Spatial and Relational Representations of Economic Well-being and the Kahumana Farm Hub, Waiʻanae, Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Seeking to identify solutions for improving growers' economic well-being by supporting ʻāina (land)-based practices, ethnographic research explored economic opportunity possibilities through Kahumana Organic Farms' Farm Hub (KFH), located in Waiʻanae on Hawaiʻi's island of Oʻahu. Major described findings include identified assets on ideas for improving economic well-being (e.g., a gift economy), barriers faced by growers, policy considerations for KFH and the region, as well as proposed solutions that have broader implications for sustainable land use practices. Designed to highlight agricultural abundance in Waiʻanae, rather than focus on existing socioeconomic disparity, our interdisciplinary and community-led project fused Western-based methodology with the Hawaiian methodological framework of Māʻawe Pono. Discussion addresses how, in doing so, we created reciprocal relationships and prioritized the production of deliverables to directly benefit community. It further explores how growers' utilization of the gift economy and Indigenous wisdom is instrumental for achieving well-being in terms of culture, physical health, economics, and the environment. As a part of a larger collaborative effort entitled ʻImi Naʻauao: Hawaiian Knowing and Well-being, this article also details the mapping subproject integrated into this larger effort and related to the KFH research.