Charlie Reppun and wife Vivien

The following are Charlie's words as he discusses his connection to the 'aina and his reasons to apply as a Terra Madre delegatte.



"My brother Paul and I have been farming since 1974. Taro, grown under wetland conditions on ancient restored lo'i, has always been our main crop. Because of the varied topography of our land, we also grow many other edible plants/trees, like sweet potato and breadfruit. My wife Vivien and I have lived on the farm since 1980, and raised our two boys here, next to Waianu stream, living off the grid with hydro-power and solar. While farming has also meant fighting to stop land development and to restore stream flows, we are fortunate to have this land and lifestyle.

What does loving the earth mean to me and what does it look like in my life? I am sitting on my composting toilet looking at the bathroom door which is covered with bumper stickers - Food is Medicine - thinking - Think Globally Act Locally - that food, that everything, is food for something, and that to - Love Your Mother -we have to engage ourselves with all aspects of food, ending with, or maybe beginning with, everyone's personal compost. 

After 40 years of farming, we know a few things. Our teacher, the land, especially its varied topography, has taught us the value of crop diversification. We grow taro, uala, cassava, ulu, fruit trees, chickens--anything we can eat. The other thing we know is that there are three answers to every farming question: "Because", "It depends", and most important, "when in doubt, add organic matter." A Rind is a Terrible Thing to Waste-Compost: food waste, green waste, humanure. Put some into a methane digester (we have a prototype) to produce both fertilizer and power (Europe and Italy have many of these). There is so much more we want to learn and do."



Mahalo to Charlie for the above "essay."