Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 12, 1 December 2021 — Being a Kalo Farmer's Daughter [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Being a Kalo Farmer's Daughter

J HE LEO HOU ^ A NEW VOICE "

by Lillian Nanoi, brade 11, Hakipu'u Academy Walking through the lo'i and seeing everything that we have aeeomplished is what makes all the time pulling weeds in the blazing sun, planting at only new moons during the summer, and spending long days harvesting and proeessing huli worth it. I vividly remember having aina days where we didn't leave the lo'i till the sun went down or stayed overnight to plant. Growing up with sueh experienees led me to think it was a task to go to the lo'i. My parents always told us that what we do in the lo'i afFeets the entire lāhui and I never understood what they meant until last year. People were panieked and food was a seeurity we no longer had - or so it seemed. As the lines got longer in stores, we spent more time in the lo'i. My father and I sat down and spoke about how all the work we've been doing for my entire life was for a reason, and it was to sustain us and our eommunity. We pulled 10,000 huli and gave them away to everyone who wanted huli. This past year, I reeognized that although we were told to

be apart beeause of covid, our lāhui has heeome more united and stronger. The aloha spirit had heeome more prominent in eaeh and every 'ohana. It gave me more pride in what I was doing with my 'ohana and made me feel like I was making a change. Because we are active kalo farmers we have the responsibility to help our lāhui heeome more self-sufīicient food wise. Kalo is our elder brother or kua'ana, and he serves us if we do the same for him. We must take our blessings as small or big as they are. We are the most isolated state and if our primary food resources are insufīicient, we have the assets to help ourselves and others. Kalo is a starch, and it may not seem glamorous or luxurious but it's one of our primary sources of starch and a kanaka. Just as our kūpuna always had an 'umeke of poi on their dining table, we should all have one. Kalo is our "super food" and was what our diet was based on and we, as kalo farmers, are trying to revive that. We are giving everyone the opportunity to have a different source of starch with Hui Aloha Āina Momona. ■

During the pandemic, Lillian's 'ohana gave away 10,000 huli to kōkua their community. - Photo: Courtesy