Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 2, 1 February 1991 — Plantation life recalled at Waipahu Park [ARTICLE]

Plantation life recalled at Waipahu Park

Ground-breaking ceremonies were held last month for Hawai'i's Plantation Village at Waipahu Cultural Garden Park. The village will be a complex of 28 restored and reconstructed structures containing authentic artifacts from the plantation days.

Eaeh of the major ethnic groups that worked on the plantations — Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Okinawan, Puerto Rican, Korean and Filipino— will have a residential structure devoted to its history, culture and plantation lifestyle. Other buildings will include a social hall, infirmary, community furo (bath) and furno. A furno is an outside oven, a Portuguese contribution to plantation life. Hands-on demonstrations, first person narratives and cultural celebrations will "bring the workers' everyday experiences to life," according to organizers.

The village is a project of the Friends of Waipahu Cultural Garden Park and should be completed by the end of Summer 1992.