Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2014 — Taro Task Force seeking applicants [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Taro Task Force seeking applicants

Contributed by the Taro Security and Purity Task Force The Taro Security and Purity Task Force is seeking applicants to fill one seat on O'ahu for a taro farmer who is interested in working collaboratively for the eommon goal of helping kalo to thrive in Elawai'i onee again. The taro task force was creI ated by Act 211 Session Laws of lf Llawai'i in 2008, and extended

by Act 196 in 2010. The aim of the task force has been to bring together various stakeholders and potential partners, including taro farmers, agencies, researchers and nonprofit organizations to implement the recommendations of its 2010 Report to the Legislature to address the major challenges facing taro and taro growers in Hawai'i ( ww w. ha waiikalo ,org ) . The taro task force membership is composed of two taro farmers eaeh from Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, Moloka'i and Hawai'i islands; one taro farmer from Lāna'i; as well as one representative eaeh from Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, the University of Hawai'i, the Hawai'i

Farm Bureau Federation, 'Onipa'a Nā Hui Kalo, and a representative for the taro collections and botanieal gardens. One seat is currently open for O'ahu. Interested applicants must meet the following qualifications: 1. Actively growing taro on the island they seek to represent; 2. Have a minimum of three years experience in taro production; and,

3. Be eapahle of participating in task force activities, including traveling to other islands to attend regular meetings and sharing information throughout the taro farming communities of their island. The task force will select the best-qualified applicant to serve as the representative. Member travel for task force meetings are covered by a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The applicant will serve until

June 30, 2015, when the taro task force's legislative mandate sunsets. Applications must include the applicant's full name, address and contact information, a brief description of their fulfillment of the required qualifications, what they believe they will be able to contribute to the task force, and a short list of what they believe are the most important problems facing kalo as a whole, and in commercial and subsistence sectors. Please submit applications to the Taro Security and Purity Task Force c/o E kūpaku ka 'āina, 224 Ainahou Plaee, Wailuku, HI 96793, or by email to ekupaku@gmail.com by Oct. 15, 20 14. For more information, contact Emily Kandagawa at (808) 754-7395 ortsptfhi@gmail.com. ■

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IThe task force is looking to fill one seat representing O'ahu. - Courtesy photo: īaro Task Force