Write on, brother

What an enriching Saturday doing restoration work in Honokawai Valley with Uncle Ed and Punani Lindsey and the Maui Cultural Lands group. This group has been working for over 10 years to restore a valley that Hawaiians lived in hundreds of years ago. The whole valley was totally overgrown so if you came upon it you wouldn’t be able to tell people lived there. But as invasive species of plants and trees were removed, many stone walls were uncovered revealing an ancient lifestyle. It is thought about 600 people lived there, grew food and made their way to the ocean – about 2 miles – to fish. Such a magical place and a privilege to have a chance to be there and have a dose of Uncle Ed’s wisdom. Much taro has been planted - and sweet potatoes. One side is a steep cliff whose wall has a lifetime of stories written all over its face. and birds nests. and plants hanging. Sisal, which was brought to Hawaii to make rope for the shipping community. Looks like yucca. I spent the morning watering taro plants. As I knew it might be a week until someone came back, I was very careful not to miss any lest they not survive. Taro is a sacred and important plant to Hawaiians. Which is one reason they don’t like Monsanto genetically engineering it. It really goes against their cultural belief that the taro is the ancestor of Hawaiian people. Things like this hurt your heart when you hear about them. Some Hawaiians have become bitter and angry about violations of their culture again and again over time. Those that have found a better way to deal with unfairness, that stay centered and in their spirit, those become respected kupuna, elders of the community. After a lunch with some shared treats and good talkstory, I spent the afternoon walking up past where the valley has been cleared and you can see that there are more stone walls that you can’t see unless you know you are looking for them. This is how the whole valley must have looked. Then, I was handed a freshly sharpened machete and hacked at some tree stumps which had new growth coming from where they had been cut. Constant maintenance to keep out the invasives. Next, we took a short tour of many different native species that have been reintroduced. They all have the most beautiful names that you can’t pronounce or remember 30 seconds later, partly because you’ve already been told the name of the next plant. And the next.  Finally, we loaded into the back of the big flatbed for the horrendously bumpy ride back to where our cars awaited. Once in our own cars, we drove through the Kaanapali Coffee Estates – starting at $1.2 million – on our way down the hill to the highway for the 20 mile drive back from Lahaina to Kihei along a road so close to the water that you can stick out your tongue and have it come back salty. The views ain’t bad either.

Maury King