ʻĀina Momona's land base is Keawanui Fishpond and Cultural Learning Site in the Kaʻamola land section of Molokaʻi.
Keawanui is a 55-acre, loko kuapā (closed wall fishpond) on the south shore of the island, where there were once dozens of thriving loko iʻa.
This past week, we prepared the ground for huli. We tilled bio char into the soil, which we made from mangrove we removed from the pond earlier in the year. We also added dried Gorilla Ogo to boost the potassium in the soil, which was collected with the Molokai GO Limu Hui a few months ago.
The grass that we cleared for the new patch was transplanted to hold the soil near the edge of the loko.
In an effort to improve our soil quality and utilize our waste more strategically, we’ve started composting and are learning the ins and outs of how to maintain the pile.
We’ve also fertilized our existing plots with a fish emulsion fertilizer that was donated to us by local farmers.
During our kilo, we’ve been observing the different patterns of fish coming into the loko i’a in relation to the moon phases.
Lastly, we harvested a row of kalo, and picked a few ripe ulu to put into the imu and make poi.
To learn more about Keawanui, please visit our site:
https://www.kaainamomona.org/about
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