December 2015  Vol 43  
Same Canoe Newsletter    Hawaii, California & Washington

Local Heroes . Food Coupon Book . More Mushrooms & Chocolate . New Food System Working Group
Announcing $900,000 Solar Grant for Miloli'i . December Pollinator Hunt  . Become a Member 

 


One Island News
Same Canoe at
Choice Mart for
Holiday Foods
BUY LOCAL EBT Days 
December 5, 12 and 19

'Localicious' 
Everyone is encouraged to BUY LOCAL for holiday foods and gifts.

Thanks to a pilot project with Choice Mart, EBT card users can enroll and use Same Canoe free food coupons at Choice Mart in Captain Cook, December 5, 12 and 19th for a special Holiday Local Food bonanza.

New Feature: LOCAL FISH from our island fishermen can be purchased with Same Canoe EBT coupons on the 5th, 12th and 19th at Choice Mart.

See the Same Canoe booth at Choice Mart, 11am-6pm to sign up and qualify for up to $60 in free Hawaii food coupons.

Must be a resident of Kau, South Kona, North Kona or North Kohala and have an active SNAP EBT card.

Choice Mart: A Farmers' Market Everyday! 


Hawaii FEAST
We love local food entrepreneurs
 

On September 24th, the Hawaii Island Community Food System Stakeholders convened a FEAST food system meeting to light a fire under local activists. Each working group is now tasked to identify and generate concrete food system change outcomes.

Are you interested in promoting new and emerging local agriculture and food businesses? 

Business Development Working Group
Tour, Lunch and Planning Meeting
December 3rd, 11:30am -3pm

If you are interested in fostering innovation and economic revitalization in the food system on Hawaii Island, you are invited to attend a working group gathering on Thursday, December 3rd.

Includes tour of the Hamakua Mushroom Farm, catered local foods lunch, and planning group meeting. 11:30am-3pm in Laupahoehoe. Email: oneislandganesh@gmail.com  
  
FEAST = Food, Education, Agriculture Solutions Together

See Invitation
Here

Local Food Coupon Book  
Try Something New! 
The NEW Same Canoe Local Food Coupon Book is now available with over $500 in savings on dining, food, plants & wellness PLUS all proceeds benefit local non-profits working on food and wellness missions. $25 per book, $20 when buying 5 as gifts.  

Coupon Books available at
the Hawi, Kona Sunset and South Kona Farmers' Markets, Local Dish and Ha Apothecary in Hawi, Healthways in Waimea, Under the Bodhi Tree in Mauna Lani, Daylight Mind in Kona, and Gypsea Gelato in Kainaliu.

Holiday Gift Bag - coupon book plus rare International Award Winning Madre Chocolate Hawi bar and Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory criollo plumeria. $35. Only available online in the One Island Tool Shop or at Hawi Farmers Market and South Kona Green Markets at Same Canoe booth.

Buy . Eat . Live Local!

Mahalo to the 24 companies who are launching the coupon book with us!
We are charting new territory together. 
Climate Change
Presentation
Sustainable Kohala presents a Climate Change Conversation with Holly and Eila Algood, certified trainers with the
Climate Reality Project.

Saturday, December 12th, 2-5pm
at The Kohala Hub Barn

Hawaii avoided numerous 2015 Hurricanes

Mahalo to Sustainable Kohala for enriching our lives with valuable education programs 
Who's in the Canoe?
Same Canoe Local Food Challenge project
stakeholders and sites
 
Da Box CSA at the Food Basket
South Kona Green Market
Adaptation's Fresh Feast CSA
Honaunau School Garden 
Kohala School Garden
Ho'opomaika'i Community Health
Hawaii Farmers Union United,
Kona Chapter
Choice Mart
Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers
Kona Sunset Market
Hawi Farmers Market
Amy B H Greenwell Garden
West Hawaii Community Health 

Join the Great
Pollinator Hunt:
December is a Top Month for Viewing and Observing
Help us map community sightings of our pollinators. Easy to use online  
resource center
provides tools and data form to make reporting fun.

Take a Walk! 

We need your input
.
Great parent/child, senior, and outdoor active experiences.
Help us gather the data to build a community pollinator map.


 
 The Great Pollinator Hunt is a project of One Island's Green School, with tools provided by the Jane Goodall Institute Roots and Shoots.

 

Join Our Mailing List 

Click here to join our online  news & learning community and to receive our monthly newsletter 

 


Local Food System

Green Building

Art and Culture

Natural Resources

 

It's all connected.


Join One Island or Make a Donation
to our speaker and instructor 2016 fund 

Make the Local Food Pledge
to help increase Island food security
Click to Make the Pledge
Food Security Matters

Click the Double It! seal
to make the Pledge
and be entered in drawings for rewards coupons at local merchants and special event passes.

 

Sustainable Living Heroes
Working for Change


Food Foraging
Hawaii is a model setting for achieving positive social, economic, cultural, environmental, health, resource management, and land use practices. Our island has finite boundaries, finite resources, and disruptions in our systems are rapidly felt. We islanders are the canaries, alert to changes in our environment.

During 2015, indicators of local Island risks and global climate impacts were more widely discussed than ever before. The urgency to develop wise, well informed resource planning is gaining momentum and is helping to shape changes in public policy at an increasingly rapid rate.

Change is challenging ...
and empowering.

The good news is that Hawaii Island has so many creative and inspired organizations and individuals working for change, local to global. You folks are our heroes and we are so grateful for your vision, perseverance, and humor in the face of the largely human obstacles we face.

Eating Green, Growing Healthy

 

Hawaii Food Basket

 

Recycle Hawaii

 

Hawaii Island School Garden Network 

 

Blue Zone Project

 

Ho'opomaika'i

 

Kona Pacific Charter School


See more about these positive change agents below.


Smart Change is Good!

   

A special Mahalo to Council Members Margaret Wille and Maile David, making change happen and improving lives.

 

Chocolate and Mushrooms
Continue For December

We had 55 people attend the Grow your Own Mushroom workshops in November - a record high. Local Chocolates were presented at the Hawi Block Party and the Kona Town Night Market. More Mushroom and Chocolate delights are planned for December. Join us for the fun!

 
Mushroom tour 
 
 
Mushroom Tour December 3rd
Tour of the Hamakua Mushroom Farm
with option for delicious local food lunch 
Meet-up for tour 11:15, lunch at 1pm
 



Tour:
register online with mushroom farm 
at Kama'aina rate if resident. 12/3, 11:30 tour.

Lunch:  Reserve online for savory Mushroom Veggie Stir Fry from Papaaloa Bakery and Cafe with award winning local honey and mac nut baklava, beverage included. $12.50. Reserve online.  

Making Chocolate at Kuaiwi Farm
Chocolate 
Chocolate!
December 20th 
Join us at the Mountain Thunder Cafe in the Mauna Lani Hotel on Sunday, December 20th for a delicious chocolate experience, 1-4pm.
Identify yourself as a Same Canoe newsletter reader and enjoy a discount on local grown and Hawaii made chocolates.
Great time to gather holiday gifts and stocking stuffers!

Chocolate will also be available at South Kona Green Market on December 6th, and Hawi Farmers' Market on December 12th. 
$5-8 a bar, with Coupon Book and Chocolate combo for $35. Reserve in advance to ensure availability. 
  
Sign up for these events or preorder chocolates
in One Island's Tool Shop


December Markets
Love Your Farmers' Market!

Same Canoe booths will be at the following Farmers' Markets in December:

Hawi Farmers Market
December 5, 12, 19
and resume on January 9th

Kona Sunset Market
December 2, 9, 16
and resume on January 13th

South Kona Green Market
December 6, 13, 20 and resume on January 10th

Buy Local . Grow Local . Eat Local . Live Local

It makes a difference!
 
 
2016 Programs
Good Medicine: Food, Health and Culture

 
  
Good Medicine
January - March

Plants offer food and medicine, fuel, clothing, and shelter. They are part of our everyday life, sometimes in ways we don't even realize. Plants are essential to our health and wellbeing.

How to live to over 100? 

For January and February, One Island will be exploring the many health benefits of food, plants, and the ways our health and wellness are impacted by the foods we eat. We'll make it, taste it, share it and appreciate it with guest presenters at the Hawi and South Kona Farmers' Markets.

Scientists are discovering clear evidence that plant-based foods are directly tied to living a long and happy life in communities around the world. Why not Hawaii too?

There are two projects on the island this year sharing the findings of what helps people live to over 100. Ho'opomaika'i is serving the Kona area and the Blue Zones initiative is serving the Kohala area with lots of valuable resources we can all benefit from. Watch for their presentation and event dates in future Same Canoe newsletters.

January - March we will celebrate food as a cultural experience and invite you to attend dining events with flavors from around the world created by ingredients grown in Hawaii. Come celebrate the flavors of Hawaii!

Food IS Good Medicine! 
 
Solar for Sustainable Living
Solar Cooking

Changing Lives

With a holistic look at sustainability, fuel and power are high on the list of resources that impact our lives and that directly impact our environment. As climate change gains visibility, local choices we make become even more important.

Solar energy has been a One Island cornerstone and you can read about our previous West Hawaii Sustainable Energy Project that brought over $1.1 million in technology and services to the Island. Both of One Island's learning sites have been off grid and we are active proponents of energy independence.

New Solar Grant for 2016-2019

Great news for 2016 is that we have been approved to serve the remote fishing village of Milloli'i to install a Native Hawaiian off grid power system bringing electricity, refrigeration, solar cooking and water purification options to low income homes.

We'll be investing $900,000 in federal and local dollars to help Miloli'i get power and fresh foods.


solar fridges
First Solar Electricity & Refrigeration

We previously powered up their community pavilion and brought the first solar refrigeration to the village. 2016-2019 we will work with individual homeowners to improve their quality of life and save money on their energy costs.

A Big Mahalo to the USDA for funding these services to Miloli'i!
 


Email hawaii@oneisland.org for information

Celebrating Local Heroes 
 
During 2015, One Island had the opportunity to work with and learn from these great organizations. It DOES take a village to accomplish our higher goals and we thank the visionaries - and hard working every day folks - who help these groups make our Island and more just, compassionate, and healthy place.

Protecting Hawaii for all generations

Hawaii Food Basket
connecting people in need of food with local farmers and donated products, every day. Mahalo for launching the Da Box CSA bringing fresh produce from local farms to local families, every week. And thanks for launching the FEAST food system conversation and action. Web site. 
 
Kohala Land Preservation  
Five groups and the County Open Space Fund are working together to preserve irreplaceable natural and historic resources for future generations. Mahalo to Maikai Kamakani O Kohala, Kamakani O Kohala Ohana, Malama Kohala Kahakai, Kohala Historic and Preservation Group and Malama Wahi Pana O Kohala for helping to preserve the North Kohala coastline. Web information, see page 8.
 
Recycle Hawaii  
Keeping our critical recycling programs intact and providing excellent education about our options that included saying "No!" to non-viable and unsafe incineration and "Yes!" to expanding composting and recycling. Web site.
 
Hawaii Island School Garden Network  
Connecting kids with nature through science, math, writing and the arts as vehicles for understanding where our food comes from - and how great local foods taste! Inspiring a new generation of teachers and natural, fresh, healthy food eaters. Web site.

Blue Zone Project 
Imagine communities with high rates of good health and happiness, members living to over 100, and the secret being a lifestyle everyone can adopt. Hawaii Island is a test site for the Blue Zone Project promoting healthy living. Web site.
 
Ho'opomaika'i 
Living a Blue Zone lifestyle is a combination of changing thought and behavior. The Seventh Day Adventist community in Loma Linda has been identified as a Blue Zone longevity center and their counterparts here in Hawaii are sharing the practices that increase well-being and build healthy communities. Web site.

Kona Pacific Charter School 
What if a school combined academic learning with hands-on agriculture and immersion in Hawaiian culture? What if computers were set aside (or not even in classrooms) and a child's imagination was stimulated by story and art, handcrafts and nature? You'd have an award winning school, Kona Pacific Charter School, with a waiting list that attests to the desirability of this education model. KPCS will be bringing a $1.2 million State-funded commercial kitchen to the West Hawaii community to improve health, stimulate  local farm product businesses, and provide healthy food for all ages. Web site. 
 
Green IS a Verb - and these folks are doing it!

 
Food Builds Community - 2015 Fall Review

Kohala Honey Bees
Fall 2015 has been full of fun events at the Hawi Farmers' Market, Kona Sunset Market, South Kona Green Market, local farm tours and library film nights. Thanks to the collaborative participation of many growers, food buyers, and food and health organizations. The Same Canoe Local Food Challenge hosted its first three-month series of 'Food Builds Community' events and these event days DOUBLED the foot traffic and local food buzz at the Markets.

Connecting People to Local Food and Local Farmers is our healthy, green living goal

As of December 1st, 250 EBT users have signed up for the Local Food Coupon program that matches regular EBT produce purchases with an equal dollar of free local food coupons to purchase fresh and local foods at our beautiful Markets. This translates into $15,550 in produce/ product purchases, with at least $10,700 being purchases of ISLAND GROWN produce and products spurred by the Same Canoe Project. Fresh produce, value added Hawaiian products, and seeds and seedlings are all part of these new purchases. Building the Green Economy!

Community Events


Same Canoe Launch Parties

September Highlights
were the Local Food Challenge Launch Celebrations with Food Basket, Hopomaikai, Adaptations, Dr. Corinne DeSoto, Slow Food Hawaii, Same Canoe, Sustainable Kohala, author Sonia Martinez, Lokahi Garden Sanctuary, Dr. Hana Roberts, N.D., Soil to Soul ferments with Donna Maltz, Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, Kona Seed Bank, Amy B H Greenwell Garden, The Blue Zone Project of Kohala, Chef Stephen Rouelle of Under the Bodhi Tree, the Same Canoe keiki art area, and the fun days were capped off by a Garden Supply Drawing thanks to a donation from Lowes and One Island.

Young Bee Keeper, Great Salesman


October Highlight
was the BEE-utiful celebrations of local honey products with Beekeepers in South Kona and North Kohala with fun keiki areas and a Going on a Bee Hunt contest with many happy winners. October launched the Great Pollinator Hunt encouraging island residents to post observations of butterflies, bees and moths in our yards, gardens, farms and neighborhoods as part of a new community mapping project. A Welcome Pollinators workshop with instructor Zach Mermel was co-hosted at the Kohala Elementary School Garden. 'Vanishing of the Bees' films were shown at the North Kohala public library and Algood farm.

November started with a Tree and Edible Plant Sale at the Hawi and  and South Kona Markets with plant collections from four nurseries in Kohala, Hamakua and South Kona bringing grow-it-yourself opportunities to help build food self-sufficiency. Everett Pang and Ty McDonald served as our esteemed Tree Doctors. Anna
Kohala Food Foraging
Peach of Squash and Awe came to the Kohala Seniors Club for a presentation on her research and farming experiences aimed at expanding the types of local squash available on our island.

Mushroom Magic at Amy Greenwell
A fascinating wild food foraging walk was held with author Sunny Savage, an Aquaponics and Honey farm tour was hosted by the Algood Farm, local Hawaiian Chocolate showcases at the Hawi Block Party and Kona Town Market Night were sweet events, and Grow Your Own Mushroom Workshops at Kokolulu Farm and Amy B H Greenwell Garden with Zach Mermel filled the month with favorite flavors and more food security skill building.

Fungi Fun at Kokolulu Farm, Hawi




Thanks to the farmers and local food supporters who helped make these events fun and enriching demonstrations of our island's potential and on-the-ground efforts to really

Grow . Buy . Eat . Live Local!
 



 


photo credit

We invest year end donations in speaker stipends for the coming year. Donate here.