Malama Aina Paauilo

Mālama ʻĀina

Mālama ʻĀina Paʻauilo

The Mālama ʻĀina Paʻauilo is a community māla (garden) and mural project that builds towards huiMAU’s long-term vision of hoʻonaʻauao—transforming and elevating the cultural and political consciousness of our community in Hāmakua—and hoʻoulu ʻai—restoring local food systems to support increased food sovereignty in Hāmākua and Hawaiʻi. With the māla as our “classroom” and the mural as our “sketch/notebook,” we are working with students from Paʻauilo Elem. & Middle School, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Paʻauilo, to re-cultivate a culture of aloha ʻāina, mālama ʻāina, kuleana (collective responsibilities), and ʻai pono (healthy diet) in our community again. As part of this māla program, we engage our ʻōpio in the skills of gardening from “seed to seed” (planting, harvesting, replanting), kaulana mahina (lunar calendar) and environmental observation practices, sharing ʻai pono (healthy food) preparation techniques and methods, and sharing moʻolelo (stories, histories) of place here in Hāmākua.

Check out our social media hashtag #MalamaAinaPaauilo

May 9-10. 2016:
Na ke kanaka mahiʻai ka imu o nui.
The well-filled imu belongs to the one who cultivates the soil.

On May 9-10, our ʻōpio gathered their first harvest from their māla and began preparations for their ʻohana night dinner and hōʻike (presentation). In addition to harvesting some of their kalo and fresh veggies, the ʻōpio were able to experience and kōkua with the creation of our first imu at Mālama ʻĀina Paʻauilo. Our kūpuna tell us, "na ke kanaka mahiʻai ka imu o nui" (the well-filled imu belongs to the one who cultivates the soil), and this held true as a lesson for our ʻōpio in this experience. As we worked together under the guidance and leadership of our kūpuna, Aunty Millie and Uncle Clyde Bailado, our imu was well-filled with food, aloha, and knowledge for the next generation and their ʻohana.

Lā Mālama ʻĀina:
April 20, 2016 (Akua)

On April 20, 2016, our ʻōpio of Paʻauilo opened up a couple new garden beds, learning about lunar planting and harvest cycles. Planting during the anahulu piha poepoe (the 10-day period of large moons), they learned about an ancestral kalo planting methods that was once well-known in Hāmākua. The pā kukui method of planting kalo involves digging out a pit or trench, filling it in with kukui leaves and branches, and planting in the decomposed leaf matter. Additionally, together we learned about the importance of maintenance in the māla--pulling weeds after planting is just as important as planting.

Lā Mālama ʻĀina: March 23, 2016
with The Kohala Center's
High School Farmer Training Program

On March 23, 2016, we were joined at our māla by The Kohala Center's High School Farmer Training Program, led by Derrick Kiyabu. The farmer training program works with high school age youth in east Hawaiʻi to develop skills and experience for lifestyles and careers in farming and food production. This day, these young mahiʻai in training helped us to open up a new garden bed, and planted a number of different veggies that they brought from their farm to contribute to the māla. They planted green beans, kale, broccoli, ʻōlena, and kalo, and added their names to our community māla sign as contributors to the growth of abundance in our community.

Planting seeds and Painting signs...

Lā Mālama ʻĀina: February 3, 2016

Our Mālama ʻĀina Paʻauilo community māla project began on February 3, 2016 with the youth of the Boys and Girls Club of Paʻauilo. All students of Paʻauilo Elementary and Middle School, these ʻōpio range in age from 6-12, and are all kamaʻāina of Hāmākua. On day one of our project, we began with lessons in protocol, asking for guidance from our kūpuna in the work we engage in, and then discussed the meaning of "ʻāina" and the importance of growing our own food. In Hawaiʻi, we import over 90% of our food from outside of our Pae ʻĀina, and are in a food systems crisis in many ways. This day we collectively learned some practical skills in turning our backyards into food-producing, community-building māla (gardens), and we began on a journey together to restore a sense of pride in our community for the abundance that overflows from our people and our ʻāina.