A Small Hawaiian Island Strives for Sustainability

by Juice Aguirre

On a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean lives a small organization doing BIG things for their community. Mālama Kaua`i was founded in 2006 and is a non-profit that focuses on advocating, educating, and driving action toward a sustainable Kaua`i. Their focus in the last few years has been on local food production and consumption, as well as building community capacity and growing interest in sustainable tourism.

Mālama Kaua`i has three important core values:

`Āina—We are rooted in the core value of aloha ‘aina (love and connection to the land). We create solutions that foster sustainability and work in harmony with nature while producing abundant, healthy, and local food.

Community—We care for our children, our economy, our society, and our island’s future. We envision a Kaua’i where people enjoy a high quality of life and the sense of community is strong.

Culture—We are built on healthy relationships with each other and our kinship with the land. We respect and perpetuate the local culture and indigenous wisdom of our ancestors.

Just like the rest of the world, Mālama Kaua`i (MK) and our beautiful communities have been affected by COVID-19. Although these are still very important core values, MK and most local farmers were forced to pivot their businesses due to the pandemic. Since it began, tourism and hospitality employment alone have plummeted across our island by 52%.

Many of our farms participated in subsidized programs, providing food for the vulnerable and needy in their community during the period of pandemic emergency response. They now need to change their business models to survive. Yet during all this time of duress, MK has been able to move forward with their current project, the Moloa`a `Āina Center Food Hub.

This new food hub will be developed in partnership with the Moloa‘a Irrigation Cooperative, which comprises 70 commercial farms and spans 600+ acres. Located a half mile off the highway and on the primary farm road in Moloa’a, the hub will create immediate opportunities for farmers to increase their revenue at this critical time of pandemic market disruption.

This project will increase access to healthy food in the Anahola area and address the loss of the previous Anahola Food Hub site due to COVID-19. It will also create new opportunities for farmers to preserve their produce into value-added products for longer shelf life. It will be FSMA compliant (to abide by food safety rules), and will provide farms with washing, processing, and storage space, opening up institutional distribution channels such as farm-to-school programs.

These new farm-to-school programs will help educate youth on the importance of sustainability, farming, and knowing where the food they consume actually comes from. It creates a connection to community and is exactly what our island needs now more than ever. To be able to even slightly imagine ourselves as an island that can sustain itself is a step in the right direction. With our tropical climate and amazing growing conditions, the possibilities are endless. We have become so reliant on having consumables shipped to us from the mainland and all over the world. Imagine what we could do for our community and economy if we shifted our focus to what we can grow here locally?

We are truly blessed to have so many amazing supporters and to live in such a magical place. Our sense of togetherness and community support is more vibrant than ever. It is critical to the health of our community to remain strong, dynamic, and resilient together! We will always be Kaua`i strong.

Learn more about Mālama Kaua‘i and how to support their efforts at malamakauai.org. IG: @malama_kauai Facebook: Malama Kaua`i