A Look at Hawaiian Aquaculture – and How You Can Learn More About It at the Keawanui Fish Pond, Molokai
Aquaculture, Courses/Workshops, Fish, Land — by Nichole Ross October 6, 2011
It was a typical October day on Molokai — 82 degrees, sunny and breezy. I had just arrived at my favorite tiny airport on a nine-passenger Cessna turbo prop-plane from Honolulu. I came from the Big Island to help my Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) USA colleagues facilitate a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) already in progress. The PDC was part of a four-course series we were doing to train a local group made up of key players working to promote sustainability on the Island.
When my ride told me that the class would be starting the day at the Keawanui fish pond, I was both excited and nervous. Much like the time I had gotten an All-Access V.I.P. Guest Pass to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, I would soon be in the presence of celebrities I admired. I was not only about to meet the Rittes, but they were students in our PDC.
Comments (0)Chop-N-Drop – Mulching Permaculture Style
Animal Forage, Food Forests, Land, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Swales — by Nichole Ross June 14, 2011
Chop-N-Drop is a Permaculture term used to describe a simple, yet highly-efficient system of creating mulch. Plants that make good mulch are pruned frequently and the cuttings are dropped directly on the ground below. This creates a beneficial layer of organic material that helps conserve water, reduce weeds and create food for nearby plants through decomposition.
Comments (1)Wa`a Moloka`i: Island-Sized Food Security Through a 21st Century Living Canoe
Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Seeds, Swales — by Nichole Ross March 9, 2011
Original Atrwork by Anthony Dohanos of Pahoa, Hawaii
Food security and canoes go hand-in-hand in Hawaii. When the Hawaiian Islands were first settled around 750 A.D., and for many generations after that, Polynesian voyagers stocked their massive double-hauled canoes with specific crops necessary for colonization. While a wide variety of plants and trees were already growing when early settlers arrived, the food plants that we have come to know as “traditional” were not. Vine cuttings, root stock, crowns, sprouts, slips, shoots and seeds all had to be carefully prepared, packed and loaded into canoes for long journeys across the unforgiving Pacific Ocean if settlers were to be able to survive on the new land.
Comments (3)Army of Permaculturists – Ready for Battle
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Village Development — by Nichole Ross January 12, 2011
These are the people of Molokai, a 300 square mile island in the center of the main chain of the Hawaiian Islands. It is rural, beautiful, slow-paced and the only place you’ll find almost as many people wearing camouflage as the armed forces.
If you can show respect for the aina (land) and local-style culture, the people of Molokai are hands-down the most friendly in Hawaii. And, they will treat you like one of their own ohana (family). But, don’t be fooled. Underneath their easy-going nature and humorous story telling are a group of warriors, ready to defend their island and way of life at a moment’s notice. From large-scale commercial development and GMOs to toxic dumping and water rights, they have fought and won many times.
However, in recent years, the Army of Molokai has added a new strategy to their battle plan. While they are still defending their island as needed, they are also taking a step in the offensive direction. This newest approach is not one that is based on stopping or destroying something. It’s an action plan to carry out the goals of the Island’s Sustainability Plan that the community created a few years ago. It’s a battle to repair and heal the aina and set a positive course for the Island’s future. And, in order to arm themselves, the Army of Molokai has added a new set of skills to add to their bag of tricks – permaculture.
Comments (2)Food Swaps
Community Projects, Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Markets & Outlets, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Nichole Ross December 22, 2010
Like a typical pregnant woman, I woke up this morning with food on my mind. However, it wasn’t the stereotypical indulgences and strange combinations like bon bons or peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Instead, I was thinking about the idea of small-scale food swaps, something I believe could become the future of how people might obtain the majority of their food needs.
The idea came to me as a result of experiences I had during the recent 4-course series the Permaculture Research Institute USA (PRI USA) held on the small Island of Molokai, Hawaii. As part of the Molokai Permaculture Education Initiative, PRI USA sponsored approximately 15 local Molokai residents to take all 4 courses in the series (Permaculture Design Course, Practicum, Teacher Training, Earthworks). In partnership with local group Sust’Aina Ble Molokai, it was our goal that this integrated training would provide these students with a solid skill set in permaculture that would lead to a highly-motivated army of local activists, ready to share skills with the larger community and take on island-wide projects that would pave the road to a sustainable future.
In exchange for sponsorship, local students contributed whatever resources they had access to toward running the courses, including a site to hold classes, tools, machinery, temporary housing for staff and students, transportation, cultural experiences, humorous and insightful stories and lots of local food.
Comments (5)Sustainable Hawaii Coming this October
Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Developments, Education Centres, Urban Projects — by Nichole Ross August 12, 2010
PRI-USA Offers a Unique Series of Permaculture Courses on Isle of Molokai
In partnership with Sust`aina ble Molokai and the Ho`ala Hou Program, the Permaculture Research Institute USA is proud to announce an upcoming series of key Permaculture courses on the Island of Molokai, Hawaii.
We are offering the following four foundational courses between October and December this year:
- Permaculture Design Certificate Course with Andrew Jones and Shenaqua Sookhoo-Jones, Oct 10-22
- Practicum: Incorporating Traditional Hawaiian Plants, Foods and Fuels into a Permaculture Design with Andrew Jones and Hunter Heaivilin, Oct 25-29
- PDC Teacher Training Course with Andrew Jones and Shenaqua Sookhoo-Jones, Nov 1-6
- Earthworks with Geoff and Nadia Lawton, Dec 6-10
These courses will be held in conjunction with the Ho`ala Hou Program, a substance abuse and prevention program that works with youth and families to set up up community garden plots. Courses will take place on Ho`ala Hou’s 20-acre site.
This series is also part of an island-wide initiative with local nonprofit Sust`aina ble Molokai to work toward the goals of the Molokai Sustainability Plan, a plan created by the people of Molokai that honors Hawaiian traditional and cultural pathways alongside modern strategies for a sustainable future.
For more information and to register for these courses, please visit the Permaculture Research USA website at www.permacultureusa.org.
Aloha and A hui hou!
Comments (5)Hope for Detroit
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Urban Projects — by Nichole Ross January 26, 2010
 Mark Covington (left) & Killian Obrien |
Whenever I mention I’m taking a trip back to Detroit, I always seem to get at least one “why would you go there?” To those unfamiliar with the City, the word “Detroit” often conjures up the negative image of a city gone wrong. Crime, poverty, blight, unemployment – all terms synonymous with Detroit’s reputation for so long. Fortunately, I’m here to inform you that Detroit’s image is undergoing a major makeover, thanks to people like Killian Obrien and Mark Covington. These are two amazing men who are working to bring positive change to one eastside neighborhood. Hope for Detroit also means hope for many other forgotten cities.
I was born into a Polish-Hungarian community on the South Side of Detroit, known as Delray. My great-grandparents made the area their home in the early 1900s. Most of my family continued to live and work in the close-knit community for many years. They were very self-sufficient. They planted food gardens, raised chickens and made their own beer to earn money. They had to be. They were poor.
Comments (0)Welcome to Permaculture Island?
Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Developments, News — by Nichole Ross August 28, 2009
No, it’s not the newest reality series or a throwback to the 70s. I’m talking about real life here. And, it’s even part of the United States, kind of. What I’m referring to is the Island of Molokai. It’s a small island (38 x 10 miles with 7500 residents) located between Oahu and Maui in Hawaii. Not only do they have a sustainability plan, but they just held their first sustainability conference this past July. And the best part of the whole thing is that they actually used the word Permaculture in advertising for the conference. Maybe this bold move will help set the stage for the rest of the U.S.
In May 2008, residents realized they didn’t like the unsustainable path towards destruction the island seemed to be on. So, like true Permaculturists, instead of dwelling on their problems, they decided to focus on solutions. (Remember, as Geoff Lawton says, “the problem is the solution”) What they came up with was a sustainable plan for the island’s future. They outlined it in a document called Molokai: Future of a Hawaiian Island (2mb PDF). In it, the people of Molokai call their vision, “Sust- ‘AINA -bility”, a model of abundant island living rooted in traditional knowledge and supported by modern technologies. Hmm, sounds a bit like Permaculture….
Comments (2)Take a Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) in Paradise
Courses/Workshops, News — by Nichole Ross January 31, 2009
PRI USA’s Ho’olehua Permaculture Center, Island of Molokai, Hawaii
Instructor – Andrew Jones
March 30 – April 11, 2009
Be a part of agricultural history in the making as the Permaculture Research Institute USA launches its first PDC at the Ho’olehua Permaculture Center, on the Island of Moloka’i. Hawaii is best known for its endless white sand beaches, lush tropical rainforests and prime surfing opportunities – a place where people go to “get away from it all” and leave the stresses of a modern hectic lifestyle behind. The Island of Moloka’i is the perfect answer.
Arriving on Molokai, also known as ‘the Friendly Isle’, you’ll be greeted with much Aloha. In return, locals expect visitors to respect the island’s much slower lifestyle – “island time”. There are no traffic lights, the highest posted speed anywhere on the island is 45mph (most places less), there are no shopping malls, no building is taller than a palm tree and ‘Aloha’ is a way of life.
Comments (0)Please Help the Palestinian People in a Time of Tragedy
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Village Development — by Nichole Ross January 12, 2009
The Jordan Valley Project site is the triangular section in foreground
As Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip escalate, more and more Palestinian civilians are being displaced by damage or destruction to their homes. The need for refugee shelter has become critical. Geoff and Nadia Lawton are currently working on a PRI project in a Palestinian refugee village in Jordan. The project, known as the Jordan Valley Permaculture Project, is an effort to set up a Permaculture demonstration and education center. Due to the increased influx of refugees that will need food and shelter, this project is essential for survival for these people fleeing to the very arid Dead Sea Valley. Geoff, Nadia and others are working at full speed to get this center established as soon as possible so they can train refugees and impoverished locals to set up similar sustainable systems (food, water, shelter).
Comments (6)Hawaiian Homeland Security
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Nichole Ross November 23, 2008
Homeland Security. To the native people of the Hawaiian Islands, it’s more than just a buzzword thrown around by the Bush Administration to justify the creation of another branch of government. For Native Hawaiians, like many indigenous people around the world, the story is the same – foreign occupation resulting in loss of homelands and culture.
Traditional Hawaiian Gardening at Kapahu Farm on Maui (www.kipahulu.org)
In 1921, in an effort, led by Prince Kuhio Kalanianaole, to right these wrongs and help native Hawaiians reclaim their ties to the ‘aina (land), the United States Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The Act set aside 203,500 acres of public lands for those with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.
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