Maui Farmers Union United May Meeting

Empowering & Interactive Meeting Ahead... Hele Mai Come Your the Event!!!


Live Link to watch and interact  http://www.gvolive.com/conference,empowermaui 

Maui Farmers Union United
Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 5:45 - 9:00pm
Pukalani, Tavares Center Pool Room
Localvore Potluck, Bring a dish to share for dinner!!!

Sorry, no cooking contest this month.

There is going to be something special about this meeting besides the monthly locavore potluck,seed exchange, produce swap, along with our short and substantive presentations.

This month is about hearing from you our members and guest as to what you want your organization to be, while expressing your engagement in creating it.

We will have the survey results from last months meeting.

Those that didn't get a chance to fill one out will be given one Tuesday nite.

This is a living dynamic document that will be a tool to assist in guiding our way actualizing food sovereignty here on our island.

Produce & Seed Swap:
Bring your home/farm grown produce for display.... then swap produce, seeds, cuttings and starts at the end of the meeting!

Gift cards from DTE & Hawaiian Moons!

Basket of Local Fruits. Mahalo Mana Foods!

Basket of produce from Greenleaf Farm Mahalo Marta & Bill Greenleaf!

Feather Meal Mahalo Crop Production Service!

Bio Char & "IMO" Indigenous MicroOrganisms
Mahalo Maui Aloha Aina!


Doors Open to public 6pm
6:30pm - 7:00 - Farmers Feast   "It's all about the food  "
All are welcome & encouraged to participate in this festive meal of good will
Be Creative its your event!!!
Grow, prepare and share a local grown dish, if you can't bring anything to share to eat, then either donate $5, or come early and set up or stay after to clean up.
This is a trash free event,
please bring your traveling cup, plate and fork!

7:00-8:30 - General Meeting
8:30-9:00 - Open Dialogue "Talk Story"

Meeting Schedule:
6:50-7:00-Announcements- Vincent Mina- maaevents@hawaii.rr.com

7:00-7:05-Welcome, Opening- Bill Greenleaf -gleafs@hawaiiantel.net
7:05-7:15-Chef's Corner - Marta Greenleaf Greenleaf Farm gleafs@hawaiiantel.net

7:15-7:25-Produce Scoop-Ryan Eareheart-Mana Foods Produce Manager, vegihead@hotmail.com7:25-7:35-Origin of Agricultural Wisdom: Harriette Witt- (Maui Astrologer) harriet@passengerplanet.com

7:35-7:45-HFU Update: Wayne Axelson- Moving Forward State Elections in July, By-Laws-waxelson@mac.com

7:45-8:30- Survey Results, Interactive Q &A regarding the pro-active future of the Maui Chapter of Hawaii Farmers Union United Bill Greenleaf, Wayne Axelson,Vincent Mina

8:30 - 9:00 Talk Story/Network - Pau!



Meeting Organizers:
Jim Hall
Bill & Marta Greenleaf
Wayne & Lynn Axelson
Vincent & Irene Mina

Maui Aloha Aina, 1768 Kalawi Pl, Wailuku, HI 96793, USA

IMO Indigenous Micro Organisms Workshop

Maui Aloha Aina Association's IMO Workshop with Dr. Hoon Park.

Invasional Meltdown

The April 2011 meeting of the Maui chapter of the Hawaii Farmers Union, was honored to have Art Medeiros, PhD. speak about his work at Auwahi. Art is a Research Biologist with US Geological Survey's Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center on Maui.

Art is one of the few people that had a vision of what the lands on Maui should be like and was able to create that vision, if only in a small area. It's important to note that what he has accomplished and proven could be done, is a blueprint for what should be done before Maui hits the point of what was coined as "Invasional Meltdown."

Here is my take on "Invasional Meltdown."  See more on them here.


A couple of scientists named Daniel Simberloff and Betsy Van Holle, put together the theory that "Invasional Meltdown"is when alien species work together to by creating conditions that cause both to thrive.
This type of relationship between the alien species can happen in different ways. One invasive species can could prevent a species that is native to the area, from being able to hold off another invading species. They may do this by either overtaking the native species or killing it altogether.
Some invading species may provide food or shelter for other types of invading species. They may "pave the way" through the environment to help the intruding species gain access to the area occupied by the native species. Invading species, plant to plant or plant to insects or animals, can work in unison to spread through the spreading of seeds, pollination and food supplies.


Art Medeiros talks about this and more in his presentation. 


Bringing these thoughts together with what I learned from being around Dr. Hoon Park in the Maui Aloha Aina Body & Soil Conference, as well as the Maui Aloha Aina Associations IMO, Indigenous Micro Organisms workshop, is that any given area has a whole host of indigenous microbes that work in a symbiotic relationship with the plants from that area.


This made me think about how we have not only introduced invasion species of plants and animals, but we have brought in invasive species of microbes too.
While the indigenous microbes may have evolved to be better adapted to our islands, it seems that in many cases, adapted or not, the invading species often will overtake the native just through sheer numbers. 


As the relationships between the plants and animals within an ecosystem change, so does the relationship that the microbes has with the plants and animals.


Fortunately, through efforts of the people like Art Medeiros with plants and people like Dr. Hoon Park with Indigenous Micro Organisms, there is hope and a way to prevent reaching an "Invasional Meltdown."