Maui High School Ag Program

The Maui News February 13, 2011 Pomai and Lani Weigert seek to revitalize agricultural studies at Maui High School. The Maui High School farm replanting effort started last month.  Under the guidance of AKL owner and lavender farming expert Ali’i Chang, they are working closely with MHS officials and instructor Lowland, who has zero federal funding for his department this year, to revitalize the prime 4.3-acre MHS farm. One of the main priorities for the AKL group is to cultivate the “business of agriculture.” It’s all part of helping students see that there are options awaiting them in agriculture – and a portion of a larger vision to create a sustainable island community, one that must become more independent in a time of great need. Because, Pomai echoes, there’s no time left to wait for change. “We’re in dire need of a paradigm shift,” the 28-year-old said. “Old-style plantation farming made parents want to send their kids away, but it’s different now. We need to teach our kids, like, yesterday, that agriculture is important. There’s no other way to have a sustainable community.” With the urgency to move from fossil fuels and their rising cost, coupled with USDA reports showing the average age of Hawaii’s farmer is 55 and older, the necessity for a new generation of local agricultural participants – from farmers to ag tourism workers and everything in between – is overwhelming. “As the prices for fossil fuels increase, the ability to import food will decrease,” Lowland said. “So kids being able to create their own food supplies will be critical . . . This will all happen in the student’s lifetime. Dr. Donna Ching, an extensions specialist at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii and program co-director of the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii, said top ag employers like seed companies and landscapers want local talent for jobs she said pay “very well.” “We simply do not have enough students to provide them those human resources,” she said. “A lot of people . . . would much rather hire a local person who wants to stay here and train them with the skills to be able to be successful.” Last month, the AKL crew launched the first of three initial phases for the school farm: helping replant portions of the ag classrooms’ perimeter with 240 ti leaf. Not only do ti plants symbolize good luck, Chang teaches, but they are an underestimated commercial crop. AKL also helped organize a recent MHS ag student field trip, where buses of students visited AKL in Kula, Haliimaile Pineapple Co. and University of Hawaii Maui College’s culinary and agricultural departments. Pomai and Lani said the excursions opened the students’ eyes to food security issues and the importance of locally grown produce and livestock, among other subjects. Currently, 85 percent of Hawaii’s food is brought from out of state, Ching said, and fewer people grow food than ever before. “We went from a vast majority of people producing our food to 3 percent of people producing our food,” Ching said. “Now people are realizing a lot of our food is coming from other parts of the world, and as political situations around world become more unstable, we are questioning how dependent we want to be on them.” Lani said students were also impressed with the culinary side of agriculture and the world-class programs at UH-MC. Lani, who also serves as president of the Hawai’i Agritourism Association, listed ag-related areas in which students can find jobs including leadership management, science, culinary arts, hospitality, media, education and more. She emphasized that studying progressive agriculture, such as floral, aquaponics and hydroponics work, will allow students to stay ahead of the curve. Maui Invasive Species Committee started to clear plots of the farmland recently, Lani said, and she is asking farmers, local businesses – anyone – to sponsor an area, which would entail a day and a half of working with students and providing materials and supplies to plant their plot with a crop of choice. Pomai, who also teaches agriculture at schools across the island through the Maui County Farm Bureau, is hoping to find a bus that can be donated for a mobile farmers market, where crops harvested from MHS’ farm can be brought to local communities that don’t have many local produce options. At the end of the day, Pomai and Lani share a way of life that’s been passed down for generations, one where living off the land is an integral part of the people. The two view the passion for agriculture as the path to serve their current community – the place and people that helped grow them. CONTACT: Pomai Weigert, AKL marketing coordinator, pomai@aklmaui.com; www.aliikulalavender.com; 878-3004