As many of you know, I recently returned from an archaeological field season in Hawai'i. Tonight I want to talk about issues of sustainability and reestablishing traditional forms of horticulture on Maui. The diary is based, in part, on a film called Ho'okele Wa'a (Hawaiian for Turning the Canoe) that had its premier at the Maui film festival in June. (Full disclosure--the film was written by Dr. Janet Six, one of my former students.) While the film highlights many sustainable technologies, I want to focus on the re-establishment of the taro fields or lo'i, since taro played an major role in Hawaiian subsistence before European contact.
I will begin with a little bit of history below the fold.
continued at Daily Kos....
