RESEARCH PROJECT

This project aims to develop agroecological strategies for enhancing climate resilience in Kaimū, Hawaiʻi, by combining ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) knowledge with Western scientific approaches. The goal is to improve climate adaptation strategies through food plant cultivation and native plant reforestation based on ʻŌiwi knowledge. The research team is exploring different ways of understanding and defining community resilience, using oral history methods to gather ʻike (knowledge) from Kaimū community members. This will help uncover how generational knowledge contributes to ecological and cultural resilience in a rapidly changing landscape. The historical and contemporary ecological and cultural knowledge of the Kaimū community has been tested through past hazards, such as eruptions, and may provide valuable insights for adapting to future environmental changes.

Working in collaboration with nonprofit organizations, and community members, this research involves collecting oral histories from kupuna (elders), land users, and practitioners. Kaimū community nonprofit organizations have started planting food and medicinal crops (laʻau lapaʻau) to support families through reciprocal networks. The project seeks to better understand where crops are grown and how they are used and exchanged for other food resources like fish, meat, and fruits and vegetables.

This project evaluates the effectiveness of agroecological efforts in shaping both the socio-cultural and ecological landscape of Kaimū. The research is guided by the following questions: 1) What agroecological knowledge do kupuna and practitioners possess and pass down? 2) To what extent are efforts being made to restore a food-producing landscape in Kaimū? 3) How are these agroecology efforts fostering cultural and ecological resilience?