Food for Thought and for the Body

Ernesto and Cherelyn Calban, of Kilauea, grow bok choy, taro, sweet potato, kalamungay, beans and peanuts in their plot at the Malama Kaua‘i Community Gardens in Kalihiwai.

About seven years ago during the Eco-Roundtable events, Malama Kaua‘i and Regenerations Botanical Garden began a fruitful association, literally.

Since that 2007 event organized by Malama Kaua‘i, the nonprofit organizations have worked together in several projects.

In 2010, Regenerations began managing part of Malama Kaua‘i’s Kalihiwai Community Garden, a 42-plot garden booming with organic produce.

Garden plots are leased on six-month or one-year terms, and they go quite fast.

Kilauea resident Joe Riordan calls himself an ‘amaranth freak’ who eats amaranth seeds everyday, harvested from the Malama Kaua‘i Community Gardens. He wants to meet others who also know the value of this ‘wonderful plant.’

Malama Kaua‘i Executive Director Keone Kealoha said there’s a waiting list, and whenever a plot becomes available, it’s taken within one or two days.

Regenerations’ vision for the island is “an interconnected community of people in healthy and reciprocal relationship with the plants and soil that feeds and nurtures our lives,” according to Regenerations Director Paul Massey.