 Aloha and welcome to another episode of Hawaii Food and Farmer series. We've been on a break for a while, apologize, but we are back and ready to go. I'm your co-host Matt Johnson. Unfortunately, Justine is still on her summer vacation, but I believe she'll be back next week. We really don't know. But instead, we have a visiting co-host Jasmine. Thank you once again for joining me and being the lovely co-host. Absolutely. And so the Hawaii Food and Farmer series, what we're doing is we're bringing on the movers and shakers of Hawaii's food and agriculture industry. Hearing their stories and also trying to figure out what's being done and what else can be done to make Hawaii more food sustainable. As always, you can join in the conversation through tweeting at thinktechhi and you can also call in now. We have a hotline and the number is right there shown on the screen, so please call in. We'd love to hear from you. And also you can see the show later on YouTube at thinktechhi on YouTube channel. So with that, I'm going to go ahead and introduce our wonderful guests. So with us, we have Donna Shapiro, who is with the Malakaluulu Cooperative from the Big Island. And then we also have Kalani Franda with Kamehameha Schools. She's going to be talking about the Maheha matchup. Thank you so much for being on the show. Great having you guys. Donna, I've known you for probably a couple of months now talking about Ulu. And so I'm very excited to hear about your project. Before we get into that, let's hear from Kalani just a little bit about Maheha matchup and also the Gala event that you have coming up on July 30th. Yeah, definitely. So you know, we've been doing this for several years so far. So the Maheha matchup ag business contest. It's a venue to bring some of your best farmers together. Those that are entrepreneurs as well. And have them compete in a contest for some of Kamehameha Schools' best agricultural lands. And so we've been seeing some, you know, amazing plans that have come forth, passionate farmers and excited to see those that have won. And you're going to get to have a chance to talk with Donna about it. Gala is coming up on July 30th. You're going to have a chance to kind of talk with some of the farmers that have gone through this program. And you'll also be able to see some of the pairing that's going to happen with the chefs that are there to take some of the produce that comes from these farms. And then see some of the two winners that won parcels in Pahuehoy and Punaluu. And they're competing for the first place and second place prizes. So very excited for July 30th to come around. And excited to have you as well as a keynote speaker. Oh, right on. And so this is an event that's open to the public? Yes, it is. Oh, okay. And so just to kind of like recap the Maheha matchup. So it's a program put on by Kamehameha Schools. And this is going to be the third round, I guess. And so it's for farmers or aspiring farmers that have a business idea, a business plan. Either they want to start a new business or they want to grow their current business. And this basically what's at stake is access to some of KS's agriculture lands on both Oahu and Bigot. That's correct. That's phenomenal. And isn't there also some, like I guess not only is it access to the parcel, but isn't there a deferment of lease payment? Or what exactly are the deferments? About five years' worth. I know Donna will talk about some of the experiences that she's had with it as well. But it allows for us to kind of court each other. So they'll go through and really work the land in Malamoyan. And then we'll work along with them. But we execute an agreement for about five years. And then continue to nurture that. And as they work on implementing the project that they put together and the business plan that they put together, our hope for both sides is to mutually agree upon something that's long-term that they can go through and continue on with the plan that they've submitted to us. Wow. We're going to need much more than just 30 minutes to be able to go through all this. Because I have so many questions that are stirring up in my mind. And it's cool how you mentioned too. It's not just you. I mean obviously KS is a great thing that you guys are providing. But it was interesting how you said how it's a courting process. Because it also gives you an opportunity too to, you know, things aren't working out. Or if it's not the type of, I guess, tenant that you want on the land, there's a relatively, maybe easier way to kind of end that relationship. But also it's more of an incubation instead of just saying, okay, here's some land, go for it. Because as we all know, it takes a lot more to have a successful farming operation than just a piece of land, even though that is a huge piece. So, Don, why don't we switch over to you a little bit? And I guess before you get into the Mahiai matchup, though, give us a little background on yourself and how you got into growing Wulu on the corner side of the big island, yeah? Yeah. Well, I was born and partially raised in Israel, actually, quite far away. I come from a kibbutz, which is like a socialist farming community. So it's cooperative both in its consumption and production. People live together and they farm cooperatively and they sell those products. We had a factory as well. And then internally, we share also in our food purchases and stuff like that. So it's a double co-op. And my family moved to the U.S. when I was a kid. And I moved back to Israel after college and did my master's there actually studying the cooperative economy in Israel and how they've adapted over the last 25 years. Israel went through a massive economic recession in the 80s that shook up the cooperative sector and actually kind of inspired a wave of privatization. But in the shakeout of that wave, you still have about 20% of the original co-ops that are still completely collective. A very small number that are no longer cooperative at all. And a majority that are now this hybrid model of kind of half privatized, half cooperative. And it's a very interesting, very, in my mind, kind of a resilient inspiring model for other parts of the world that are looking at how to build more resilient economies, especially in rural areas, where clearly working together is needed. But how do we do that in a capitalist economy when the outside world is all business oriented? Wow. So that's kind of my background. And I came to Hawaii about six years ago to work on a honey farm on the big island, Volcano Island Honey Company. They make the white honey. Great stuff. And I got into breadfruit obviously after moving here. There's no breadfruit in Israel. Way too dry. Although I went back there last summer and I told people what I was doing. They're like, breadfruit, we want breadfruit here. Can we grow it in the desert? Yeah, give it a try. And so you're the second cohort for this matchup. And you were the winner last year. And so the program's been running for three years. And I guess how does one, if they're interested in farming or gaining into this, how do they apply or what's the whole process to start? Well, I think we found out online the application process, if I remember correct me if I'm wrong, is there's kind of a pre-application where it's a mini-business plan. It's like maybe a five-page question and answer. You provide a business plan summary and very basic financial projections. And then if you're selected into the semi-finalist round, you have to come up with a full business plan, more detailed financial projections. And then if you make it to the next round, then you're invited to present, make a presentation to the selection committee, which is the judges are both from Kamehameha Schools and other organizations. And then you go to the Gala. And basically at that point, you're assured that you'll get a parcel, but you don't know what place winner you're going to be. So the final placement is actually announced at the Gala. So it's a very, it's a fun event, but I remember it being nerve-wracking, because you're like eating dinner and eating dessert and then all of a sudden they announce the winners. They wait until the very end. You know, the exciting thing about that is really you're able to see an array of proposals, many different types of thoughts that went into it. And so everything from Ulu to Apples to Citrus, and I've even seen Kala Mungai, or Mungai. Oh, okay. And so coming out and seeing how you create some kind of value-added product with it. It's really interesting to kind of see the opportunities that come out of there. And so for some people, they'll not only provide kind of your mini business plan, but some of them will put in their marketing plan, history about the area, so they do a lot of research. So they'll even go above and beyond what's required with the application process. Of course that helps the screening committee. Okay. And add some value to those that have invested that kind of time. Like the open-source nature of it all. So this year what we did was we wanted to really go out into various parts of the community to let them know that we're putting on this for the third time. And so we went to farmers markets, we went to different organizations that promoted agriculture. And just asked them for some time, shared about the success of the past two years and encouraged those to kind of get involved. So we had 60 applicants this year. That's fantastic. Unfortunately we only awarded two parcels. So what's the growth from the previous year, from the second cohort? So the first year it was very huge. A lot of people, I want to say about a hundred, I think. Oh wow. Yes, and we had three, I believe it was three parcels. Second year I think they got a little tired. There was a lot of work that went into it. Yeah, absolutely. Especially by the contestants. So we wanted to encourage those that put in, you know, that tried the first year and encouraged them for the second year. And so we actually seen a couple of them that tried first year and second year and third year. Okay, that's great. But we wanted to kind of build up that excitement again. And so we did that this year. And was very excited to see the number of applicants that came through and the quality of it as well. We do have also another, actually both of them are dabblings. They have Oulu as kind of their primary crop. The winners from this year's cohort. So some of them have, that is a primary and secondary. They'll have Kassava and some other stuff. Oulu's trending. It is. That's fantastic. How many applicants do you see from the UH Ag program? Is that something that you guys participate in? It is. And so we actually, you know, that plays a big part in the qualifications because they've gone through a process. They've received level of education. So not only from the undergraduate or graduate programs, but something involving their hands-on type of. And so GoFarm does a great job in that. So we've seen a number of them that have applied. We've also seen a number of them that have applied from CTAR, so from UH's Ag program. And one of the exciting things that we did this year was we wanted to partner with GoFarm a little bit more. And so we partnered with them. They were looking at awarding some type of opportunity for Native Hawaiian students that have gone through their exposure program and getting more involved with their GoFarm program. And awarding five recipients located on Koei Maui and two, or actually four recipients, and two from Oahu. So we partnered with them to do that. No, that's great to hear how you guys are, like, partnering up with these different programs, the GoFarm program. And then, like I was saying kind of before, where there is access to land, which is huge, but then there's so many other pieces. So it's great to see that kind of combining forces and trying to have that complete package so that everyone has, you know, a much better chance of being successful. So we're definitely going to talk more about that. And we also want to hear more about your project in Kona after we come back from the break. Hi, my name is Aaron Wills. You are watching thinktechhawaii.com. I am the host of the show Rehabilitation Coming Soon. You can catch us live on thinktechhawaii.com at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays. I will see you there. Hi, I'm Ray Starling. And I am co-host for Hawaii's Wednesday afternoon State of Clean Energy. And with me today is Leslie Cole Brooks. And she's going to tell you what's happening this month with our shows. Hi, everybody. I'm Leslie Cole Brooks, the executive director of the Distributed Energy Resources Council. And this month is the focus is on distributed energy resources. We just had a great show on smart grid technologies. And the rest of the month we're going to discuss storage, different strategies, microgrids. And then we're going to have live man and woman on the street from Verge. So it's really exciting, very informative, lively, and just worth doing. So see you next Wednesday. Hi. Hello, ha! How are you doing there, lassies and laddies? This is Angus McTech here on Thinktechhawaii. And I have my favorite show, Hibachi Talk with my good old buddies. Gordo, the Texara and Andrew, the security guy. Please join us every Monday. No, it's Friday, every Friday. From 1 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. here on Thinktechhawaii. And you can also find us on YouTube. Hibachi Talk. Hello! Aloha and welcome back again to Hawaii Food and Farmer Series. I'm your co-host, Matt Johnson, with Jasmine here today. And we're talking to Donna Shapiro from Mala Kalo'ulu Cooperative. And also talking to Kalani Franda with Kamehameha Schools. And so we're talking about the Mahiai Matchup Gala Event, which is going to be happening on July 30th. And so we're just going to get a little background on how the program works, connecting with farmers and aspiring farmers to Kamehameha Schools agricultural lands. And one thing I want to make sure we have plenty of time to do those. So Donna, you were the recipient and the winner last year. So I want to hear a little bit more about the cooperative, because you got us all excited talking about your experience with cooperatives. And what was the, was it a Yiddish word that you said? No, it's a Hebrew word. Kibbutz. Kibbutz. Yeah. So are you bringing Kibbutz to the big island? I mean, not the Kibbutz model as a whole, but I think some of the things that worked from it maybe. Okay. So can you talk a little bit about what you're doing with that and with Ulu on the big island? Sure. So Mala Kalo'ulu is a worker co-op. Basically the owners are also workers on the farm. We started out with three members when we applied for the Mahi'i matchup and we've grown to five. So we've made some progress on that front. And the idea actually, because we received startup capital from the Pawahi Foundation as part of our award, instead of buying into the business with money, we're buying in with sweat equity. So each of us is making a $4,000 contribution through our work before we are full owners of the business. And then basically once we've made that amount of work investment, then we're a full owner and entitled to profit sharing. And that's really incentivized us to work the land, which is what the land needed. So our project plan is about restoring the traditional Hawaiian agriculture system that existed in the exact spot where the farm is located. And that was actually our incentive for applying is when we saw that particular parcel available. It was within the traditional Kalu'ulu which we were aware of and thought was an amazing, brilliant system. And so we wanted to do that. Oh, wow. So we actually visited the farm. We saw remnant breadfruit trees and nolly trees and a bunch of the other canoe crops, kukui. There's even a kawaiia. There's some native crops. And so that's our project. We have a traditional system. We're on a four-acre plot. And the highest acre is the most Malka acre is a pure restoration zone. So that means no outside inputs of pesticides, fertilizer, even irrigation. Oh, wow. We're really trying to replicate what the Hawaiians did and how they did it. And then the lower three acres is what we're calling an adapted Kalu'ulu. So it's based on the concept of the traditional one. But with more of a mix of crops, some Polynesian crops that weren't brought and some non-Polynesian crops and then the application of outside inputs as needed on an as-needed basis. So that's our project in a nutshell. The Kalu'ulu system was an agro forest with breadfruit as the primary canopy crop mixed with kukui and ohiai, mountain apple. And in the understory was basically all the other canoe crops and native crops too like mamaki tea. So our two commercial crops are Ulu and Olenna turmeric. Okay. And obviously this ties in really well with community of schools and your mission tying in with a project like this and also the significance of Ulu being a canoe crop and like we're saying before too there's been a lot of other interests as well other groups that are really looking into growing Ulu. But also we have just the Royal Ulu which you can sell at the market but one of the other things you guys are doing too is looking at the value added products with Ulu. You want to talk a little bit about that? Sure, yeah. So we started marketing Ulu pretty much as soon as we got the parcel because there were about a dozen mature trees on the property so we had supply. And once we started marketing it we realized as I guess anyone does who has Ulu this season is variable and it's short. We get two to three seasons a year but they only last for a month or two each. So to maintain any serious markets and to really develop the market in general you need a year-round supply and you need a way to make it more shelf-stable because once picked it ripens really, really quick. So we started processing and what we do is a very basic steaming and freezing process. So it's ready to go it can last in the freezer for six months in the fridge for a month and it cuts out all the waste and all the prep time for kitchen staff whether they're at a school or a restaurant or at home cooking for a family. So we started making that product and again ran into volume shortages where we started supplying people and they wanted more than we could provide so over the last few months we've actually been working with other Ulu farmers all around Hawaii Island to aggregate our crop process it together and market it together so we're creating a second co-op a secondary co-op if you will and we're finding that to be really, really great. The farmers get profit sharing they get a market for their crop which at this point there still is that lack of consumer education and interest in Ulu where it's still not the easiest thing to sell. So by working together we can really get those larger accounts and start to develop the market. So now talking about the educational part of it because there's people who I guess are already in the Ulu train wagon or what not I mean people love it but then there's also a lot of people that just aren't familiar with it. What kind of things are you doing or what like one of the things I guess you're at the food expo this week at Blaisdale you want to talk a little bit about that? Yeah so the I think it's the Hawaii lodging and food service expo happens once a year and it's targeting food service professionals in hotels and restaurants and basically everybody in food service in the state. So that's been the first time we've gone out there and presented our product like in an exhibit or an expo format and we've gotten great feedback I have to say there is a very small percentage of people that walk by and they're like what's that oh breadfruit oh I hate breadfruit and they walk away without even trying it but for the most part people are excited. Did anyone actually do that? Yeah like two or three out of like several hundred so small, small percentage. They're not invited but yeah everyone else has been positive and quite a few people have tasted breadfruit for the very first time over the last few days so it's been fun to expose them we have been presenting two varieties Hawaiian Ulu and Ma'afala which is a Simone variety which are very different and also three maturity stages so breadfruit is an amazing crop but one of the most amazing things in my opinion is that it can be eaten at every stage of its development from basically you know a month old teeny tiny spiky fruit on the tree to a four month old totally mature and softening ripe fruit and at every stage it has completely different taste and texture so the immature stuff the young stuff has an artichoke flavor it's like a vegetable you can pickle it you can use it in salads and in stir fries as it matures it becomes starchier so a potato-y consistency and then as it ripens it sweetens it's like a super tropical sweet potato even a banana when it gets really ripe so we've been you know actually having samples and people are tasting and they're just wowed by this versatile fruit so that's that's been really fun and I think ultimately that's what it takes there have been groups have done a great job with education already so we're just you know doing our small part right on and so it's interesting so you're talking about the different stages of breadfruit but that's also must be challenging for you trying to figure out how do you market that because you're just kind of getting started so are you thinking that you're going to maybe eventually have different products from different stages of the maturity of the cropper or how what are you thinking around that? Yeah we actually are already going to launch all the different products so we're about to launch our first retail product the brand name is Ulula which means it's our first time it's also kind of Ulala so add a little zing to it and so we have a generic label that says steamed breadfruit and then we're going to add basically variety and stage stickers to make it a little easier for now in the future we'd like to certainly have you know custom packaging for each different kind but since we're just getting started we're going to make it easy on ourselves and buy some stickers and start off that way and then for wholesale markets restaurants and you know schools and stuff they can basically tell us their preference and we can supply any of the maturity stages to them Do you see a preference kind of emerging for a particular stage? That's a great question because all the kind of consumer and marketing literature that's been published says the largest market is for the mature starchy fruit and that hasn't really been what we found over the last couple days so once people taste the immature stuff they love it they're like wow it is artichoke you know they're so surprised so that's been a surprise we thought that was going to be a super niche market and we're seeing that it might not be so small after all and the ripe stuff I think you know people like sweet so what we do is we don't sell the super ripe mushy we sell it when it just starts to ripen and at that stage it's absolutely delicious I mean it's like a sweet potato in texture it's kind of pineapple-y kind of banana-y so very special I think that the mature stuff is still going to have maybe the most versatility for chefs because you can fry it you can mash it you can make hash on that level but I think that all three of them are going to be popular So for someone like me just wanting to go in and buy this like where can I go and get it right? So we haven't launched yet we're just finalizing our label but over the next couple months you can expect to see us in all of those markets around Oahu and Hawaii Island and hopefully in retail stores too so we've been starting to talk to grocery stores so yeah and we are online at eatbreadfruit.com so if you want to know exactly where to find us as soon as we launch we'll have a list of retailers eatbreadfruit.com So you have probably cooked with breadfruit quite a bit at this point is there like a go-to dish for you? We can't deny each have our own things that we do so he his preference is patties so you can just steam it and you can even store it in the freezer you can steam a whole bunch and throw it in the freezer that's kind of what we're selling but then once you defrost it you can re-steam it so just soften it up again and then you mash it up with onions and spices and anything else I mean you can throw in corned beef or you can throw in mushrooms at that stage in some nice hot oil it's like the best veggie burger you'll ever have protein also has quite a good amount of protein or Ulu has quite a bit of protein so as a vegan or a vegetarian food it's super healthy it is really the next super food up and coming my preference is probably more of like an Ulu salad just because it's so easy and you can put anything else in it you know you can do it kind of creamy with avocado or you can do it more asian style Ulu and sesame oil and I think that's always been one of the challenges with Ulu is like you said the short shelf life that it has and so it's great that you guys are kind of thinking ahead like one first you got to like stabilize it so you're going ahead and you're freezing it and then you have you know a product that can then be sold to chefs and restaurants and one of the things that people are also looking to is with flour, Ulu flour and that's going to be possible I think once the volume increases yes, but until the volume of what's produced here does increase significantly the economics of flour are really tough because you lose about 70 to 80 percent of the volume so with the steam product you're only losing 20-25 percent so that's the difference So Clay are we going to have Ulu at the Mahe match up gala? I believe we are and I wanted to say I think I'm pretty sure that you've been talking with Ulu farmers here in Oahu I believe one of them is our winner in Poonolu as well so you really need to see the network of Ulu farmers coming together and really see how important it is to build that camaraderie and looking at how do you come together as a co-op and meet the needs of all the desires that the public is looking for and one quick tie-in is that we're going to be also selling and piloting our process product at the Mahe Mahe match up gala so if you want to get some and be the first to see it we're going to be having it there available for sale. Wow, that's a great great plug so that's a perfect way unfortunately we ran out of time thank you so much for coming on to this show and very excited to hear about the matchup coming up and also the new product lines that are happening and definitely hoping I know you brought me and I'm also looking forward to trying that so yeah, thank you so much and yeah, thanks again Hawaii Food and Farmer series we're here every Thursday afternoon at 4pm Aloha