Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1994 — Teaching the young about Hawaiʻi's past [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Teaching the young about Hawaiʻi's past

Ka'ala Learning Center introduces kids and young adults to Hawai'i's rich agricultural traditions

by Patrick Johnston /■ /"PTlhis valley was • • I onee the poi bowl of the whole area." The valley Eric Enos is describing is the Wai'anae valley; the area all of the Leeward Coast and Central

O'ahu.

"This valley was onee the poi bowl of the whole area." - Eric Enos

Enos, director of the Cultural Learning Center in Ka'ala, uses the expression "poi bowl" instead of "bread basket" to describe the exten-

sive cultivation that onee existed in the Wai'anae valley

and fed many of the people who lived in and around the valley. For the past 1 8 years, Enos in partnership with various Hawaiian agen,cies and the state and federal governments, has been trying to re-create that cultivation with a 97-acre learning center at the foot of Mt. Ka'ala. The center works with elementary school children, young adults and substance abusers, introducing various aspects of traditional Hawaiian agriculture and the legends and spirituality that surround it. It is not a passive learning experienee. Part of the day-long course

involves getting into the taro fields and getting dirty. Students move rocks, build gates, pull weeds and harvest taro, learning first hand what it was like for traditional Hawaiian farmers. "I tell the students they are walking in the footsteps of our ancestors," says Enos. The day-long course begins with Enos greeting students and taking them to the Hale Na'auao (plaee of learning) where they pray and have a few minutes of silence. Enos then spends some time telling students about the history of the valley and information about taro cultivation

and its relevance to Hawaiian culture. He also teaches about the legends of the valley, then tries to tie the legend into natural science. Enos points to a crack in the rock in the steep hillside that surrounds the valley. "That is called Ka'oninapuhi. It means wriggling of the eel," he explains. Legend has it that men of the valley, concerned that a strange man was trying to win the heart of a young virgin, took the man up the hill and tried to kill him. When they began to hit him he turned into an eel and his tail began to thrash violently, making a crack in the

valley wall. Enos says

after teaching the legend he gives the scientific explanation for the crack whieh was formed when lava

i flowed up from beneath the caldera when the island was formed millions of years ago. In addition to taro, the Ka'ala learning centers also teaches some traditional Hawaiian crafts such as lau hala weaving and tapa-mak-ing. During the school year, the center has groups of up to 60 kids a day, three days a week, visiting and studying at the center. Enos gets help from a number of people, including Ed Ka'anana, a kupuna from Kona, who grew up around taro and gives insights to students about what it was like in old Hawai'i. "For myself, when I eome here I feel in touch," he says. "I'd mueh rather be here than in the citv. I find stones and

poi pounders here. When I touch them I feel like I am

touching my kūpuna." The Cultural Learning Center in Ka'ala is presently funded by a twoyear grant from the Administration for Native Americans. In an attempt to make the program more self-sufficient, OHA's eeonomie development division has recently provided the program with a $20,000 grant to help with its marketing efforts. Explains eeonomie development specialist Christine van Bergeijk, "Our funds are to underwrite several marketing activities to assist Ka'ala in improving the revenue-generating capacity of the project." Marketing activities will include the

production of a book, promotional

brochures, and the development of other marketing products. The hope is to tap into the "cultural tourism" market and use revenues from that to underwrite the cost of educational programs. For information about the center eall 696-7241.

Miel Pae student Bobby Silva unearths rocks in a taro patch at the Cultural Learning Center in Ka'ala. Photo by Patrick Johnston

Showing the spirit of aloha 'āina, a crew of Explorer Boy Scouts from Mā'ili, along with other volunteers cleared about 5,000 sq. ft. of heavy brush and tall grass as a community service project for an open-air classroom and possible future campsite for the Cultural Learning Center at Ka'ala . Photo courtesy Arnold Quartero

Students gather at Hale Na'auao to learn about taro and the history of Wai'anae Valley. Photo by Patrick Johnston