Free movie screening scheduled Thursday
Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation Elderly Recreation Services will be screening “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart at 10 a.m. Thursday at the West Hawaii Civic Center, County Council Chambers, Building A.
No reservations are needed. The screening is free and open to the public. For more information about the free screening, contact Kelly Hudik at 323-4340.
Farmer-rancher training program slated
Ku I Ka Mana, a beginning farmer-rancher training program administered by The Kohala Center, is accepting applications from prospective students for its third cohort. The 18-week course is conducted in Honokaa and begins Jan. 31. Application materials may be downloaded at kohalacenter.org/farmertraining/application.html. The application deadline is Jan. 10.
Class sessions take place Friday evenings at the North Hawaii Education and Research Center and Saturday mornings at Ka Hua Aina, The Kohala Center’s farm training site. The two-year initiative has a goal to recruit, train and support at least 40 new farmers by the end of 2014. Beginning farmers who successfully complete the training program and create viable farm and business plans will be able to work with Ku I Ka Mana staff to obtain leased farmland, should they not already have land on which to farm or ranch.
Although no previous farming experience is required, preference is given to veterans and to applicants who have taken steps to become agricultural producers but would benefit from a comprehensive, hands-on curriculum. The course covers a wide range of subject areas, such as measuring and building soil fertility; irrigation; how to create inputs such as biochar, compost, compost tea and indigenous microorganisms; crop rotation strategies; pest management; pollination; and the business side of farming — marketing, accounting, budgeting and record keeping.
For more information, visit kohalacenter.org/farmertraining/home.html or contact Derrick Kiyabu at dkiyabu@kohalacenter.org or 220-2312.