Farmers restoring ancient food forests

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/17/hawaii-traditional-farming-methods-ancient-food-forests

Maui is a hub for GMO research but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestors

by Nina Lakhani in Maui

Fri 17 Jun 2022 05.00 EDT

Rain clouds cover the peaks of the west Maui mountains, one of the wettest places on the planet, which for centuries sustained biodiverse forests providing abundant food and medicines for Hawaiians who took only what they needed.

Those days of abundance and food sovereignty are long gone.

Rows of limp lemon trees struggle in windswept sandy slopes depleted by decades of sugarcane cultivation. Agricultural runoff choking the ocean reef and water shortages, linked to over-tourism and global heating, threaten the future viability of this paradise island.

Between 85% and 90% of the food eaten in Maui now comes from imports while diet-related diseases are soaring, and the state allocates less than 1% of its budget to agriculture.

Downslope from the rain-soaked summits, there is historic drought and degraded soil.

“We believe that land is the chief, the people its servants,” said Kaipo Kekona, 38, who with his wife Rachel Lehualani Kapu have transformed several acres of depleted farmland into a dense food forest on a mountain ridge.

…more…

[mopinko]

1. very hopeful story.

hits my sweet spot, cuz a lot of what i do fits. the article mentions they are using huglekultur, but doesnt use the word.
there's still a little hope.

[cbabe]

2. This documentary is heart-filling beautiful.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even_Though_the_Whole_World_Is_Burning

Poet Laureate W.S. Merlin retired to Hawaii and restored wasteland to tropical paradise

Even Though the Whole World Is Burning is a feature documentary film about former United States Poet Laureate and environmental activist W. S. Merwin.[1] The film is directed and produced by Stefan Schaefer,[2] and screened at, among others, the Maui Film Festival, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Seattle International Film Festival, and the Hawaii International Film Festival.