Rachel – Program Coordinator

I came to Hoʻokuaʻāina wanting to learn more about my culture and I am here now wanting to be a farmer. After tasting the satisfaction of growing my own food, I know I could never go back. I’ve come to appreciate and value the food I put into my body, just as my ancestors did. Food was sacred to them, it was their religion. In my opinion, so many problems could be solved if we just ate the food of our ʻāina. It is so much healthier for both people and the environment. I’m living to see Hawaiʻi thriving in food production and I will do all I can to make this a reality. I’m not talking about growing pineapples to ship off to foreign countries, I’m talking about restoring our kahawai, our loko iʻa, and creating more loʻi kalo. We need to create more organizations like Hoʻokuaʻāina to inspire and change more lives, just as it has done for me.