The Heritage Center at North Hawaii Education and Research Center, NHERC, will be open on Saturday, July 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a special weekend viewing of “Plantation Life on Hawaii Island.” The exhibit includes plantation artifacts and the photographs of John and Anne Bowen taken in the 1970s, just when mills were starting to close on the Big Island and plantation camp life was changing.
Regular Heritage Center hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and starting Aug. 4, also will be open each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The special exhibit is free to the public and will be up through May 2013.
The Heritage Center also has a growing collection of photographs from the Christensen and Yamato collections, maps and documents and family photos that are available for viewing and research during the regular hours listed above.
The Heritage Center is located on the makai side of the old Honokaa Hospital at 45-539 Plumeria St.
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This spring, the Hamakua Community Development Planning CDP Team gathered the community to share the progress of the CDP strategies and solicit input to refine the community Vision and Values into specific policies and actions. During a series of three planning workshops held throughout the planning area, we were able to gather comments from over 150 Hamakua community members.
Here are some highlights from the community responses: 94 percent of participants strongly support buying locally grown or made products; 89 percent of participants are in strong support of tourism that doesn’t impact quality of life, particularly agricultural, ecological, and heritage tourism; 40 percent prefer their towns not to grow, and 33 percent prefer to add population as needed by letting towns expand, while keeping as much land in agriculture as possible, and 75 percent support the Old Mamalahoa Heritage Corridor concept as proposed by the CDP.
The top three industries identified as appropriate for the Hamakua Planning Area were: Composting (20 percent); Recycling (17 percent) and Brewery/Distillery (13 percent). At this time the next CDP Steering Committee Meeting is on hold. The draft CDP is in process but the committee apologizes that the analysis is taking longer than they had anticipated. The CDP Team is working hard to develop the draft CDP, but will not be holding a Steering Committee meeting until a draft CDP is available to review. Please stay tuned!
Mahalo again for all the community support! They look forward to seeing you at the next CDP Steering Committee meeting as the Hamakua CDP process moves forward.
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Working on the farm can pay! Here is a course comprised of classroom training and mentorship opportunities for aspiring or existing farmers in need of practical farming experience, and small business skills. The Office of Continuing Education and Training at the Hawaii Community College’s Center for Agricultural Success presents the class. The course will support diversified small farm success through the Hawaii Island Farmer’s Guide to Accessing Local Markets. This guide will provide marketing strategies and lessons from successful local farmers, buyers, grocers, and chefs. Students will receive a copy of the guide as a benefit of attending the course.
Students will also be introduced to many existing resources for small farms. Areas of study will include; marketing, accounting, business plan development, soils, pest control, fertilizers, compost production, crop rotation, and irrigation. The class is limited to 25 students. Call now to register. The dates are July 27-Oct. 12 on Fridays and selected Saturdays at NHERC. On Fridays the time is 5-9 p.m. and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon. The cost is $99; actual tuition is $399, with funding assistance provided by the state Department of Labor.
To register, call 934-2700 and use this course code: 123R016. Meet the chefs who support our beef industry at Mealani’s Taste Of The Hawaiian Range. Local grass-fed beef is annually the star of Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and this year’s event on Friday, Sept. 21 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village is no exception. The annual event puts 100 pounds of 100 percent grass-fed beef into the hands of each participating chef to dazzle diners. Each chef gets a different cut — everything from nose to tail — and combines it with a cornucopia of local ingredients. Many Taste chefs are fans of grass-fed beef and readily share why they like the island-raised product. Each has a different reason. “We use it because of the taste at ‘Umeke Market,” says Michelle Yamaguchi of Honolulu.
“When you start with a great product, it’s hard to go wrong. Also, avoiding the use of hormones and antibiotics as much as possible is important to our customers.” Cary Peterson of Kohala Burger and Taco in Kawaihae appreciates the environmental benefits of using grass-fed beef. “I strive to leave a small environmental footprint and local beef requires much less energy and resources to process and deliver,” Peterson details. “I prefer to use a sweet bun for my burgers and the earthy flavor of the beef goes perfect with it. From a health standpoint, grass-fed beef is a no-brainer — it’s antibiotic- and hormone-free!”
Chef Joshua Ketner adds, “At Hilo Bay Café, we believe grass-fed beef is good for our community and our environment, plus the taste is wonderful.” Ketner’s favorite cut is 21-day, dry-aged rib eye as “the marbling, taste and tenderness all work together. Hilo native Ken Takahashi of Honolulu Burger Company says his business plan revolves around the concept of eating Big Isle grass-fed beef. “Our main goal is to use grass-fed beef as hamburger patties for our burgers first,” he explains. James Babian, executive chef of Four Seasons Resort Hualalai resort purchases a 21-day aged, whole beef carcass every week for use in its on-site restaurants and staff cafeteria. This year’s Taste again features over 30 chefs preparing locally produced food to wow attendees from 6-8 p.m. In addition to grass-fed beef, some of the chefs will be concocting culinary creations using other forage-fed meats: lamb, mutton, goat and USDA-inspected wild boar. The use of different meats — and meat cuts — is all part of the culinary adventure when local ranchers, farmers, restaurateurs and eager eaters celebrate a bounty of locally produced food.
Tickets for the evening Taste and Cooking 101 demo are conveniently sold online at http://www.TasteOfTheHawaiianRange.com. Taste tickets remain priced at $40 presale and $60 at the door, while admission for the cooking demo is $10. Watch for ticket giveaways on Facebook at Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Twitter #TasteHI. For general event information, phone 969-8228. Thanks to Fern Gavelek Communications for the Taste of the Hawaii Range information.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1240 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahe@interpac.net.
