Aloha ʻaina

Take care of the land and everything will be taken care of.
Since starting this blog I have had updates and pictures to post, but never really took the time to share manaʻo or a mission statement with everyone.  In today's world no one seems to have the time or energy to care for the land.  It is hard enough to cut our grass and maintain our yards, should we expect people to contemplate whether grass is what the land wants to have growing on it?  In a better world we would.
It seems that everyone has been infused, consciously or not with the notion that God gave man "dominion" over the Earth and that the Earth's primary function is to provide us with what we need and desire.  This differs drastically and is the antithesis to what the Hawaiians believed about the ʻāina.  "O ka ʻāina ke aliʻi, ke kanaka ke kauwā."  Our ancestors recognized the endless value of their natural resources and gave the ʻāina the respect and reverence that it deserves.  In the Kumulipo, man is the youngest sibling to hāloa, the trees, the birds, the fish and even the dirt.  The kanaka's kuleana was to be the caretaker for all the older ʻōhana.  How has our view become so skewed?  We must humble ourselves and realize that we need the Earth, the Earth does not need us.

Humans are dependant on the Earth for our water, our food and even our air; and what do we give the Earth in return?  We cannot even take the time to consider the outcome of our lifestyles.  Some estimate that prior to the arrival of Captain Cook the native population could have been as high as 800,000-1,000,000 kanaka maoli, an amount only slightly lower than today's population.  Prior to western contact all the food consumed in Hawaii came from Hawaii.  Today Hawaii imports 90 percent of our food!!!  The truly sad thing is that back when our ʻāina supported all of our food needs our resources were far less strained than they are now that they only support 10 percent our food needs.  Our fisheries have been decimated and many species of fish may never be able to recover.  Most of the plants used in everyday life by hawaiians are on the verge of extinction if not already gone.  How could this gross mismanagement of our resources have taken place under our noses. We have allowed ourselves to take what we want without heed to the natural cycles of life.  It is hard to stand against the current of resource exploitation in this dog eat dog world, but with our global ecosystem on the verge of catastrophic collapse we must find a way to exist in a more pono manner.  To me pono does not just mean righteous, nor is it a static state that we can remain in.  To me it is pure intent in the pursuit of righteousness.  In our lives we may make mistakes and do hewa, but if our intentions are pure and we see the folly of our ways we can remain pono.  We must apply this manaʻo to our the way we manage our resources.  We must see that every thing we do, everything we consume has a reaction.  We must hold ourselves accountable and keep our intentions pono so that the reactions that we cause may be positive.

I said earlier that the Earth does not need us.  By us I meant humanity as a whole and the effect that we cumulatively have on the Earth.  What the Earth does need is enlightened individuals who can envision a better way of living.  Kanaka with the courage to live true to their ideals of a better more sustainable world and can inspire others to follow.

Uluhou, new growth, like fresh shoots emerging from the stump of a once great tree.  This is what I envision for Hakalau.  After generations of being bent to human desire, thousands of gallons of chemicals, countless tons of soil loss, and the removal of diverse ecosystems to make way for mono culture crops, this ʻāina will have a chance to be heard.  I pray that we might be receptive to her voice and that our actions will be in accordance with the desires of this land.  How can we hear the voice of the ʻāina?  The same way we hear the holy spirit, by faith.

Take care of the land first.  This manaʻo will dictate all work done on this āina.  If your main objective is to make money, go someplace else.  Even food production will have to be done with the overall health of the ʻāina in mind.  If we all end up broke, but the land is better off, we will have succeeded.  In today's world this may seem illogical and absurd, but I believe this is the right direction for this ʻāina and for all of the world.  This would not be possible without the support of our aunty Liz.  There is no way that I could buy a piece of property and expect to make zero profit off of it.  This project will take the same generosity from our whole ʻōhana in different forms to succeed.  I know that we will make mistakes, but I hope that along our journey will 'imi pono no ka ʻāina and inspire others to do the same.