SUBHEAD: People will come to Kauai just to see how we created a self-sufficient, and sustainable island.
By Don Heacock on 17 October 2009 in Island Breath -
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Image above: Illustration of ancient Hawaiian system of permaculture. From http://permaculture.org.au/2008/11/23/hawaiian-homeland-security
[IB Publisher's Note: This is a letter to Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho from Don Heacock, the Hawaii State DLNR aquatic biologist for Kauai.]
Agriculture is human culture, and I agree that we need to put Hawaiian culture back in agriculture.
My 5 acres of organically farmed and integrated fishponds- taro loi in Niumalu represent only about 2% of all the taro loi that once existed in the Lihue area (from Huleia to Hanamaulu, which had over 200 acres of loi).
My fishponds fertilize my taro loi, the taro recovers/recyles the fish "wastes" into taro ("waste = food"), my sheep "weed-eat" all the grass and weeds on the taro berms, and abundant fruit, nut and hardwood trees grow all around the edges of the farm. I neither need, nor want to poison my soil, water, crops or my family with toxic chemicals known to cause human health problems----why would I?
The answer to that question is ignorance; Will Rogers once said,
For example, on our land my sheep convert weeds into rack of lamb and fertilizer. They spread their own manure for me; I no longer have to mow or weed-eat around my taro loi, as the sheep do it for free and burn no fossil fuels).
We need to restore our ahupua'a/watershed communities to be self-sufficient in the production of food, fiber (building materials) and renewable energy - WITHOUT THE HOT AIR AND CO2 of burning fuel.
Kauai could be 100% energy self-sufficient on wind and solar (and appropriate small-scale hydro); when we burn biomass to produce energy we are adding to global warming, and exacerbating the second largest problem on planet earth: climate change and sea level rise, and their impacts on coastal communities. But the largest problem is going to be the inability to feed our people, both on Kauai and globally.
So it is vital to identify prime agricultural lands, such as lands with gravity-flow non-potable water. These lands need to be protected for future agricultural use - primarily for food production. It is one minute before midnight, let's move forward to make Kauai a sustainable and thriving island community that is food, fiber and energy self-sufficient and sustainable.
A place where everyone is gainfully employed in a job they love, where we no longer export our children because of lack of meaningful jobs, and were we become a global model for designing and building sustainable communities.
When this happens, you will no longer have to spend a million dollars to promote tourism, because people will come here from all over the world just to see how we created a self-sufficient, independent, island community. Bernard, we can do this, let's move forward, I mua!
By Don Heacock on 17 October 2009 in Island Breath -
()
Image above: Illustration of ancient Hawaiian system of permaculture. From http://permaculture.org.au/2008/11/23/hawaiian-homeland-security
[IB Publisher's Note: This is a letter to Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho from Don Heacock, the Hawaii State DLNR aquatic biologist for Kauai.]
Agriculture is human culture, and I agree that we need to put Hawaiian culture back in agriculture.
My 5 acres of organically farmed and integrated fishponds- taro loi in Niumalu represent only about 2% of all the taro loi that once existed in the Lihue area (from Huleia to Hanamaulu, which had over 200 acres of loi).
My fishponds fertilize my taro loi, the taro recovers/recyles the fish "wastes" into taro ("waste = food"), my sheep "weed-eat" all the grass and weeds on the taro berms, and abundant fruit, nut and hardwood trees grow all around the edges of the farm. I neither need, nor want to poison my soil, water, crops or my family with toxic chemicals known to cause human health problems----why would I?
The answer to that question is ignorance; Will Rogers once said,
"There is always an answer that is simple, takes no thought, and is dead wrong."That answer is biocides (herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, etc.) because they damage or kill many more plants and/or animals than just the targeted "weeds". Finally, the answer to sustainable farming on Kauai, and globally, is integrated systems. The aquaculture-agriculture systems; systems invented by Hawaiians over 500 years ago used nature (biomimicry) to do most of their field work.
For example, on our land my sheep convert weeds into rack of lamb and fertilizer. They spread their own manure for me; I no longer have to mow or weed-eat around my taro loi, as the sheep do it for free and burn no fossil fuels).
We need to restore our ahupua'a/watershed communities to be self-sufficient in the production of food, fiber (building materials) and renewable energy - WITHOUT THE HOT AIR AND CO2 of burning fuel.
Kauai could be 100% energy self-sufficient on wind and solar (and appropriate small-scale hydro); when we burn biomass to produce energy we are adding to global warming, and exacerbating the second largest problem on planet earth: climate change and sea level rise, and their impacts on coastal communities. But the largest problem is going to be the inability to feed our people, both on Kauai and globally.
So it is vital to identify prime agricultural lands, such as lands with gravity-flow non-potable water. These lands need to be protected for future agricultural use - primarily for food production. It is one minute before midnight, let's move forward to make Kauai a sustainable and thriving island community that is food, fiber and energy self-sufficient and sustainable.
A place where everyone is gainfully employed in a job they love, where we no longer export our children because of lack of meaningful jobs, and were we become a global model for designing and building sustainable communities.
When this happens, you will no longer have to spend a million dollars to promote tourism, because people will come here from all over the world just to see how we created a self-sufficient, independent, island community. Bernard, we can do this, let's move forward, I mua!
1 comment :
Thank you .......finally some constructive news and vision. We need that more. We need to stop pointing fingers and gather our energies and visions and implement them. Otherwise we perpetuate the cycle of the bad guys and the victems. Ursula Lamberson
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