On Tuesday the 21st, I woke up bright and early and made my way to the Honolulu State Capitol, where a few hundred people came to rally for the labeling of GMOs and to save a few thousand acres of remaining farmland on O'ahu, which will soon become a new concrete slab for housing. I arrived about 2 hours before the start of the event, and got to work there from the very beginning until the very end. I met some really cool local farmers and a 23 year old guy from France, working on a farm on the north shore. It was so great. Finally some wwoofer-like people in my own town. It's taken me way too long to connect with people like that here.
sign waving
Ludo from Bordeaux and Kaleo from the windward side holding my sign :)
We set up the stage, and I got to pour a bit of my creativity into the event by making a GMO/skull design out of tape on the stage, so that the politicians looking out of their 4th floor offices could see our point. Between taping down huge pieces of carpet we chatted about permaculture and dreams of starting our own farms. Two of those guys plan to head to Costa Rica and get working on their own dream farm.
GMO skull for the politicians to see, not that great, but I gotta say that tape design isn't easy!
The event began with some sign waving, which was cheered on enormously by the passing downtown traffic. The honking didn't cease as we proceeded to the opening ceremony and blessing. Two charter schools chanted in Hawaiian and danced hula in front of a statue of Haloa-naka holding Kalo (see the ancient Hawaiian story here: http://www.canoeplants.com/kalo.html). It was so moving to hear the chanting and see the hula, and even though I literally understood very little, the basic message was clear and beautiful. The event continued with a motivating speech by Molokai activist Walter Ritte, and a song by local artist, Makana. We then went and rallied under the state capitol, and grabbed the attention of some representatives. This was followed by more music, more speeches, and lots of conversations.
Cute Lady
Charter school chanting the opening blessing
Walter Ritte speaking in front of the statue of Haloa-naka
Protestors
I was asked to serve food that had been donated by Kokua Market, a beloved, local health-food store. It was actually quite an honor. I mean, I just showed up that morning, not belonging to any organization or activist group and ended up helping to create the stage, work directly with the organizers of the event and serving food to hundreds of people, who personally thanked me for my work. As if I needed to be thanked?! I was there, having a blast with all these great people, doing something I truly love and believe in. No thanks necessary.
Freshly made poi (see video below)
Kokua's beets
Quinoa :P
There were two local guys who made the sexiest and most delicious poi or pa'i'ai that I've ever tasted. For those who don't know, poi is a starchy gray-purple paste that is made by pounding the root of the Hawaiian plant Kalo, or Taro. It is the base carbohydrate of the native-Hawaiian diet, and still quite popular. Many new-comers would classify it as an "acquired taste," but I personally have always found it good. But that Tuesday poi was by far the yummiest I've ever tried. It was freshly pounded at the capitol and served alongside Kokua Market's delicacies: Kale salad, quinoa, roasted beets, sea-asparagus salad, and some dried Aku, a local fish (http://www.hawaii-seafood.org/uploads/species%20pdfs/4-Hawaii%20Skipjack%20Tuna.pdf).
After the rally dissipated, I stayed to help clean up. My reward, completely un-awaited and unexpected, was a huge handful of dried Goji Berries, a supposed "super food." It was so nice for my help and presence to be welcomed and appreciated. It's not like I went their for any sort of praise or an ego-boost, but it is still nice that there are people who are happy that I believe in what I believe in... and that feels good. It's like a two-way support system. It was great.
Afterwards I went into Chinatown with a friend for the 2012 Mardi Gras celebration! It was so much fun. We definitely started the dancing at the groovy, funk music booth. Clad in beads, feathered masks and jingly things, we paraded through the streets and got shaking to some great Brazilian music. Kaleo, one of the guys I had met at the rally performed with his capoeira crew, and we got clapping to the beat of the drum and tambourine. It was a perfect day. Green Activism mixed with good ol' fun and dancing.
. . .
Now I'm finally more adjusted to the time-zone and the temperature here and am hoping to get my garden started, as well as look for a job. Since our weed-whacker mysteriously disappeared since I've last been here, I spent the late afternoon today cutting the grass with a pair of kitchen scissors. Ouch to the opened blister on my right ring finger, but hooray for a good start!
I came up with a really interesting idea while snipping the long-neglected blades. What if there was such a thing as an ungulate-exchange program? Where people with animals like goats and sheep (ungulates), bring their hungry grazers to people's gardens and let them do the yard work. It's sort of permaculture-based. Goats and sheep are great lawn-mowers. I'd love a goat, but my garden is wayyy too small. It's probably not even suitable for a single chicken. But it would still be a nice weekly lunch for two goats. If any neighboring farmers wanted to take their munching ruminants out for a nice treat, they could bring them to the gardens of people who don't like hiring gardeners. Seriously. Free organic cud, consisting of different grass varieties, in turn for a little lawn service. Obviously the cost and CO2 output of transportation would be a bit ridiculous, but principally I think it's a splendid idea.
Now I gotta let my hands rest. The 3'x15' yard took a lot of energy out of my right hand.
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