Noho'ana Farm in Kahului, Maui

We docked in Kahului, Maui this morning.  (I have heard some pronounce it Moo-ee; anyone know the correct pronunciation?)

We boarded the bus and drove through lush vegetation to Noho'ana Farm, a native family-owned farm. It is the last of its kind on Maui.

Close-up of a breadfruit tree.

Hokuao Pellegrino owns the farm with his wife and two daughters. He spoke to us about the challenges of farming and techniques for raising taro (or the Hawaiian word for it - kalo). There used to be 30,000 kalo fields. Now there are only 400. 

The population of around 185,000 (tourists number 65,000 on any given day) is similar to years ago, but those people were 100 percent self-sufficient. Their ancestors figured out how to navigate the huge ocean. They brought 32 plants and four animals capable of adapting to the conditions. Nine plants and only the chickens survived.

 

  

 The walls in the background are made with over 2000 stones, each weighing fifty pounds.

There are two kinds of kalo - root kalo and water kalo. Water kalo is raised here and must grow in non-stagnant water. Kalo needs a lot of water to grow. It was previously watered by streams and gravity-fed ditches, which were constructed to flow nine miles. Now stream dam diversion is used.

 

Even though the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated in the world, whatever happens elsewhere - for example the Francis Scott Bridge bridge collapse in Maryland or weather systems - can drastically affect them.