CAFE MISSION

Our mission is to:

nourishes the soul.

Nourishes the land.

nourishes the people.

nourishes the culture.

a brief history of food in hawaii

Moku o Keawe (Big Island) was once a thriving food forest under the ahupuaʻa system of old. This traditional Hawaiian land-management system, usually stretching from mountain (mauka) to sea (makai), was designed to be self-sufficient and sustainable. It integrated farming, forestry, and fishing within a watershed.

This began to change with the arrival of American businessmen in the 18th and 19th centuries. The land, water and people were used to create beef ranches and industrial monocrop plantations – mostly sugar and pineapples for export.

This depleted the soil of its nutrients, carbon and water, and the people of food and climate security.

The Alien Land Ownership Act and the Kuleana Act further stripped land away from the Kanaka Maoli. The Kuleana Act allowed Hawaiians to petition for ownership of the land that they already lived on and farmed. However, since many Hawaiians did not understand the concept of private land ownership, many never claimed their title to the land on which they lived. Further, many of those who did acquire land ownership eventually lost it due to property taxes and foreign diseases introduced by Westerners.

In short, Native Hawaiians, Kanaka Maoli, we forced off their ancestral lands, stripped of their cultural relationship to food, and forced to work on plantations.

The effects of colonization can be seen clearly in our food systems. As an island, we went from total self-reliance to importing 85-90% of our food in less than two centuries.

The time is now to remember how to Aloha Aina, and restore our love and connection to the land. Our islands are remembering how to become food sovereign once again, and everyone has a part to play.

moving forward

The mission is about creating a regenerative relationship between community and food by re-establishing the connection between people and land.

It isn’t just about looking back, but rather mixing ancient regenerative farming practices with modern tools and technologies to meet the needs of our island and it’s people.

Access to land, water, credit and housing remains disproportionately controlled by the economic and political elites, namely big agriculture and tourism.

“The goal is to knock the empire down and replace those corporate ag guys with something more environmentally sustainable which reflects our values,”

- Kaipo Kekona, Indigenous farmer and activist

Less than 1% of Hawaii’s staple foods are produced locally. By replacing imported staples like rice and wheat with a local starch like ulu, kalo or squash just once a week you can actually make a huge difference in our food security.

A key element in the transition towards locally grown and consumed food is the availability and training of farmers.

This means looking at new models, like the Hawai‘i Youth Agriculture Program, a non-profit educational program nestled within the commercial Uluwehi Farms, where youth farmers get paid a grant-funded stipend to learn and work on the farm.

The future of supporting food sovereignty on island looks like CSA memberships growing, creating more farming opportunities for keiki, establishing a food co-op, local food cafés like the People’s Sanctuary, youth-run farms and food stores, and an island-wide educational campaign, engaging in community-based action, and leasing land for multiple small farms with housing.

“What’s stopping Hawaii feeding its own people is not lack of knowledge or skills, it’s the power structure, the ongoing plantation mentality which tips the scales in favour of big ag and developers while rubbishing traditional knowledge. We need to change this narrative because, without radical changes, what will be left of our home?”

-Autumn Ness, the Hawaii program director of Beyond Pesticides and co-founder of Maui’s first farm box scheme which connects small farmers and producers to residents.

The People’s Cafe is just one part of a beautiful + resilient food network growing here in Hawaii.

Our mission is to support a vibrant and resilient Hawaiian food system.

This means using organic + local ingredients while supporting responsible + local land stewards.

This means re-indigenizing our plates and decolonizing our pallets.

It is our long-term vision to inspire communities all around the world to transform and revitalize their local food system.

Food Sovereignty for all our brothers and sisters!