 Another thrilling Thursday of Hawaii Food and Farmer series. I am Pomai Weigert and I'm going to be your host today. I'm very excited because my guest today is Mahelani. She comes with just a plethora of talents and experience in the food and farming industry. Mahelani, could you please tell us who you are and who you work with, what you do? Alright, I'm Mahelani Matsuzaki. I work for the Kamehameh Schools in their community-based community engagement and resources division. My particular line of work there is with community partnerships on Kamehameh Schools lands. What is the name of the program? Aina Engagement, specifically Aina Ulu. And is it statewide? Yes, Kaua'i to Hawaii Island and everything in between. That's awesome. We have these little notes in here so we can talk about what we can talk about and what we cannot talk about. This is the outline to remember. This is so that if we forget, if we're getting off track. And how long have you been doing this? For 12 years now. Oh, yeah. So was your experience in community Aina engagement or did you sort of just fall into that 12 years ago? Well, my background actually is in education. I trained English teacher, student publications, I know. Okay, let's put pieces together. I like critique your writing kind of thing. But I also worked for a small private ed tech company here in Hawaii and also Alulike. With Career Technical Ed, we did a lot of developing and managing programs, education programs. Which is how I got into the same thing, developing and managing programs at Kamehameha. Oh, how long has this program been in operation? Have you been with them since the beginning or is it like very old, I mean long? It started before me in about 2000, I think about 2000. It came out of our first strategic plan from 2000 to 2015. So it preceded me. It was originated with a whole bunch of community participants. And their primary interest was how do we engage community and learners in these beautiful places? Accessing places as learning, sites as places of learning. In the last 12 years, you must have seen a lot of change and shift. I mean, it's our society, our economy, our communities, our food. Has been successful? Obviously, things can't happen overnight or in a decade or everything. We can't have all our dreams, but do you feel like it's going in the right direction? I think it's really interesting progress. I mean, fast food is so pervasive. That's a good word. Thank you. It's not judgmental. So, I mean, cheap and quick food, it's what fuels a lot of, not fuel, maybe not fuel, maybe that's not the wrong word, but it's there. But I mean, both the fast food as well as all of those other elements of convenience, like plastics, recyclables, certain kinds of, I mean, there's big huge shifts. That's where I see those shifts happening. Who doesn't carry a water bottle around anymore? Everybody owns multiple water bottles practically. Maybe that's the new industry. You mean like a hydro flask? Yeah. Like not a plastic water bottle? Yeah. Yeah, those are very out. People look down on you now if you're like, If you don't. Yeah, you better have a reusable everything. And I'm grateful, but it is, it's very consumer driven. And we're taking like a very big social shift. Do you, with the, because is it organizations that your program partners with or like who are you guys trying to target? Well, we, you know, we have partnered with community organizations that steward, restore land and places. They usually come in to that place. They, they're part of those communities. Their families are in those communities. Educating children is part of what they do naturally. So those are usually who we look to when we, when we partner, when we think about a special, really special place. Who would you entrust that with? Yeah. And most of these lands are Kamehameha's agriculture and conservation lands, which constitute the bulk of Kamehameha school's lands. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Like 85% of it. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I didn't realize it was such a big chunk. Yeah. Well, then the, well, and obviously the, the stewardship is vital. And, and we were just talking about. It's essential. It's, it has, that has to be there. And we were just talking about too, how like these practices and protocols and types of education are really making like a revival or a, not just locally, but globally. Yes. Like people are traveling the world. Indigenous knowledge. Yes. Indigenous knowledge. Yes. What was old is new again. So the ways that indigenous people lived on the land, you know, they call it leave no footprint kind of thing. I don't know. It's not a scouting, Boy Scout kind of thing. I don't know what to call it. I don't know where you, you leave as little footprint. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Live lightly. Live long. Yeah. No, it's, it's a, it's a challenge every day, especially on an island like this one that has a lot of the population. We have a lot of external. What is it? Tourism is like 6 million a year, 7 million a year. It's big. It's a big chunk. And again, looking at ways to integrate knowledge and economy and all of those types of things. Do you get to travel a fair bit with your work? In our island, I used to do that quite a bit when I covered all of the projects statewide. Oh, okay. Yes. So is it just you or do you have a team? So there are two others that do what I do and we have a team of six. Oh. People. Okay, statewide. We have, yes statewide. This is statewide work. In fact, my supervisor lives on the Big Island. We have a guy, another guy on the Big Island. We have somebody on Maui and then we have three of us on Oahu. The bulk of Kamehameha's lands are on Hawaii Island, the huge amount of them. Yeah. And then Oahu, a little bit on Kaua'i and a little bit on Maui and Molkaui. And are you from here? From Oahu. Yes. I know this family actually is from Maui, behind the side, but I grew up in Kaneohe and then here in town. And then did you go to school here or did you go away to school? Nope. Oh. Yep. Oh. Went to U8. Oh. My undergraduate and my graduate programs. Okay. Okay. When we're looking at, you know, there's so many people who are looking at the future of agriculture and agriculture is a really hot topic right now. Because it's food systems and again it's making a big social shift. Are there things that you see in your work that could be consumer driven or community driven that are impacting the way that you folks run your organization? I don't want to make that connection there yet, but I do think that we pay attention and see and look at what a lot of the forerunners of the industry are doing. I don't think we're necessarily like a, I guess, a testing and research type of organization. But we, so a lot of the actual ag happens with our land managers and our resource managers. Which is different from what you do. Yes. We engage community partnerships on KS land and there's our more on the tenant side, the farmers, the, that are on our lands. But you asked about what do we do in our work. We actually partner with folks who's steward lands, and some of them are doing things like restoring food systems. So of course, again, back to indigenous knowledge, things like ahupua systems where water, lo'i, field systems, fish ponds, a lot of these are old technologies that we, I think that most think that there are answers in those old technologies on how to grow food now. Yeah. Yeah. That was great. Good job on that one. Thank you. Yeah. I, I, whenever I have a, a guest, I always like to tell, I always like to ask them sort of like what are their favorite foods in Hawaii because the show is about food and farms. So there's always like a, a food from a farm and then just maybe, you know, a food from Hawaii. What are some of the, what are some of your favorites? Okay. I'm gonna go out on that. You know, shout out to two people. Oh, here it is. Okay. One is um, Robbureka, his counterculture. Oh, Bureka. I know. Bureka. Go farm alumni. Yeah. Um, and his kimchi, his spicy Asian pear kimchi. You liked that one. That was good. That was good. Well, I liked that one too. I think, and he's very creative. Their whole crew is very out of the box. Yeah. Yeah. So I could see how, okay. So that's, I, I really do enjoy that as a, like a regular thing. I guess, and the other one is Kasha Ho and her fermented, um, tea, fermented green tea. She also, that was awesome. I don't know if this is a secret. I don't think it is because she, she had this at, uh, Vi Vi, but she does kefir sodas. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they're so good. They're like, oh, when you come visit us, can you bring kefir sodas? But she, um, again, I feel like it's, it's kind of taking like these old knowledges or, you know, um, like preserving food, that's like a cultural practice, you know, and, and both the kimchi and the tea, I mean, they're, they're like inherently good for you, you know, and, um, but then when you add the brand of Kasha and Rob, like it turns into economy, which is really thrilling, which I feel like it's such, it's such an exciting time for people who are going into new business, um, if you're creative because I feel like right now, if you're not creative, you're behind the curve, you're behind the curve. Okay. So, um, what about foods you grew up with that are, are, are sort of more local? Maybe do you have any guilty pleasures that Hawaii has? Yes. Yeah. Dry aku. Oh. So. I don't know if that's guilty though. I don't know if that's. I feel like that's. If you eat the whole thing, yeah. I think it is kind of a little guilty. When you were a little kid and your grandma had, you know, brought some aku from the fish store, dry aku and that little pink wrapped up butcher paper, you know, you, you got a little piece, you know, you got, that was caught up and then you got a little bit. And then you chewed it for a long time because it better last because you ain't going to get any more. Yeah. Love it. Get every piece of that. Right. Well, um, yeah. So a friend of mine brought home from the, somebody creative, um, is drying and processing in Hilo and it was sold in, um, the Kona Costco. Oh. Um, and a, one of those little, ziplock bags, right? And a friend who was in Kona brought that home and forgot in my refrigerator, yay. And, um, that was my snack and that was my little guilty pleasure, just pounding the bag of aku. Well, more on guilty pleasures right after this break. We'll see you in a little bit. Hi, I'm Ethan Allen, host on Think Tech Hawaii of Pacific Partnerships in Education. Every other Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., I hope you'll join us as we explore the value, the accomplishments and the challenges of education here in the Pacific Islands. Hey, Aloha, standing energy man here on Think Tech Hawaii where community matters. This is the place to come to think about all things energy. We talk about energy for the grid, energy for vehicles, energy and transportation, energy and maritime, energy and aviation. We have all kinds of things on our show, but we always focus on hydrogen here in Hawaii because it's my favorite thing. That's what I like to do. But we talk about things that make a difference here in Hawaii, things that should be a big changer for Hawaii. And we hope that you'll join us every Friday at noon on Stand the Energy Man and take a look with us at new technologies and new thoughts on how we can get clean and green in Hawaii. Aloha. Is it going to be? Hi. And we're back. That was a quick break. And we ended our last little set on guilty pleasure, food guilty pleasures. And that is going to jump us right into when we were on the break, we were talking about what we wanted to talk about next. What do we want to talk story about next? And we really wanted to talk about the variety showcase that was, took place a couple of months ago, like February or March, like February or March. And it was a collaboration with the Culinary Breeding Network, Go Farm Hawaii, lots of cool people. There were a lot of cool people at that event. It was held at Kapiolani Community College. And I was so excited that we were a part of that one because it had chefs and it had farmers, but it was very different because it showcased different varieties. So the food and beverage, I want to say food scene, chef scene, it's very hype. You know, like if you're a foodie, you've been to a lot of different shows. Every chef has a farmer. It's very marketable right now. But that show was very different because it was very brainy. You know, and there were things that I feel like even if you're a normal foodie and you attend a lot of different things, that there were things that I had never seen before. So thoughts on variety showcase, that was a good one. Thank you. So I think it's probably my favorite foodie event I have ever attended. I mean, we're talking about, you know, foodie events. We're not paying her guys. No, no, not at all, not at all. And you know, usually people get dressed up to these foodie events and they wear their high heels and whatever. Our farmers were kind of dressed up. That was kind of dressed up. They were the Fawkes community. Yeah. It was great. Aloha shirt. Aloha shirt. Yeah, clean shirt. It was like, just how about clean shirt? Can we do clean shirt? They changed the hat. Yeah. They did. They did. It was great. But just the, like you said, it's the nerd version. Because of all of the seed varieties, there was like a, you know, the whole genetics thing. And it was organic breeding network. I feel like it was also there. So I feel like people who think they know a lot of things, I think really had their minds open to, there is a lot of genetics that is also in organic breeding. It was great to see the curators and the breeders and the farmers really shine with these partnerships obviously with chefs. We had a lot of great chefs. And chefs always bring all the people to the yard. That's true. You know. So we have to always, because that's the delivery method, you know. Okay. Besides the booze, what was your favorite dish? You just automatically thought the cocktails were going to be my favorite. I didn't drink it. So I didn't know. Oh. Other than that. Your two favorite dishes. Oh, gosh. I like the one from Roy's. He did like a, oh gosh, Moringa. Oh, the Kalamonga fried rice. Yes, yes. The little medallion of Kalamonga fried rice with the lechon kawali on top. That was great. And he was, I like that he did. That was brilliant. It was pretty brilliant. You know, like, I haven't seen that on a lot of, you know, I've been to a few and I haven't seen that, that's method or that style. And he was so fun. Like he was really engaging. It didn't like get to, you know, he was ready. He was ready to go with that. How about you? That one, definitely. I went back several times for those teeny tiny little things. I liked the banana, Hawaiian banana source, banana Gabe. Oh, gosh. They did banana Gabe. He did like a banana mousse. So it was like banana, but like, you know, hardcore North Shore style. So it was like, you know, felt like it had more authenticity. Nothing against banana. I mean, probably he sells bananas to them, but that was great. There was polenta. Oh, yes. There was polenta. Who did polenta? Oh, no. Oh, Bureka. Yes, Rob Bureka. Him and Jay. He and Jay, boss. I think they had polenta. That's right, because they do the, they do variety corn. And then small kind farm was the mushroom on top of it. That was Ed, Benny. Yep. Right. Because he wanted to, he did a comparison. Yeah, yeah. He did California version cornmeal and then, and then Hawaii. And then as, I mean, I know you didn't drink, but beer lab was there. They did a great job. I love them. I mean, shout out to beer lab. Did you see all the honeys? And they had them in these, in the wine glasses. I thought their presentation was great and their university. So I feel like that's another thing too, is like, showcasing the research element with the food, with the farmer. And bridging those industries. I feel like bridging those industries because it's very like, you know, you sit at your table or I'm going to go under my tree. Where like this was, you really got to see research, farm, foodie. Afterwards, we were talking about how like 10 years ago, you know, things like organic farming and like agritourism, they were so radical. Those people were the radicals where like now, you know, that's where a lot of farmers are looking at. How can they diversify, especially when they make all, you know, really cool, you know, cool products and like a way to grow business. Was there a farmer that you liked at the variety showcase? Yes, because. Well, I mean all of them, but I'm good. Yes. Definitely yes. I did like, so all the cabbages, did you see the mounds of cabbages? That was pretty eye catching. But also Dr, I'm going to say his name is Ahmed, something, the one that does. Chippies. Yes. That was amazing. Secret note that nobody knows, I went and picked up those garbanzos. I picked up those chippies out. There was this whole thing because. From the bushes? No, no, no, not like, not like pick them. That's so funny. No, pick them up from the office. Yeah, I picked them up from his office because his building is next to ours at Manoa. So, I literally went in there and I was like, I'm here for chickpeas and they knew exactly who I was and then I was able to bring them down. What did you think about those? Those were different. I was not expecting that. I like falafel. So, grow all of it. See, these varieties, they're talking about testing the different varieties, right? That would grow well in Hawaii, right? So I mean, I think that's fascinating that these varieties of plants that grow in other parts of the world, not native to this world, because we want improved soil health. So grow more legumes and beans, right? In Hawaii. So that's pretty awesome. I like that. Right next to him also too was Galen Teveth and his most beautiful mustard cabbage. Yeah. And he's like a genius and he's like a revered and he's like, you know, a cute old Hawaiian man, you know, from Hawaii, and he just has so much knowledge. Those beautiful mustard cabbage, I've never seen such a beautiful mustard cabbage. That's a pretty good job. We're coming to the close of our conversation. But last question is, you're obviously in it for the long run, being in food and stewardship and culture. What is your hope for the future? What do you, you know, if people are watching this and you want them to like be involved or know something about being a part of this community in Hawaii, what would that be? Wow, you don't ask. Sorry. You asked hard questions. No, it can be simple. It can be simple. I know you know. Well, I think for individuals is start, start at home, start small, something that you can make a part of your regular life, whether it's composting or it's buying, you know, make an effort to buy local produce, you know, the way that they lay out supermarkets. I think it's the, you only shop the perimeter, because that's where the meats and the meats and the vegetables and the fruits and the, all those things are. Start there, you know, start with your own regular habits and develop those. And then think about, you know, what's in your community, what things that you can get involved with and support, whether it's with your, you know, a school in your community, your children's school, a hobby. I mean, we've got a lot of people hiking all over, lots of recreation, but you know, these landscapes that we live on, their primary thing, if we take care of it, you know, if we do better taking care of it, we will have more food security and just more security period. And I think if we are able to feed ourselves, it's not just a, you know, it's a, to say the S-word sovereignty issue, all of us, if we are able to feed ourselves, how much more secure can we be? We're not dependent on anything else. No one's ever said the S-word. It really comes down to that, right? Managing, you know, all of those things full circle are our ability to rely and depend on ourselves and our communities around us. Great. Thank you, Mahelani, for spending this time with me on a Thursday afternoon. I hope that people were listening and they heard what they can do for themselves and for their community, because I feel like just really turning that light bulb on is key. So that's the end of today's show, guys. See you next time.