Wai‘anae Ecological Characterization

Agriculture

The Wai‘anae moku is a major center of commercial agriculture in Hawai‘i, and agriculture has shaped the history of the region. Agricultural uses of the land remain central to the Wai‘anae moku's identity. In Wai‘anae today, modern commercial and traditional Hawaiian farming practices exist side by side.

Traditional Agriculture in the Wai‘anae Moku

The ancient Hawaiians had a profound spiritual connection to the land (‘āina), and their agricultural practices in each settlement showed their respect for what the land provided. Settlements were structured around the life-sustaining resources that the land offered, including fresh water and lands suitable for cultivating the plants that were used for food and other purposes: taro (kalo), sweet potato (‘uala), ti, coconut (niu), banana (mai‘a), breadfruit (‘ulu), and gourds (ipu). Fresh water was so fundamental to Hawaiian society that the natural watershed boundaries marked the boundaries of individual communities, or ahupua‘a. The ahupua‘a are land units that extend from the mountaintops to the sea, and each was managed as a comprehensive and independent social and economic unit, providing a share of food, medicine, tools, fuel, clothing, and construction materials (Derrickson and others 2002). For more information about the ahupua‘a management concept, please see the Characterization Description: Ahupua‘a Management section.

The Hawaiians adapted their farming and cultivation of foods to the existing landscape and conditions. They used a sophisticated terrace farming irrigation system that minimized water use while maximizing food production and protecting water quality. Through these ‘auwai (irrigation channels) and lo‘i (taro ponds), the Hawaiians made efficient use of water to irrigate taro. In a typical lo‘i, fresh water was diverted from a stream into the highest terrace and circulated through the lower terraces before being returned to the stream. In the Wai‘anae moku, perennial streams are in limited supply. Taro lo‘i were developed where stream flow was reliable, deep within the valleys of the moku (McGrath and others 1973).

Agriculture in the Plantation Era

The arrival of Europeans changed farming in Hawai‘i and in the Wai‘anae moku. Agricultural industries that followed included the sandalwood trade from about 1811 to 1829, livestock (horses and cattle) beginning in the mid 1800s, and sugarcane farming from 1878 to 1947. By the late 1870s, cattle ranches were established in Wai‘anae, Nānākuli, Lualualei, and Mākaha Valleys (McGrath and others 1973).

The focus on farming a single crop – sugarcane – was different from the diversified agriculture practiced by the Hawaiians, and it put a strain on the region's water resources. The beginning of sugarcane farming in Wai‘anae marked the start of a struggle over water rights between commercial and traditional Hawaiian farmers. In 1883, a pioneer sugar planter in Mākaha Valley blocked the ‘auwai that supplied water from Mākaha Stream to taro lo‘i in the valley. The taro farmers brought a lawsuit against the sugar planter, and in 1884, the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled that the water must be shared on the same basis that it had been traditionally (McGrath and others 1973).

At the larger Wai‘anae Sugar Plantation, which opened in 1880, the scarcity of water and the requirement to share the fresh water supply with the taro farmers led to the development of an artesian (groundwater) well in the 1890s, as well as the installation of a reservoir system to supply the sugar crops. Even these water sources were not adequate to supply the vast and growing plantation, which also relied on water from a Wai‘anae Stream irrigation ditch that had been dug by the Hawaiians. In 1889, a judge ruled that water from this ditch could be diverted to the plantation for half of the day and to the taro farmers in the other half of the day (McGrath and others 1973). With diminished access to fresh water, already in short supply, many traditional Hawaiian farming areas were deserted. The limited water supply and the need to share water with Wai‘anae's growing residential population eventually led to the closure of the Wai‘anae Plantation (McGrath and others 1973).

Agricultural Land Use Today

In the Wai‘anae moku today, 8,777 acres of land is designated as agricultural by the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting. Of this amount, only 1,842 acres is currently being used for active agriculture or as agricultural-residential lots (City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting 2000). Most of the unused agricultural lands are fallow grasslands that feature poor soils, steep slopes, or both. Current agricultural uses of the land include commercial farms and recreational or subsistence farming.

Commercial farms in Wai‘anae provide several hundred full-time jobs, and an equal or greater number of part-time and seasonal jobs. They also contribute related jobs in the areas of farm supplies and farm equipment sales and maintenance.

The Wai‘anae moku is the largest and most important center for livestock production in the state of Hawai‘i. As of January 2004, production in the region included three of the eight major commercial dairies in the state of Hawai‘i, which accounted for roughly half of the state's milk production; 40 of the state's 230 piggery operations, producing 45 percent of the state's total hog inventory; and poultry operations that produced the vast majority of the State's eggs, broiler/fryer chickens, and pullets. The moku also is home to various cattle, sheep, and goat farms (Nils Morita, Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, personal communication, 2004).

The Wai‘anae moku also contains numerous small farms that produce fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that are mostly sold to Honolulu markets. Part-time family farms, used for subsistence or recreational farming, are prevalent throughout the moku. There are an estimated 200 one- to two-acre parcels where some form of farming is practiced.

Many of Wai‘anae's leaders view sustainable agriculture as critical to preserving the agricultural heritage that is such a central part of the moku's character. The people of the Wai‘anae moku today are leading a trend in sustainable agriculture, including commercial cultivation of taro and organic farming. At Ka‘ala Farm and Cultural Learning Center in Wai‘anae Valley, traditional taro cultivation is practiced as one of many methods to teach young people about Hawaiian culture and reconnecting them to the land (Enos 2002). At the nonprofit Mala Ai ‘Ōpio farm, a project of the Wai‘anae Community Re-Development Corporation, recent high school graduates grow organic produce to sell at farmers markets and for use at the affiliated Aloha ‘Āina Café in Wai‘anae (Mueller 2003). Both projects are dedicated to environmentally responsible agriculture, education in Hawaiian culture, and to providing young people with opportunities to develop both professionally and spiritually.

References Cited

City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting. 2000. Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan. http://honoluludpp.org/planning/Waianae/Wai1.pdf

Derrickson, S.A.K., M.P. Robotham, S.G. Olive, and C.I. Evensen. 2002. "Watershed Management and Policy in Hawaii: Coming Full Circle." Journal of the American Water Resources Association 38(2): 563-576.

Enos, E. 2002. Cultural Learning at Kaala: Building Community Through Hawaiian Skills and Values. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. http://www.prel.org/products/paced/nov02/ms_kaala.htm

McGrath, E.J., K.M. Brewer, and B. Krauss. 1973. Historic Waianae, A Place of Kings. Island Heritage Limited. Norfolk Island, Australia.

Mueller, M. 2003. Waianae Project: Youths Farm Organic Produce While Learning about Culture. Asians in America Project. http://www.asiansinamerica.org/directory/0803_directory.html

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