PCF— Big Island retreat, part 3

Day 2 started with a long trip up to North Kohala to hear from Dave Fuertes and others about the Inter-generational Community Project sponsored by Partners in Development. There they seek to make Kohala a model for sustainability for the state by teaching kids four things:
— origin (kupuna)
— beliefs/values (preserve, protect, sustain)
— purpose (food energy resilience)
— destiny (schools, churches, natural farming, no drugs)

In the middle of the community they (i.e community volunteers) built a teen center and with the help of PID grants they assist in getting kids back onto the land, working on science projects, service projects, and writing basic business plans.

In the bigger plans they are planning on building the 700 acre Agricultural Resource Center of Ho'ea (ARCH) that will provide food processing centers: poi factory, certified kitchen, fertilizer production, meat processing, and educational facility. ARCH will be built on donated land from a German developer who bought it for the sole purpose of keeping it from being developed. They will use renewable energy (existing hydro as well as soon to be developed wind and solar sources) and are committed to being totally organic. The lifeblood of this entire project is the Kohala Ditch which pumps 6 million gallons/day and will be crucial to the project's success.

We also heard from Andrea Dean, a transplanted New Yorker who is full of ideas, energy, and passion for the idea of sustainable food. She is working closely with Kanu Hawaii and the Eat Local Challenge as they seek to grow farmers to supply the local food and also to inform the public to generate demand.

Our day ended at the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii (NELHA) where we heard a presentation by Guy Toyama, the executive director. NELHA was created in 1973 after the oil embargo of that year highlighted how tenuous our connection to that lifeline actually was. Gov. John Burns brought in Dr. John P. Craven to start developing this facility that has several goals:
— energy security
— food security
— health care

There are currently 35 tenants at NELHA that fully sustain all operations based on assive pumps bring in warm surface water and cold deep water to enable the wide variety of operations. They bring in 27,000 gallons/minute through a pipeline that cost $25 million. Some of the operation include:
— aquatic and marine technology
— wide temperature range of water allows them to grow a wide variety of food products such as Kona Coast Abalone, American lobster, breedstock shrimp, clams, and Kona Kampachi.

— microalgae
— nutriceuticals
— pharaceuticals
— bio-fuels

— deep ocean water
— bottled water
— salt
— bath and mineral salts

— heat transfer applications
— deep sea water air conditions (coming soon to downtown Honolulu)
— 80% cut in electricity consumption

— energy-related applictions
OTEC— Ocean Thermal energy Conversion

— bio-energy plant
— methane + CO2 = feed algae farm

We then toured Sopagy's test field, visited Kona Kampachi's operation, and spent time with the most content individual i think i have ever encountered. I don't remember his name (it was a long day) but he was genuinely stoked to test out new techniques to grow various kinds of fish eggs he either gathered himself or received from other people's gathering operations. His lab looked like the professor's from Gilligan's Island. He walked around in a tank top and slippers and a permanent smile on his face. One got the impression there was nowhere he would rather be and doing nothing else. I envy that guy.

All in all an amazing trip with a great group of people.