Kaua`i Agricultural Initiative: COMMUNITY HARVESTING – Waste Not Want Not
Island-wide gathering of unused, unwanted fruit, vegetables and herbs. This coordinated effort by Dr. James Yoon is sponsored by the Kaua‘i Agricultural Initiative (KAI). We invite you to participate.

Enlist your neighbors and friends in this great community effort! Together we can encourage greater gathering of local food as well as initiating a more sustainable food supply on Kaua‘i. Contact Community Harvesting Director and KAI Central Community Leader, Dr. James Yoon at 245-1540 or the KAI Community Leader in your area:

• NORTH Sandra Wright • sandra.wright@hawaiiantel.net
• EAST Paul Massey • paul@regenerationsbotanical.org
• SOUTH Jesse Schwartz • jesseasschwartz@yahoo.com
• WEST Stephanie Iona • stephanie.iona@resortquesthawaii.com

New Saturday Farmer’s Market Starting!
Farmer? Producer? Caterer? Using Local Foods?
Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau and Kaua‘i Community College are assessing a new partnership to run a high quality weekend Farmers Market featuring locally grown and value added products in a central location. The goal is to showcase local farmers and farm products and provide a full market experience to consumers with offerings such as: high quality produce, plants & floral, meat, fish & dairy, value added farm-based products, prepared food products with local ingredients, culinary demonstrations, educational experiences, and more. This concept is based on the successful market at Kapiolani Community College run by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and other similar markets around the state.

IF YOU ARE A FARMER, LOCAL PRODUCT PRODUCER UTILIZING LOCAL FARM PRODUCTS, OR A CATERER USING LOCAL INGREDIENTS PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CONTACT THE FARM BUREAU AT kcfb@hawaiiantel.net TO GET A SURVEY.

Community Gardens Around the Island!
The major goal of the Kauai Community Gardens Project is to create a pilot program on Kauai as a demonstration of an island based food industry that is self-sufficient and sustainable, using organic methods of food production.

* To establish a network of small farms, community gardens and family gardens throughout Kauai.
* Collectively these gardens will gradually produce a sufficient supply of food for our island (including residents, visitors, markets, restaurants, schools & other institutions.
* To recruit and train neighborhood groups to participate in managing these farms and gardens within their community as part of an evolving and co-ordinated island-wide food production and distribution network.
* Adequate funding for community support programs at both the neighborhood level and island-wide to strengthen the project to insure its growth and sustainability.
To learn more, visit http://kauaigardens.org/

New North Shore Community Garden
Four acre Kilauea Community Garden coming soon! This exciting project is in the site planning stages. We need volunteers and donated materials to make this a reality. If you would like to participate in site design and preparation, email us now at info@malamakauai.org. If you are interested in having your own plot, or participating in the community plot, please stay informed at MalamaKauai.Org.

Expected timeline: blessing in May, ground-breaking in June.

Lack of coordination in the local food distribution system is the primary gap preventing farmers from being more successful, and is also the number one barrier preventing consumer food institutions, such as restaurants and grocers, from purchasing more local foods. Many growers have a diversified crop and therefore don’t have enough of a single crop to consistently satisfy an outlet. In addition, small-scale growers have difficulty meeting quality and quantity standards to sell anywhere besides weekly Farmers Markets, and very few can afford the liability insurance that is required to sell to grocery stores.

Malama Kaua`i Food Distribution Service will market, sell, and deliver produce grown by local small-scale growers. MK-FDS will offer small-scale growers the opportunity to increase their markets and ensure continual sales of their product by acting as the missing link between those growing food and those buying it. Working with farmers, processors and retailers, MK-FDS will undertake crop planning with farmers, provide delivery and storage facilities, advertise and market local produce, provide liability insurance for participants, work with chefs to develop more "local cuisine", and increase local food production by opening new markets and distributing local foods island-wide.

Project preparation is taking place, and launch date is November 2009. Stay tuned here or contact us at info@malamakauai.org if you are interested in participating!

Eat Local Live Longer
Our Vision: The people and the land of Kauai restored to their original beauty and strength.
Our Mission: "To provide a forum for assisting one another in ending our addiction to mainland food in order to re-vitalize our health and wealth on all levels."

MAINLAND-FOOD-AHOLICS ANONYMOUS: (MFAA)*, THE TWELVE STEP PROGRAM**: http://www.eatlocallivelonger.com/mainland-food-aholics.php

Apollo Kaua`i and Malama Kaua`i Campaign for Water Security
Water Security on Kaua`i: A preliminary discussion on the vulnerability of our most important resource. Download the document here (PDF).
www.ApolloKauai.org & www.MalamaKauai.org

Organic Gardening Course: Hands-On Training in Moloa`a
The best way to learn is by doing.

WHEN: May 9 thru July 11, on Saturday mornings from 9 till 11 am. Enrollment will be limited to 20 students.

WHERE: At the farm of Scott Pomeroy in Moloa`a. Sponsored by the Food Industry Career Pathways Program at Kauai Community College

COST: Tuition is $120 payable to “University of Hawaii” (mail to Glenn Hontz, PO Box 1780, Koloa, HI 96756) Tuition assistance is available to qualified candidates.

WHAT: Growing your own food by learning to work with nature.
Topics: how to assess the soil, prepare and apply the nutrients needed for healthy plant growth, work with phases of the moon and the seasons, rotate crops for optimal production and produce seed cultures suited to specific local sites and those unique conditions. The instruction will encompass vegetable and orchard management, building small greenhouses, basics of soil fertilization, cover cropping, composting, asexual propagation, use of hand tools and machinery, and various other skills essential for the successful management of garden operations.

WHO: The principal instructors are:
Scott Pomeroy and April Courture have practiced organic farming on Kauai successfully for more than 20 years. They attended the nationally acclaimed agricultural training program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Pomeroy taught at UC Santa Cruz, and most recently at the Waipa Garden Project in Hanalei. Courture taught for the Waipa Project and was active in starting the native plant nursery for that organization. They are both highly respected by other organic farmers on this island.

WHY: The Goal is to increase Kauai’s level of food self-sufficiency in response to rising food costs, looming shortages and increasing costs of transportation. This course is part of the goal to achieve genuine food sovereignty for our island with fresh locally grown products of all kinds.

For more information contact Glenn Hontz at 246-4859 or hontz@hawaii.edu

Kauapea Farms
Kauapea Farms, home of Seed to Table, a 12-week hands-on Farm Training Program & Kauai Farmers Coop CSA, is seeking volunteers! Come see where your food comes from!! Participate in harvests, planting, growing and shaping the food of our future on Kauai. For more information call 828-0800.

Waipa Foundation
The Waipa Foundation is working to restore Waipa as a Native Hawaiian learning center and community center, as a place where Hawaiians and community can renew ties to the 'aina (land and resources), the culture and a more traditional lifestyle; a place to create assets and opportunities for more culturally relevant teaching, sharing, learning and living; and to restore the health of the natural resources and the native ecosystems of the ahupua'a.

In ancient times, ahupua'a were sustainable communities that originated in the interdependence between the land and the people. Such was a mutuality in which use of land, water and economic, social and cultural choices flourished in balance. www.waipafoundation.org