A two-year sustainability project for Maui has been initiated by the and its partners. Thirty community leaders gathered at 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College in May for the soft launch of Hulihia, which means “complete change.” The pilot project aims for Maui County to have clean energy and transportation, food security, clean and sufficient water for the future, protected ecosystems, waste reduction, sustainable tourism, green employment and a green economy.

The initiative is a partnership between the college and the Kamehameha Schools鈥� Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi Community Strategies Team. The public is invited to learn more at the and encouraged to .

At the kickoff event, 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College Chancellor Lui Hokoana greeted the participants with a chant and a charge.

“We must take the challenges and the lessons of the last year and turn them into collective action,” Hokoana said. “The way to begin is to engage with everyone across Maui Nui. Because every one of us has a stake in the future of this ʻāina.”

The half-day long conference was lively, thought provoking and universally saluted as a successful first step鈥ith a long way to go.

Diverse viewpoints

“The launch of Hulihia was an exciting and inspiring day with so many community partners joining us to begin to develop a shared vision of sustainability for Maui,” said Nicolette van der Lee, program manager for the at 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College. “By starting the day under the clear skies at Kauluwehi, our campus ethnobotanical garden, I think we were energized by a collective sense of responsibility for the health and vibrancy of our islands. I feel honored to be a part of this collaborative effort and look forward to engaging in this critical work for transformational change.”

Attendees represented organizations that run the gamut of the community–with diverse and distinctive points of view and visions for possible solutions. Almost all acknowledged that this past year has offered unprecedented opportunities along with the challenges it brought.

“As we come out of this pandemic, we are all asking ourselves, ‘What changes have we as a community actually made to better Maui and Hawaiʻi?’” said Laura H.E. Kaakua, president and chief executive officer of . “Hulihia offers a process by which community issues can be mapped at the system level, and everyone from the average Kimo to the mayor can see what would happen if one thing were switched in the equation. Hulihia can take on an issue, such as how do we reduce imported food from 85% to 25%, and map all the factors to get there, as well as all the consequences, good and bad…Hulihia’s process really does require input from every sector of the community. It is time for Hulihia, and I mahalo 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College and Kamehameha Schools for taking this leap.”

Community input needed

Nicholas Winfrey, president and chief professional officer of Maui United Way, said, “With so much effort these past 15+ months to ensure our community has a hand up, I think we’re all pretty exhausted. Being part of the Hulihia kickoff has reinvigorated my energy for what’s on the horizon as 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College and the entire community looks to become more sustainable, equitable and resilient for generations to come. There’s a long road ahead, but with the collaboration shown within this group I’m confident that we can be a leader in this space and set an achievable example for the rest of the world to follow.”

Facilitator Jonathan Stenger, a Kamehameha Schools analyst, worked with colleagues and with the 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College chancellor, faculty and staff for many months to bring the launch to fruition.

Stenger said, “Often in dealing with big issues we鈥檙e asked to do very difficult things. Our ask is very simple. Share your thoughts. Tell us what is important to you.”

This editorial by Chancellor Lui K. Hokoana ran in .

One of the “canoe crops” brought by Polynesians to Hawaiʻi, possibly as early as the third century, ʻulu (breadfruit) is a food decidedly suited to our times. The mature fruit is a nutritious and adaptable substitute for a potato. It can be boiled, steamed, baked, fried, even made into crunchy ʻulu chips. Maybe some of you opted for mashed ʻulu rather than the traditional mashed potatoes on your Thanksgiving table. Young fruit can be pickled. Ripe—even overripe—fruit is sweet and creamy and delicious in desserts. The wood from ʻulu trees is light in weight and was multi-purpose in ancient Hawaiʻi. The National Tropical Botanical Garden鈥檚 Breadfruit Institute at Kahanu Gardens in H膩na grows almost 100 varieties.

Those ʻulu trees in H膩na is where this story begins. It may appear to be a long—LONG—way from raising bison on the Great Plains of the U.S. Mainland to cultivating ʻulu in H膩na, but agriculture is agriculture, according to H膩na Ranch Manager Duane Lammers who actually traveled that road. “John Cadman (a chef and one of Maui鈥檚 most ardent ʻulu advocates) brought us our first trees from Kahanu Gardens and he introduced us to the ʻUlu Co-Operative on Hawaiʻi Island,” explains Lammers.

“This is the third year of production, and of our 100 trees, 87 are producing full tilt,” says Lammers. The fruit has to be shipped to the co-op on Hawaiʻi Island for processing which is unwieldy, at best. “With all the disruption Young Brothers was starting to experience when the pandemic hit us, I knew it was going to get worse.” When he expressed that concern to Chef Gary Johnson, who has worked at several Maui restaurants and has done a lot of work with the Ranch, Johnson introduced him to Chris Speere, who heads up our .

“I鈥檇 been through the Maui Food Innovation program myself,” says Johnson who is now the garden coordinator for Grow Some Good, a program in multiple Maui schools. “Fortunately, I knew a lot of the players who would need to be involved. Along with Chris, we were able to fast track the partnership, including with the Department of Health.”

So one Saturday morning in early October, a truck pulled up to the loading dock at the Food Innovation Center and delivered about 2,000 pounds (yes, a ton) of ʻulu. Several of our culinary arts students were waiting. Over the course of the weekend—under the supervision of Speere and Johnson—they washed it, weighed it and cooked it in 350-pound batches to an internal temperature of 135 degrees, cut the ʻulu in half, put them on sheet trays on rolling racks, rolled them into the walk-in refrigerator, cooled them, quartered them, seeded them, weighed them again and froze them. The following week, they were packed in 10-pound bags, then 40-pound cases, labeled and put back into the freezer. Ready to distribute. Ready to prepare, serve and eat. That process has taken place every weekend since then and will continue through December.

Jacob Devlin is in his final semester of our Culinary Arts program. “A friend of mine was working with Nicolette van der Lee (director of the ) who was looking for someone to work with Native Hawaiian vegetables and plants. I was introduced to Chris Speere and started working on the ʻulu project,” he says. “I had never heard of ʻulu before. Now, I鈥檝e experimented with it in stir-fries and even in desserts. And I鈥檝e made ʻulu scones!”

First year culinary arts student Phrincess Constantino wasn鈥檛 really familiar with ʻulu, either. “In high school, I had worked with Chris Speere on an internship at the Innovation Center. So, when one of my professors asked if anyone was interested in the ʻulu project, I thought it would be a good way to get some experience in a commercial kitchen. It鈥檚 been a good and interesting experience.”

The upshot? “With little lead time, the college provided us great information, leadership and enthusiastic students,” says Lammers. “It all serves as proof of concept for us and we鈥檙e now looking at the possibility of building a processing plant for ʻulu and for other products, as well, right here in H膩na.”

As for Chef Johnson? “My purpose in this is to create a strong channel of locally grown canoe crops to be able to proliferate on the Island for our food security and sustainability. And I want ʻulu to replace the potato in our diets.”

Oh, and those tons of ʻulu? They鈥檙e being sold commercially by VIP Foodservice.

Sometimes it takes a village—and sometimes it takes an island.

More information about the and the 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College can be found online.

*Lui K. Hokoana is chancellor of 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College. Kaʻana Manaʻo, which means “sharing thoughts,” appears on the fourth Saturday of each month. It is prepared with assistance from 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College staff and is intended to provide the community of Maui County information about opportunities available through the college at its Kahului campus and its education centers.

A community garden is going up on the campus of the .

“We wanted to have a place where students and faculty and the greater community could come and learn about growing their own food,” said Jennifer Chirico, the executive director of the . The institute is part of 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College and is responsible for setting up and running the garden.

Hundreds of volunteers, from middle and high school students to residents in their 60s, are working to transform the one-time, weed-filled lot into a thriving garden.

“One of the big issues that we face in Hawaiʻi obviously is that we import 85 percent of our food,” said Chirico. “So one of the first steps in getting more food secure in Hawaiʻi is learning to grow your own food.”

It’s been a team effort. On top of all of the work by the volunteers and Maui College employees, the Maui County Board of Water Supply put in the irrigation system, and Community Work Day is assisting in designing and building the garden. The non-profit focuses on teaching sustainability and brings school groups to work in the garden.

“Sustainability doesn’t have to be this thing that is just for hippies on the homestead,” said Rebekah Kuby, Community Work Day’s garden coordinator. “Anybody can do it. We can show it is fun. We can show how wonderful it is to do, to grow your own food, how tasty the veggies are.”

Students from Hui Malama Learning Center are among the many groups participating in helping to create the garden. They spent one day preparing the soil for planting.

“Instead of a regular compost pile, we are actually doing it in the ground,” said Hui Malama student Tylar Purdy. “So it will pretty much feed and it will break down and it will create all kinds of nutrients for the plants we are going to be planting here in the community garden.”

Maui College students, faculty and staff, and the greater community, can utilize the space for growing food, educational events and classes. For more go to the website or call (808) 984-3379.