Thousands of huli are making their way into the ground across the state as the Huli Ka Honua project takes flight.
On Hawaii Island, Lanakila Mangauil is distributing bucket upon bucket of harvested and cleaned huli (kalo or taro cuttings) to help address food security in Hawaii. Mangauil has partnered with nonprofit Aina Momona on the project to further founder Daniel Anthony’s mission to get 100,000 huli (taro cuttings) harvested, cleaned and distributed in Hawaii.
“I just saw that I was like, ‘eh that is awesome, I can support that,’” Mangauil said after seeing Anthony’s effort take off on social media this spring.
Since late April, Mangauil has supplied thousands of huli to residents to plant at their homes and to share with friends and neighbors in Honokaa, Hilo and other areas around the island. The first couple thousand huli were shipped in from Oahu, but most now come from farms around Hawaii Island, including Paauilo Makai, Onomea and Ahualoa.
This past weekend, Mangauil, who is running for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, distributed well over 1,500 huli between Honokaa, Waimea and Kailua-Kona to those looking to grow dryland taro to sustain themselves. He also provides the kalo corm, as well.
“I send you home with kalo (the corm) and you can eat a meal, and I send you home with huli and you can feed a generation and you can feed your nation,” he explained, noting that once established, kalo can be propagated to feed thousands more people.
In addition to providing the start, he also provides manao to those needing a little help getting started on just how to grow dryland taro.
One of those residents picking up huli Monday was Christel Tolentino, who had been looking for a way to grow her own taro but was unsure where to purchase huli. But she found it Monday, plenty.
“My dad was a papaya farmer when I was young, so I was always in the field and stuff like that,” she remembered.