Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 6, 1 June 2012 — Makaweli Poi to continue operations under community group [ARTICLE]

Makaweli Poi to continue operations under community group

By Garett Kamemoto Operations of Makaweli Poi on the west side of Kaua'i is in the process of being transitioned to a community-based group. Office of Hawaiian Affairs subsidiary Hi'ipoi LLC is continuing operations while seeking a community group to take over mill operations. The West Kaua'i community mobilized to save the mill, with an estimated 75 people attending a community meeting to decide how to proceed, according to mill manager Bryna Storch. Mill supporters were assured at a meeting with OHA staff that the plan is to transition to a eommunity group rather than to stop operations, and OHA would work with the community to see the transition goes as smoothly as possible. "We know that loeal decision making is important for our Hawaiian community," said Kamana'opono Crabbe, chief executive officer of OHA. "So our transition plan is intended to

make that happen." "We're optimistic about our ongoing discussions with community members who are serious about becoming the new owners and managers of Makaweli Poi Mill," Crabbe added. Members of the poi community showed up in force at a community meeting held by the Board of Trustees on May 16. Storch told trustees she was encouraged after a meeting with OHA staff earlier in the day. "We look forward to this transition and working with OHA to perpetuate taro farming in West Kaua'i and making Makaweli Poi forever," Storch said. She identified a shortage of taro and a need for continuing education for taro farmers as challenges the mill faces. Trustees said they had pressured Hi'ipoi to turn a profit but after hearing from the eommunity, they said they now view their role with a new perspective. "Instead of looking at this as a business,

maybe we should look at this as preserving our culture, preserving our lifestyle and preserving the interests of the community," said Trustee Oswald Stender. "Maybe as trustees we should be looking at this differently." Trustee Bob Lindsey said state Department of Agriculture Chairperson Russell Kokubun had offered support to Makaweli Poi along with Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Director Dwight īakamine. "Sometimes it takes a crisis, it takes bringing a matter to a head, and out of that ean eome opportunities," Lindsey said. "I see opportunities here for us to work together on a transition plan that will work for all of us." "I sincerely believe that in all that has happened, only good ean eome out of it," Chairperson Colette Machado told those who attended the community meeting. "It shows that when a family is struggling and the 'ohana comes (together), there is that ability to build upon the production of taro." ■

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