Big on Bamboo
In a time when many conversations are turning to self-sufficiency,
sustainability and revitalizing our economy, growing bamboo seems to
outshine the status quo of importing virtually all of our building
materials, and more than 90 percent of our food and energy needs.

New state program pays farmers to restore unused farmlands
The state of Hawaii has started a new program that will pay
ranchers and farmers to plant native species on land they aren’t using
for crops. The $67 million program is expected to restore habitat for
endangered species, reduce soil erosion and prevent fertilizers from
draining into streams that flow into the ocean.

Deal ensures farm use of Kipahulu site
A Kipahulu landowner has granted a conservation easement to the Maui
Coastal Land Trust to assure that a 75-acre property will remain in
agricultural use for perpetuity, trust President Tom
Blackburn-Rodriguez has announced. The property formerly was in sugar
cane and used for grazing, but the owner, a family trust, has begun
restoring the land as an organic agricultural operation. The farming
operation will include orchard trees as well as construction-grade
bamboo and varieties of trees that can be harvested as timber,
including koa, kou, kamani, mahogany and teak. The area has been named
"Ola Honua", for "life-giving earth".