Square patches of white alternate between fields of green taro (kalo), fresh water feeding this traditional Hawaiian staple food in a valley on the island of Kauai.
Many people do not equate Hawaii with agriculture. However, Hawaii’s islands, like Kauai, produce good amounts of sugar, flowers, specialty trees, and taro.
Taro is a water-intensive crop that Polynesians have used for hundreds of years to sustain life. Taro is a root that is pounded into a semi-solid, purplish food called “poi.” Taro and poi pack well and last long enough for the kind of sea voyaging that first brought Polynesians to Hawaii.
