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Slow Food O'ahu News
Number 2010-08
Mailed April 28, 2010

Table of Contents
To Bee or Not to Bee - Honey Tasting Workshop - May 15 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Aloha Tofu Tour and Tasting - May 23 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Slow Food O'ahu Potluck and Tour - May 30 (Slow Food O'ahu event)
Malama Haloa (Film Showing) - May 1, 6, 7, & 9
LEAF Volunteer WorkDay - May 7
Slow Reading for your Leisure
To Bee or Not to Bee: Local Beekeeping and Honey Tasting
Saturday, May 15, 11AM - 1PM, $5 members/ $10 nonmembers


Local beekeepers George Hudes and Charley Reppun have invited Slow Food Oahu members out to their honey house at the Reppun Farm in Waiahole Valley to learn about beekeeping and honey harvesting.  There, they'll discuss the basics of bee hive life, honey & pollen production, harvesting processes, and attendees will get a view of honey and brood combs from nearby colonies.  Scott Nikaido from the School of Tropical Agriculture at UH will also join us to talk about current problems in Hawaii with regards the Varroa mite, a parasite that has devastated both ferral and maintained honey bee colonies here in Hawaii and throughout the world.  They will also talk about the organic methods they've been employing to effectively control this pest in Hawaii.  After this, they'll have several samples of honey from around the island so that you can get a feel for the terroir of the amazing honey that is available to us on Oahu.  Following the event, pint and quart jars of this local and sustainably harvested honey will be available for purchase by tour attendees for a special price.

Please RSVP to Michelle by Tuesday, May 11 at [email protected].  Please include in your RSVP your name, member status, phone or email and the name of any nonmember or member guests you would like to bring.  Additionally, if you have BEE allergies, please also note this in your RSVP!   THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 20 PEOPLE, so please reply quickly if you know you would like to attend.  The cost for members is $5 and nonmembers is $10 and payment must be received by the date of the event.  Payment information will be sent to you following your RSVP and directions and final details will be sent to all confirmed guests a few days prior to the event.  This event requires a short walk along a dirt road and a small stream crossing (with a plank bridge).  If you would like to attend, but feel you would have physical difficulties, please let me know in your RSVP and we will arrange for transport across the stream to the honey house. 
Aloha Tofu Factory Tour and Tasting
Sunday, May 23, 9AM - 10AM, $5 members/ $10 nonmembers


Come learn about one of Honolulu's oldest tofu factories and taste a bit of local history, the Aloha Tofu Factory!  The Uyehara family built its company based on the belief that the people of Hawaii deserve the freshest tofu, and they have continued to do this for 60 years.  As a company with local values and the vision of aloha, Aloha Tofu Factory has become one of the largest tofu manufacturers in Hawaii.  Owner Paul Uyehara has offered to give Slow Food O'ahu members and guests a tour of the factory in Kalihi and will discuss the tofu-making process, followed by a product tasting.  Take a behind-the-scenes look at the operations of this local producer and learn how this clean, simple food is manufactured in the heart of O'ahu.  Following the event, several varieties of tofu, as well as house-made soymilk, will be available for purchase.  If you would like soymilk or "yudofu" - a soft, custardy-type tofu, please bring your own tupperware and/or a juice or milk container.

Please RSVP to Michelle by Thursday, May 20 at [email protected].  Please include in your RSVP your name, member status, phone or email and the name of any nonmember or member guests you would like to bring.  THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 20 PEOPLE, so please reply quickly if you know you would like to attend.  The cost for members is $5 and nonmembers is $10 and payment must be received by the date of the event.  Payment information will be sent to you following your RSVP and directions and final details will be sent to all confirmed guests a few days prior to the event.
Slow Food O'ahu Potluck and Tour 
Sunday, May 30, 11 am - 2 p.m.
 
Come join us for a potluck lunch and get to know your fellow members.  We hope to have periodic potlucks at various locations on O'ahu.  Our first potluck will be held at the Kahalu`u campus of Marimed, a non-profit organization with a residential program for at-risk youth that features experiential therapy -- including learning to grow, prepare and eat fresh food.  Come see their hydroponic vegetable greenhouse, small fish ponds, and taro lo'i. If we're lucky, there will be something to harvest. Lunch under a covered patio with beautiful views of the Ko`olaus. For information about Marimed, check out www.marimed.org.
 
A short tour of the grounds and the facility will be offered at 11 a.m. thanks to member Lynn Carey.  The potluck will be held from Noon - 2 p.m. To RSVP please contact Michelle Phillips at [email protected] by May 29. Please bring your own serving utensils, plates, glasses, napkins, cutlery, and drinks.  Also, Marimed is a drug free and alcohol free campus due to their kids on campus.  Directions will be provided to those who RSVP.    There is no cost to attend, although a donation calabash will be available to thank Marimed for hosting us on a weekend.
Malama Haloa - Protecting the Taro (Film Showing)
Hanapepe,Kauai'i Salt Making Legend and Traditions (Film Showing)
Honolulu Academy of Arts `Oiwi Film Festival - May 1, 6, 7, & 9 (see below for times)

The film "MALAMA HALOA - PROTECTING THE TARO" (39 minutes) features Native Hawaiian practitioner Jerry Konanui and his work to protect his kupuna, Haloa the taro. The locations and events featured in the video include: taro planting, harvesting and poi making at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Kona; Jerry's talk at Kahanu Garden in Hana, Maui; the three-day Malama Haloa event at the legislature (2008); and poi making at the legislature (2009). Taro grower Jerry Konanui works to propagate and save from extinction the numerous varieties of Hawaiian taro, a plant that is honored as the elder sibling of the first people of Hawai'i. His mission is also to protect taro, considered a perfect food, from the risks of genetic engineering. Jerry shares a lifetime of knowledge on identifying taro varieties, cultivation and preparing poi.

Showing: May 1 as part of the Film Festival Premiere at 7:30 p.m. and on May 6, 7, & 9 at 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. along with the film on the Hanapepe Salt Ponds (see below).

The film HANAP�P�, KAUA'I SALT-MAKING LEGEND AND TRADITIONS (15 minutes). Kauai Salt-Making Legend and Traditions begins with the mo'olelo of Pele teaching Kala how to harvest salt to preserve her catch of fish. The film goes on to document the process of salt-making today. The students and teachers of Ke Kula Ni'ihau O Kekaha Public Charter School in Kekaha, Kaua'i, were in front of and behind the camera for this narrative/ documentary film.

Showing: May 6, 7, & 9 at 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. along with the film on Protecting the Taro (see above).

The film will be shown at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts.  Please visit the Honolulu Academy of Arts website at
http://www.honoluluacademy.org/cmshaa/academy/index.aspx?id=2402
 
Note: This is not a Slow Food event but may be of interest to our members.
Volunteer Workday- Laulima Eco-friendly Alliance of Farms (LEAF)
May 7, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
 
LEAF, Laulima Eco-friendly Alliance of Farms invites you to a volunteer workday at its pilot project, IHSUF, Institute for Human Services Urban Farm, on May 7, from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.  They will be planting seedlings, and laying sheet mulch layers on the ground to prepare for planting. You can also see what they are doing in preparation for a full scale rooftop garden using hydroponic and aquaponic growing systems. Contact David Santistevan at 389-1819 to sign up or email [email protected] Mahalo for being a part of this unique project with LEAF and IHS, Oahu's largest homeless shelter, in our efforts at "solving hunger one garden, one farm at a time".  For more information on LEAF visit their website at www.leafhawaii.org.

NOTE: This is not a Slow Food event but may be of interest to our members.
Slow Reading...  (more cross-Pollanization)
 
Martha Cheng, Food Writer and Slow Food O'ahu member, writes an article in the Honolulu Weekly about home raised chickens and Asagi Hatchery, operated by Maxie Asagi, another Slow Food O'ahu member
http://honoluluweekly.com/restaurants/2010/04/finger-lickin-good-asagi-hatchery/

An article in the Honolulu Advertiser about the farmers on the Big Island and the impact of the vog
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100425/NEWS01/4250392/Farmers++ranchers+live+under+financial+fallout

An article in the Honolulu Advertiser on the problems with GMO papayas in Hawaii
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100425/BUSINESS11/4250343/Genetically+modified+papaya+problematic

An article in the NY Times about the rapid rise in seed prices 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/business/12seed.html

Mangia, Mangia: An article in the NY Times about Italy and Food
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/travel/11Frugal.html?pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me

Shopper's Guide to Avoiding GE Foods (PDF document)
http://truefoodnow.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/web_new-ge-booklet.pdf

Here are a few more websites of interests...

The Green Fork is an eating well guide to sustainable eating and food policy
http://blog.eatwellguide.org/
 
A website about eating and Italy
http://www.homefood.it/
Quick Links

Slow Food O'ahu Convivium website
Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium website

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