Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 October 2014 — 'Living Limu Traditions' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Living Limu Traditions'

Last month I had the opportunity to be a part of an outstanding event, "Living Limu Traditions." The 'Ewa Limu Project hosted the gathering and Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo

(KUA) helped organize it. 'Ewa Limu Project (EBLP) is dedicated to refurbishing the reefs of 'Ewa Beach with the essential limu(s) that had onee thrived here. A community-centered grassroots effort, its main focus is the preservation of coastal habitat through replanting of select species of limu. Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo is an innovative, communitydriven initiative designed to empower grassroots, place-based environmental

and cultural stewardship of Hawaiian lands and waters. KUA brings together partners, tools and our own expertise to support community efforts. KUA facilitates the E Alu Pū network as well as the Hui Mālama Loko Pa, a network of fishpond practitioners caring for traditional Hawaiian fishponds throughout the islands. "Living Limu Traditions" was the theme of this specific gathering of a new and growing network of limu experts, kūpuna and active practitioners from across the islands. It was a great opportunity because there was at least one representative from eaeh of the Hawaiian Islands. This was really the first ever gathering of this sort. It started with a vision of Unele Wally Ito and Unele Henry Chang Wo of the 'Ewa Limu Project. The purpose of this gathering, according to Unele Wally Ito, was to: "Capture as mueh information as we ean from people who have traditional cultural limu knowledge. We hope to record stories from the 'good old days' about your experiences with limu. We also hope to hear about how this knowledge was passed down to you and what, if anything, you are doing to pass this

knowledge on to the next generation. Another topic of discussion will be on limu restoration projects. More people/organizations are becoming interested in limu restoration so we may be able to learn from eaeh other."

The gathering was by invitation and was limited to the capacity of Hale Punalu'u, where the group was staying together. This provided an intimate setting where those who participated felt comfortable to share their knowledge freely, especially for this first gathering. During the four days of this gathering, there were informal presentations from all who attended. They shared with everyone what they have been doing

regarding limu and their restoration efforts and also some difficulties that they have been facing. They also shared with eaeh other different limu samples and their uses, stories of who taught them and who they might be sharing this knowledge with to ensure this knowledge is not lost. We also got to visit 'Ewa Beach and saw the efforts of EBLP firsthand, got to tour the 'Anuenue Hatchery and learned of the sea urchin that is currently being cultivated to combat the gorilla ogo, and the He'eia Fishpond. Unele Wally, Unele Henry, the staff from KUA and volunteers Pam and Dennis Fujii made this event a successful one. All of this would not have been possible without the generous support and investment from: Audubon's Toyota TogetherGreen fellowship program, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawai'i People's Fund, the Wallaee Alexander Gerbode Foundation, the Swayne Family Foundation and the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. With the help of these sponsors, it brought the uncles' vision of a limu gathering to fruition. KUA hopes to find the resources to eonhnue such gatherings into the future. From this original gathering, you could really feel the momentum for a limu movement. ■

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Editor's note: In accordance with an Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board ofTrustees policy based on state ethics guidelines, any trustee runningfor re-election is suspended from publishing his or her regular eolumn until the elections are complete, e.xceptfor those trustees running unopposed.

Cūlette Y. Machadū Chairpersūn, Trustee Muluka'i and Lāna'i