Back to the ‘Āina

Back to the ‘Äina: By Brittany P. Anderson

the afternoon heat hangs heavy over the field. Building a robust food sovereignty community is vital to Two farmers continue their work seemingly unaffected by the strengthening food security on Hawai‘i Island. One way of weather. Arms and legs bundled up to avoid being burned by making a sovereign and resilient food system is through the the sun, they pluck beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes from the farm cooperative model. vines, placing them into baskets, all but disappearing as they Farm cooperatives, or co-ops, involve a network of farmers move swiftly along the rows. who do business as one entity. Farmer co-ops pool resources For food producers on Hawai‘i Island, the work of feeding together for marketing, distribution, and purchasing supplies, their community is never done. Over the past year, food sharing in the risks and rewards. One of the most notable security and sovereignty has come to the forefront of farmer cooperatives on the island of Hawai‘i is the ‘Ulu conversations. From family circles to government officials, Cooperative. Started in 2016, the cooperativeʻs goal was everyone asks the same question: how can we make Hawai‘i twofold. According to their website, the ‘Ulu Cooperative was Islandʻs food system more robust and more secure for all the founded to “revive the cultivation of ‘ulu [breadfruit] and islandʻs residents? strengthening Hawai‘i Islandʻs food security for a resilient food Connection and Relationship By all accounts, the cooperative has been a success. As local A food sovereignty movement is awakened on Hawai‘i Island. access to ‘ulu increases, demand and prosperity increase with Food sovereignty is rooted in the principles that the community it. When small farms are economically viable, not only does our has a right to healthy, culturally food system benefit but every sector appropriate food produced through Kalani sees everything as relationships and connections. of the community improves. As ecologically sound and sustainable photo by Brittany P. Anderson island residents integrate ‘ulu back methods. It is also a bottom-up into their diets, food sovereignty approach centered around what continues to grow, building stronger farmers grow locally and local control communities as a result. over their food system instead of Kalani poses the question, “How imported food distribution methods. does the relationship come back into There is no one-size-fits-all approach industrialized ag?” Without skipping to food sovereignty because it focuses a beat, he answers, “Itʻs a bunch of on the relationship between people little farms working together. Better and the connection to their culture. to have a hundred small farms than M. Kalani Souza, Hawaiian three really big ones.” practitioner, priest, permaculturist, Across the mainland US, large and cross-cultural facilitator, is commodity farms pump out high actively engaged in Hawai‘i Islandʻs volume crops and meat to feed food sovereignty movement. the nation. Mass systems of food

“At the center of [Hawaiian] culture production fail to recognize unique is food, and the consumption of food environments or unique cultures. is one of the most important parts,” On Hawai‘i Island, the detrimental Kalani says in his soft voice. “In environmental impacts from higheating, you take in the world around density commodity farming are you, you digest it, and then compost the rest,” he remarks. acutely felt, which is why small regenerative farms are another For Kalani, everything comes down to relationships and critical component to a robust local food system. connections. future.”

Hawai‘i Island was once able to grow enough food to feed Regenerative Agriculture all its inhabitants. With the introduction of industrialized A herd of cattle cluster along their fence, eagerly eyeing up agriculture, much of the traditional farming methods were lost. the green pasture that lies on the other side of the gate. For “There has to be a relationship with growing food; without a this herd, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. relationship, there is no knowledge,” Kalani pauses, “and then They move paddocks every four days, building soil health there is no transgenerational knowledge.” He speaks like the and closing the carbon cycle as they fatten on the nutrientthunderous clouds that hug Hualālai—profound and full of dense grasses they help cultivate. Regenerative agriculture is intention. a holistic land management practice that uses the symbiotic Hawai‘i Island food sovereignty is getting back to a relationship between plants and animals to close the carbon generational understanding of farming and a self-regenerating cycle, enrich the soil, and increase crop resiliency and nutrient system of producing food for everyone and everything within density. the community. Through regenerative practices, soil health is improved due

Strengthening Hawai‘i Island’s Food System

to increased organic matter creating a diverse ecosystem above and below the ground. When the cows pass through a paddock, the manure deposited feeds the grasses, and in eating, they stimulate the grass to grow. As the cycle continues, more organic matter is created in the pastures, increasing carbon sequestration and decreasing runoff. “When we started our farm, there was nothing here, no bugs, no birds, no worms, it was barren of life,” Bodhi Anderson of Sugar Hill Farmstead says as he stands surrounded by grass. Bodhi transformed his Hawaiÿi Island food sovereignty renews a connection with cultural staples like ÿulu. photo by Brittany P. Anderson Honomū property through regenerative agriculture practices, making him a firm believer in the approach. “Once we brought on the ruminants— the sheep and the cows—and rotated them around the farm, life started coming back.” Four years into the endeavor, he still

sees results. “Instead of constantly taking from the land, the animals are building soil. We have about eight inches of black dirt full of worms, and our Guinea grass grows six inches in a day.” For Bodhi, the best test for how successful regenerative farming practices are was apex predatorsʻ return. “We have five resident ‘io [Hawaiian hawks] and at least two pueo [Hawaiian owls] that have come back within the past two years. They donʻt touch our chickens, but they do cut down on pests.”

Like the now-shuttered Bodhi Anderson measures his pasture grass. Big Island Dairy, large photo by Brittany P. Anderson animal operations often result in adverse environmental impacts such as groundwater contamination, air pollution, and ecosystem destruction. In the quest for food security, Hawai‘i Island can look to regenerative agriculture style farming and ranching for a solution to feeding

21st Annual Wreath Exhibition Nov. 21st - Dec. 31st, 2020

Volcano Art Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park 9am - 4pm, Thurs. - Sunday. Free; park entrance fees apply www.volcanoartcenter.org

Nov. 27th- 29th, 10am - 4pm

Shifting the Paradigm

The global supply chains that deliver food to the island of Hawai‘i are increasingly vulnerable as they are costly. Thatʻs why island residents turn to local sources for food and set out on their own to offset their reliance on imports. In many cases, it means ditching a traditional monetary system as well. Crystal and Jarrick Dasalla found inspiration from island farmers, including Bodhi Anderson, on social media. Crystal, a nurse, and her husband Jarrick, a commercial driver for UPS, decided to raise chickens for eggs. “Iʻve always had gut issues, and eating healthy makes me feel better. But healthy food is really expensive,” Crystal says with a chuckle. “If we eat what we grow, I donʻt have to worry about what Iʻm eating,” she explains.

The young couple hasnʻt had an easy time growing vegetables; however, two of Crystalʻs friends started market gardens and they share their bounty. “When we have enough eggs, I trade for vegetables. They get what they need, and we get what we need,” Crystal continues, “Itʻs like the olden days!” Thereʻs also a deeper connection to their community, “I see my friends more because we are trading for produce, it increases our ability to eat healthy and socialize,” Crystal adds.

Dayna Robertson, an Orchidland homesteader, increased her production recently, helping meet her neighborsʻ needs. “I have upped all my food production for ourselves, trading with our neighbors, and feeding our livestock,” she says. Trading has also become increasingly popular within her community. “I have people stopping by because they heard from a friend that I have food and am open to trades,” Dayna continues, “which is super cool to get to know neighbors.” As Hawai‘i Island residents begin to value locally grown produce and meats, it has created more opportunities for connection. “My friends are working on creating their own CSA [Community Supported Agriculture], and theyʻre working with other farmers,” Crystal says. “Iʻm inspired by how hard it is to grow food,” Crystal remarks as her tone shifts, “You put blood, sweat, and tears into the food and that food is so much better.” The primal scent of rain on hot dirt, the clink of a chain as a gate is closed, the chatter of people picking kalo (taro), the gentle breeze dancing through a field—this is a food system strengthening. Hawai‘i Islandʻs food system is becoming more resilient as residents increasingly realize a deeper connection with their food. While the growing food sovereignty movement focuses on cultivation from a cultural perspective, it inspires the next generation of farmers and consumers. Through regenerative agriculture, farmers and ranchers help remediate the negative impacts of years of industrial agriculture and restore balance to ecosystems. Most of all, it is the people of the island of Hawai‘i, developing relationships, bartering, and connecting with one another in meaningful ways. That is whatʻs making Hawai‘i Islandʻs food system more robust and more secure for all the islandʻs residents. ■

For more information: olohana.org sugarhillfarmstead.com youtube.com/user/daynaandsteve

Series 3 on Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business Seventh in Series Three on Managing with Aloha

The ‘Ohana

By Rosa say

in Business MOdel: Our ecOnOMy dOne BeTTer

Managing with aloha

When I left the hotel industry to work for the Hualalai Resort back in 1996, I had been employed by a hotel or hotel chain for 22 years. It no longer felt feasible or sensible to be a hotel employee to me. I felt the business model of the hotel industry was seriously, and irreparably, broken, and still do. When they profit, hotels make money for hotel owners, corporate holdings, and a few executives, but they don’t provide a good living for the rank and file who assure the hotel operates well, and who give customers the aloha-filled customer service hotel owners and executives market. The hotels I had worked for did give back to the community, but I wondered if donations were sincerely given or simply more marketing at the local level, for shouldn’t a business operation take better care of the people it employed first? When they recruited me, Hualalai offered me the director of retail position, and here’s what sealed the deal: they told me what their retail clerks were getting paid, nearly double the hourly rate of their hotel-employed counterparts. Why? “It’s the right thing to do—they need to make a decent living just as much as anyone else does.” Today, we refer to that as “a living wage.” I hadn’t yet heard what they would pay me. I didn’t have to before knowing I’d made my decision to join them. After receiving their offer, I went home and put pen to paper on my first draft of what I felt a ‘Business with Aloha’ model would be, a document later anointed the ‘Ohana in Business model, Key 6 of the Managing with Aloha philosophy. (To be clear, the Hualalai Resort focused exclusively on real estate sales at the time as a resort development firm which owned the hotel on their resort as a separate holding; the hotel was managed separately. The business model of the resort may differ today.) The Covid19 pandemic has been a death knell for small business. By some accounts, small business owners by the thousands are closing up shop in the United States alone. In contrast, big business conglomerates are enjoying astounding profits, for one of capitalism’s most notable features is that wealth begets wealth. It has become blatantly obvious that the stock market is not a reflection of the economy: according to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, “America’s richest 1% now own half the value of the US stock market. The richest 10% own 92 percent.” There is something seriously wrong with this economic picture, convincing many of us who study business to question our assumptions, and many conventions we’ve long taken for granted, or did not pay enough attention to. Tackling a readjustment of the entire model of the US economy is necessary but daunting, a staggering endeavor to be sure. Revising your own business model, however, so it will be ethical, equitable, and self-sustaining, isn’t—it is entirely within your own scope of influence and control. The only questions are what changes you are willing to make, and how much profit and prosperity you are willing to share with your partners—including your staff. A business without a valid business model isn’t just a business without a recession-resistant roadmap, it’s a business without a conscience. Your intentions within your vision—good, values based, equitable-for-all intentions—are everything. The pandemic has been painful, yet it gives us an opportunity to reset: let’s take it. Break the rules. Dust off your vision. Create a new one. When you’re in business, you must be a visionary. You must want better for yourself, and all whom you employ, partner with, and serve. That’s what being “with Aloha” requires. Consider your business to be a constant work in progress, theorizing on how more becomes possible. Experiment. Make a better reality for everyone involved, for visionaries keep hope alive and well. Here’s my vision, in part: • Everyone who works receives a living wage: their earnings sustain them in a good life. • A business model is not valid or feasible, unless a living wage is what it creates and sustains for everyone involved with that business. • Service jobs are admirable, appreciated, and valued by others, and worth having. • There is no “paying your dues” or “working your way up” into a living wage: you get it upon hire with every job, in every career, in every business model whether for-profit, nonprofit, public or private sector. You get it if you’re hiring yourself in an entrepreneurial, self-employed model—ignore the Shark Tank venture capitalists who say otherwise. Am I dreaming? In today’s world I am, but that doesn’t mean it has to be this way. We can change the world one business model at a time. Be the visionary of an ‘Ohana in Business: I call them Alaka‘i Benefactors, because they are. Next issue, we’ll talk about Key Concept 7: Strengths management. Contact writer Rosa Say at RosaSay.com or KeOlaMagazine.com | November-December 2020 ManagingWithAloha.com 39