More than a year after Oahu’s largest brush fire charred the valleys of Waianae and Lualualei, a community organization continues to explore ways to rebuild its program to promote self-sustainability and family wellness among Hawaiians.
Ka‘ala Farm Cultural Learning Center at the end of Waianae Valley Road will host a morning of activities Saturday, celebrating nearly four decades of service and expressing appreciation for its supporters.
"It will be a chance to look where we have been for the last 35 years and then focus on where we are going next," said Eric Enos, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit group.
On June 4, 2012, a wildfire began at Radford Street and Kolekole Road on the Naval Magazine Lualualei and spread through the Waianae and Lualualei valleys, destroying 1,200 acres. The Navy never was able to determine what caused the blaze.
The fire destroyed a nearly 3-decade-old, 30-foot Hawaiian grass hale used by Ka‘ala Farm to hold classes and cultural and ceremonial gatherings. The fire also wiped out a water pipe system that carried mountain water to the farm’s taro patch terraces and other crops, a compost toilet and a grove of hala trees.
Enos said the PVC irrigation system has been replaced, but it will be another year before the hale will once again be standing.
Plans also call for "a string of lois," or taro patches, to serve as "living firebreaks," Enos said.
Enos said since Ka‘ala Farm was established as a Model Cities Waianae Rap Center in 1976, many organizations have contributed to its success, including Hau‘oli Mau Loa, the Hawaii Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, the Campbell Estate, Pacific Links Hawai‘i and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
"We hope to bring together the partners that have been with us throughout the years," said Enos. "It was a landmark effort back then, connecting water, land and families." The point now is to focus on young people and to "grow not only children, but families," he said.
Saturday’s demonstrations will include pounding kalo (taro) into paiai (poi), a field kitchen where Hawaiian dishes will be cooked using vegetables and meat raised in the valley, and practitioners schooled in lomilomi (massage).
