DP: Local food systems for a thriving community

Think Global, Act Local

Learning from our past

‘Āina: is the word for island or land in Hawai’i. If taken apart it literally translates to, “that which feeds”. This interpretation of land by the Hawaiian culture recognizes that the earth was not thought of as a possession, but rather as a provider of our needs. The ancient Hawaiians like many native people throughout history lived within a subsistent community, cultivating their own food and only consuming as much as was available. In Hawai’i, the system was called, the ahupua’a system.

The system split the land up into natural slivers shaped by the existing landscape, from the mountains to the ocean and allowed for those within a certain ahupua’a to trade among themselves using the different resources that their area specialized in.

Without getting into too much detail about the complex ahupua’a system or the culture of subsistence of those days, I want to step back and take a broad look at how this system contributed to a thriving community of people as sharing and trading resources among one another.

Locally Grown

My passion is to draw on specific practices of this system and reinvigorate it with the tools that we have today. To bring back the importance of local agricultural practices, fresh & balanced diets and a sense of community through edible landscaping, has been my passion not only as a farmer’s daughter, but as a steward of the land in which I grew up.

By creating healthy food systems within your own local community you do not only provide fresh produce that keeps the wealth circulating within your home, but also I have seen first hand how it inspires the spirit of a community. Studies have even suggested that planting a garden within a community has lowered crime rates.

Slowly all around the world we can see these ideas percolating among neighborhoods and communities. In my home town, I helped in a movement called,Permablitz, that brought together experts and members of a neighborhood to help one person install a garden in their home or work place for free. After the volunteers participated in at least three Permablitz events they were then able to host their own ‘garden party’ in which other people were able to come and help out. This not only broke down the barrier of trying to start a garden without the labor and expertise of others, but further encouraged learning of practices and trading of produce and goods that they then shared among each other.

I believe this is the answer to  rebuild not only a community that cares about their land, but a society that is able to provide their own food, encourage healthy eating habits, interact with one another in a positive way and minimize their impact on the importation of food.

Global Perspective

Throughout this course so far we have looked at developmental and social issues across the globe. But as we have talked about extensively in our class, there are so many approaches that we think can be the answer from the outside but within these small communities the same solutions do not work, and the best way is to come up with local solutions from within. However, if we are aware  of the impact that each of us have on the rest of the world, it is even more apparent to me that we must be able to solve our own problems first so that we do not continue to pass on the impacts of our current problems to others. What I see is the destruction and improper use of resources from those less fortunate in order to meet the needs of those that are more fortunate. The only way to break this system is to be able to see first hand the impact that a depletion of resources can have, and if we are relying on our own resources as the ancient Hawaiians did, perhaps we will be more conscious about how it should be managed.

It’s time for us to adapt the ways of our ancestors and create solutions for our local community that in the end will benefit our global community.

Below is a short video of a Permablitz project in Hawai’i. Bringing the community together to build and grow their own.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1 comentario / 25 Nov 2012 por Ivory McClintock Kealani Pan
IMSD /

Comentarios cerrados.