Rochelle Coloma
Blog Post #11
When I first moved to Oahu, I rarely
ventured past the city and commuted everywhere by bus. After three years, I
bought a car and in doing so, I would leave it at a parking structure near the
Hawaiian Studies building. On my usual route to the structure, I would always walk past a
little stream and directly to the left were little plots which consisted of taro leaves. The area
itself is called the Ka Papa Loʻi
ʻo Kānewai and I recently had the opportunity to attend a service event held by the
director and students of the taro patch.
The service event has been a tradition dating
back to the 1980’s when the land was found by a few Native Hawaiian students
from the University and discovered that the area was used to
function for kalo production. Since then, the Ka Papa Loʻi ʻo Kānewai was cultivated by an array of farmers and craftsmen (also known as the
maka’ainana) to now purpose as a place that gathers communities to immerse themselves
with rich history and partake in activities such as cleaning the taro
patches. As I continued to hear the
stories of this particular land, I was at awe that something so full of history was
literally two hundred feet away from my dorm room!
Another
main feature they discussed was the ‘auwai (water irrigation system) for the
lo’i (taro) patches. The ‘auwai is
considered to be one of the most integral systems to keep the land and patches
thriving. The system was designed to transfer water from the Mānoa stream
directly to the lo’i patches. I found it interesting when the student leader mentioned
how they manage water levels to prevent the plots from overflowing. They would simply hike up to the stream and place rocks at
particular sites to slow down the water flow to the pipelines of the 'auwai.
Due
to my curiosity, it led me to learn the value of some Hawaiian culture practices and the fascinating history behind the lo'i patches. To end, I encourage others to take the opportunity and attend this free and exciting event.
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