Kat Brady and took them riding in one of our Woods 4x4s.
As we drove, I pointed out the three ahupua‘a that run through our farm and the characteristics of each. Then we drove to the top of the ridge line that is the prominent feature of Kahua ahupua’a. From there we could see most of the farm and I pointed out the main features of each hupua’a. We could see the streams by the trees that grow alongside. I explained that I am interested in reclaiming the stream banks from invasive trees and grasses.
We talked about food security, energy security and community and after awhile we talked in shorthand because it was apparent that we all understood what is happening with oil and the direction the world is moving in. They absolutely understand farming —that it is not easy or automatic. I was happy to know that about them.
On the old sugar plantation field maps, sugar cane field acreages were written on the maps. The sugar companies raised sugar cane right to the riverbanks, so they used most of the land. But since then, invasive trees have started growing on the stream banks and now they are everywhere and moving into productive agricultural lands. We want to reclaim the productive land and plant bamboo in the non-productive land. In that way, we will maximize the productivity of our land area.
I told Henry and Kat that I want to use bamboo as a way to reclaim the streams and put the non-productive stream banks into production. When they are in season, June wants to give bamboo shoots to our workers. The bamboo provides a primary windbreak for our bananas, and planted on the south side of streams, its shadow falls on the water, keeps it cool and helps to suppress pest trees. Bamboo can even be used for the construction industry.
Jerry Konanui had asked for photos of the kalo plants I recently found in Makea stream. So I asked Henry folks to help me get some plants. Here are a couple of them. In a couple of hours they were all wilted, so I gave them to Grandma to replant in the nursery. We want to make sure we do not lose the species. When they’re stronger, we’ll give them to Jerry for identification.
Next we went up to the site of our hydroelectric project. I pointed out how lucky we were to have this great amount of water constantly flowing. On our property alone we have about 1/3 of the total amount of water that comes across the Waiahole Ditch on the way to Central Honolulu. Once I counted 35 streams between Hilo and Honoka‘a.
We had a very fun visit. Kat told me she loved the smell of dirt on her hands.
Elinor Ostrom Wins Nobel for Common(s) Sense
by Fran Korten
Fran: Many people associate “the commons” with Garrett Hardin’s famous essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons.” He says that if, for example, you have a pasture that everyone in a village has access to, then each person will put as many cows on that land as he can to maximize his own benefit, and pretty soon the pasture will be overgrazed and become worthless. What’s the difference between your perspective and Hardin’s?
Elinor: Well, I don’t see the human as hopeless. There’s a general tendency to presume people just act for short-term profit. But anyone who knows about small-town businesses and how people in a community relate to one another realizes that many of those decisions are not just for profit and that humans do try to organize and solve problems. If you are in a fishery or have a pasture and you know your family’s long-term benefit is that you don’t destroy it, and if you can talk with the other people who use that resource, then you may well figure out rules that fit that local setting and organize to enforce them….Read more
This is the Hawaiian way, and it’s the way we are trying to go. Common(s) sense is appropriate.
The world has changed in the face of Peak Oil. So that we will be relevant years from now, we are changing. I am turning our farm, Hamakua Springs Country Farms at Pepe‘ekeo, and the resources available to us – people, water, land and hydro power – into a commons of sorts.
We are bringing more and more farmers to work together with us for the common good.
Here is the photo for our photo caption contest again:
We have a 1st place winner, and three people who tied for second place.
Richard is a generous soul with a good sense of humor, and so he’s going to be packing up four boxes of fresh, delicious Hamakua Springs vegetables.
1st place:
Rodrigo Romo. “Listen up kids, you’re about to learn why we cross the road, remember, no one can know about this…..”
2nd place, a three-way tie (in alphabetical order):
Kanani Aton. “Gosh darned it, now where did I put those keys?”
John C. “If we all work together I think we can get into that Sweet-Sour Lemon Peel jar behind me.”
CTarleton. “Double Wing Right 35 Quick Trap – Go chicks!”
Each of you can pick up a prize box from Richard at the Kino‘ole Farmers Market any Saturday morning. Please let him know which Saturday you’ll be there, so he can have the box ready for you, by emailing him ahead of time at richard@hamakuasprings.com.
Congratulations to all that entered and thanks for the laughs! You guys are great.
Within 600 feet there are two streams: Makea on the north boundary, and Ali‘a on the south. Between the streams is a ridgeline, maybe 75 to 100 feet from stream level, and running on the ridgeline from mauka to makai is a cane haul road.
It has a clear view of both Mauna Kea and the ocean, as well as of the greenhouses in the valley facing north, toward Honoka’a, and the banana fields facing south, toward Hilo. June and I plan to eventually build a house there. We just submitted a plan to the County in order to subdivide.
Yesterday I spent several hours on the bulldozer, reopening old roads and clearing access to the streams. Today I spent time knocking down many, many 20-foot albizia trees, and making sure the roots were completely pulled out of the ground. There’s one giant albizia tree that is even larger than the ones in this picture. The base is at least 10 feet around and the tree is easily 100 feet tall with many giant side branches. That’s where the seeds for the others are coming from.
I wonder how I’ll get rid of it. Cutting it down is just unimaginable. Here is how they cut a tree down at Lyons Arboretum.
Here is an easier way, with a drill and injecting.
The whole time on the bulldozer, I was thinking about how I can situate some hydroponic hoop houses that would allow us to capture fertilizer runoff, grow algae and raise tilapia. I would get the water further upstream, at a higher elevation, and then run it to the hydroponic hoop houses and use the excess fertilizer to grow algae and then, further downstream, send it to the tilapia. Gravity and free water are our friends.
I am going to grow algae for fuel. Not for cars, but to grow tilapia. Food fuel. The hydroelectric project is close by.
I’m also thinking of making a place to just sit and listen to the stream. I wonder where I can get hapu‘u? Where would kukui nut trees go? Lauhala? Ulu? Hmmm.
This is going to be a big, long project. I’ll write about it as I go along.
