1) Department of Agriculture - Leslie Iseke, Plant Specialist, Plant Quarantine Branch
2) Department of Land and Natural Resources - Dean Uyeno,
3) University of Hawai'i - Dr. Carl Evenson
4) 'Onipa'a Na Hui Kalo - Daniel Bishop, Kalo Farmer, Waiāhole Oʻahu
5) Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation - Vacant Seat
In consultation with a number of taro farmers, OHA set up a process to select the kalo farmer representatives. Act 211 states that at least two task force representatives shall come from the "taro growing communities" on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, Moloka'i and Hawai'i Island. OHA staff and the taro farmers developed the following qualifications for these representatives.
Each must:
1) be a farmer actively growing kalo;
2) have at least three years of kalo farming experience;
3) be growing kalo on the island they seek to represent; and
4) be capable of participating in task force activities, including traveling to other islands to attend meetings.
With the task force being an ongoing and growing entity, these are the current members and the vacancies are noted.g
Hawai'i Island
2 Vacant Seats
Applications are due on April 30th, 2012.
Please submit applications to the Taro Security and Purity Task Force c/o E kupaku ka ‘aina, 224 Ainahou Place, Wailuku, HI 96793 or by email to ekupaku@gmail.com by April 30, 2012. For more information contact Hiʻilani Shibata 808-371-0452 or tarotaskforceHI@gmail.com.
Maui
Lyn Scott, Waiʻoli, Maui
Shayne Nameaaea Hoshino, Wailua, Maui
Lana'i
Kawehi Ryder - Mr. Ryder has grown taro since the 1970s, in such places as Waipi'o Valley and 'Opihikao on Hawai'i Island, on Moloka'i and at his kuleana lands in Ahuimanu on O'ahu. Mr. Ryder is
currently restoring ancient lo'i in Maunalei Valley on Lana'i and also grows taro for subsistence pNurposes and also cultivates varieties of kalo, mai'a, 'uala, 'awa and ko on a quarter-acre of land at his home on the island. Mr. Ryder has served on OHA's Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. He currently runs a landscaping and cultural restoration business, and is contracted by Castle & Cook Hawai'i.
Moloka'i
Glenn Teves - Mr. Teves is a UH CTAHR employee growing dry-land kalo on a quarter-acre of land on his Ho'olehua homestead. He has grown taro for over 20 years, and has grown kalo commercially for the last 10 years. Mr. Teves has grown over 30 different varieties of Hawaiian kalo and indicates that he produces the largest yields of dry-land taro on the island.
Leslie Yee Hoy -Mr. Yee Hoy has grown kalo on Moloka'i for 10 years. He currently operates a lo'i in Halawa Valley, and commutes there regularly from his home on O'ahu. Mr. Yee Hoy is interested in helping to preserve the lesser known Hawaiian taro varieties.
O'ahu
Mark Sung Alapaki Luke - Another young taro fmmer, Mr. Luke first began working in lo'i as a child with his grandmother and 'ohana, and has grown kalo in Kahana Valley since 1999. He also works part-time at Ka Papa Lo'i 'O Kanewai, the taro patches at Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, UH-Manoa. In addition, Mr. Luke teaches Hawaiian studies at Kamakakuokalani and geography at Honolulu Community College, and uses the lo'i to teach public high school students about kalo farming.
Keoki Fukumitsu - A seventh generation kalo farmer, Mr. Fukumitsu grew up in lo'i and has been a taro fanner for many years. He learned to farm kalo from his 'ohana, as well as a number of renowned kalo farmers from across the state. He grows kalo on his family's kuleana lands in Hakipu'u. Mr. Fukumitsu served on the Board of Directors for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. He has hosted over 15,000 people at his lo'i through Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, Alu Like, Kamehameha Schools, UH-Manoa, Honolulu Community College, Windward Community College, Hawai'i Pacific University, Hawai'i State Hospital and O'ahu Men's Correctional Facility.
Kaua'i
Christine Kobayashi -Mrs. Kobayashi's family has been growing kalo in Hanalei for four generations, and she took over her family's farm in 1990. For the last decade, she has used organic and sustainable practices on her 10-acre farm. Her knowledge of organic and sustainable farming methods would be a valuable addition to the task force.
1 Vacant SeatApplications are due on April 30th, 2012.
Please submit applications to the Taro Security and Purity Task Force c/o E kupaku ka ‘aina, 224 Ainahou Place, Wailuku, HI 96793 or by email to ekupaku@gmail.com by April 30, 2012. For more information contact Hiʻilani Shibata 808-371-0452 or tarotaskforceHI@gmail.com.
Botanical garden or taro collections
Penny Levin - Ms. Levin has grown wetland and dryland kalo for over 20 years and has been growing traditional Hawaiian varieties in Ke’anae on Maui for the last four years. She apprenticed in taro patches from Oahu to Hawaii island. She is also a member of 'Onipa'a Na Hui Kalo. Ms. Levin has conducted research on the impacts of the apple snail, widely regarded as the biggest threat to kalo, and helped produce a statewide control plan for the pest. Along with Jim Cain and others, she was involved in the early DOA discussions on taro security and purity, helped prepare the report for those discussions and helped draft S.B. 2915. OHA received letters nominating Penny Levin as the botanical garden and taro coI1ection representative from Maui Nui Botanical Gardens; David Orr, the botanical coIlections specialist at Hi'ipaka LLC, Waimea Valley; and Alton Arakaki, the CTAHR extension agent on Moloka'i whose Hawaiian taro collection is mentioned in Act 211.
OHA representative
John Keikiala Aana - Mr. Aana has grown kalo commercially for over 30 years. He is the founder and former owner of Makaweli Poi Mill Inc.
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