Can you imagine what might happen if we began to restore the thousands of acres that are currently overgrown and unkept, even just on our small island? Think of the amount of food that could be produced and the number of kanaka (individuals) and families that might be restored in the process. This is one small plot of land in one ʻili ʻāina (smaller land division) of one ahupuaʻa on the island of Oʻahu. In 2019, we produced a little over 25-thousand pounds of raw kalo on just over three acres of land here at Kapalai. And yet, the ʻāina and spirit called out, and with the dedication of an ʻohana and the help of thousands of community members, Kapunawaiolaokapalai, the living and life-giving spring of Kapalai, has been restored to again being an ʻāina that grows food as well as people. There were no loʻi, no kalo growing, and certain areas had even been used as a dumpsite. Fast forward to 2007 when the land at Kapalai that Hoʻokuaʻāina currently stewards was completely overgrown with invasive weeds, California grass over 6 feet tall, and trees so thick that it was impossible to walk through. Springs and freshwater streams flowed through the valley of Maunawili, pouring in and out of loʻi kalo, wetland taro fields, and emptying into Kawainui fishpond, which was teaming with life. Would we consider our lands today to be ʻāina momona? Thus, in the Hawaiian worldview, ʻāina is not merely land, but land that is healthy and one that feeds and nourishes. While often translated as “land”, in it we have the word ʻai, which also means to eat and is a way to refer to both food and kalo. It is a land that abounds in and produces much food. ʻĀina Momona describes a land that is rich, abundant, plentiful, sweet and fat.
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