“Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and who produces various fruit.” (St. Francis of Assisi: “Canticle of Creatures”)
This summer on the Big Island, Chuukese women from St. Joseph Parish in Hilo and Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa drove up the Hamakua Coast in two vans singing and praying. They were on their way to the “One Ohana: Food and Housing for All” gathering at Palili O Kohala, a farm where families use traditional methods to grow nourishing sustainable food for each other and the local community. One beneficiary is the food pantry at Sacred Heart Parish in Hawi. At this Kohala gathering of folks from all over the Big Island, these women shared their expertise in cultivating, harvesting and cooking the Pacific Island staple, breadfruit.
The Chuukese parishioners explained that breadfruit (ulu, in Hawaiian) is one of the subsistence crops Polynesian voyagers brought with them to the Hawaiian Islands. Although ulu never became as ubiquitous here as taro, it connects Hawaii to other Pacific Islands, such as the Micronesian island of Chuuk. As one Chuukese parishioner put it, “Breadfruit is the staple food of our community — you will see it at every event and family gathering, prepared in different ways.”
Many went home from the Kohala farm with small breadfruit plants to cultivate. In September, some of the same Chuukese women planted the first of what is hoped will be many ulu trees at the HOPE Services Hawaii kupuna housing project next to Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, more Big Island Chuukese will gather at Sacred Heart in Pahoa to plan an ulu-planting project they hope will result in trees at many parish locations on Hawaii. Parishioners from different backgrounds will learn how to grow, harvest and prepare this nourishing sustainable food.
On Oahu that week, members of the Chuukese community will meet with the Office for Social Ministry to discuss how they can help the diocese more effectively address homelessness, especially among Micronesians. Some of them recently helped the Institute for Human Services and other social service organizations relocate Micronesian families from Kakaako to transitional shelters, with the hope of moving on to permanent housing.
These are just some efforts in Hawaii that connect cultures, strengthen community resilience, and remind us that we can be one ohana with food and housing for all. Praise be to you, O Lord!
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
