A Hawaiian community group in Portland is growing kalo at the Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms, producing food for local families while maintaining traditional agricultural and culinary practices. The project has expanded from an initial experiment into a community garden that connects food access with Hawaiian cultural knowledge.
Key Takeaways
- The Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona Hawaiian Civic Club grows kalo at Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms in Portland.
- The garden covers about 400 square feet and produced more than 300 pounds of kalo leaves this year.
- The project has distributed kalo to Oregon families and provided plants at no cost.
- The garden has shown that kalo can survive outdoors through Pacific Northwest winters.
- The project provides a setting for Hawaiian cultural education and traditional food preparation.
Hawaiian Community Group Cultivates Kalo at Unity Farms
A Portland community garden operated by the Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona Hawaiian Civic Club is growing kalo at the Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms, where the crop is being used to provide food to Oregon families and maintain Hawaiian agricultural and culinary practices.
The garden occupies about 400 square feet at Unity Farms. The project has grown kalo, a Hawaiian crop also known as taro, as part of the community group’s work to make the plant available to local families.
The project began as an experiment and has since produced a harvest that can be distributed within the community. The garden has also provided a place for people to work with kalo and maintain knowledge connected to its cultivation and preparation.
The Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms provides the location for the project, connecting the Hawaiian community group’s agricultural work with an existing food-access setting in Portland. Similar local food initiatives include the King Farmers Market’s seasonal community gathering, which connects residents with local vendors and food products.
Kalo serves both a food and cultural role for the Hawaiian community involved in the garden. Growing it locally allows participants to cultivate a crop associated with Hawaiian food traditions while adapting its production to Oregon conditions.
The project therefore involves more than planting and harvesting. The garden also gives participants a physical setting for maintaining agricultural practices and sharing knowledge about traditional foods.
Portland Garden Produces Hundreds of Pounds of Kalo Leaves
The Portland garden produced more than 300 pounds of kalo leaves this year from its approximately 400-square-foot growing area.
The harvest provides a locally grown source of kalo leaves for Oregon families. The crop can be distributed within the community rather than relying entirely on purchased supplies.
The garden’s production also provides a measure of how kalo can be grown in Portland’s climate. The project has shown that the plant can survive outdoors through Pacific Northwest winters.
That experience is relevant to the continued cultivation of the crop in Oregon. Instead of treating kalo solely as a crop associated with Hawaii, the project has established an example of outdoor cultivation in the Pacific Northwest.
The garden’s harvest is also connected to traditional food preparation. Kalo leaves are part of Hawaiian culinary practices, giving the crop a direct connection between agricultural production and food preparation.
The quantity harvested this year gives the project a concrete food-distribution component. More than 300 pounds of leaves were produced from a relatively small garden area, allowing the crop to reach families beyond the people directly involved in cultivation.
The harvest also gives participants an opportunity to maintain practical knowledge about growing and handling kalo. That knowledge is part of the cultural purpose of the garden.
Kalo Project Connects Food Access With Cultural Practices
The kalo project combines food distribution with the preservation of Hawaiian cultural practices. The garden supplies food to Oregon families while providing a place for community members to cultivate and prepare a culturally important crop.
The project has distributed kalo to dozens of Oregon families. That distribution gives the garden a direct food-access function in addition to its cultural role.
Kalo leaves can be expensive to purchase in the Portland metro area, with prices ranging from about $4 to $12 per pound. Growing the crop through a community project provides another way for families to obtain it.
The group has also distributed plants at no cost. About 1,200 plants have been provided, expanding access to the crop beyond the central garden.
Free plants allow the project to extend its agricultural reach without requiring every participant to obtain planting material through commercial channels. The approach also supports continued cultivation by community members.
Food distribution and cultural preservation are therefore connected within the project. Families can receive kalo for food while participants maintain practices associated with growing and preparing the crop.
The garden also creates a setting where those practices can be shared. Traditional food knowledge can be maintained through direct participation in cultivation, harvesting and preparation.
The project’s location at an Oregon Food Bank farm places those activities within a broader food-access setting. Other Portland projects have also combined community space with culturally specific needs, including the community garden at Jade Apartments, which is intended to support crops that may not be commonly available in conventional gardens.
Free Plants Expand Access to Hawaiian Crop
The distribution of free kalo plants is another part of the project. The Hawaiian community group has provided about 1,200 plants at no cost, allowing people to grow the crop outside the central Unity Farms garden.
Plant distribution gives the project a different function from simply harvesting food at one location. Instead of keeping cultivation concentrated at the Portland garden, the plants can be used by community members elsewhere.
The approach also increases opportunities for people to participate in kalo cultivation. Those who receive plants can become involved in growing the crop rather than only receiving harvested leaves.
The project has already distributed kalo to Oregon families, creating a direct connection between cultivation and food use. Free plants provide another way to connect families with the crop.
Kalo production also requires knowledge about the plant and its use. Sharing plants alongside community knowledge can help maintain agricultural practices connected to Hawaiian food traditions.
The project’s experience with Oregon growing conditions provides additional context for the plant distribution. The garden has shown that kalo can survive outdoors through Pacific Northwest winters, giving the group experience with cultivating the crop in the region.
That experience is part of the practical knowledge generated through the garden. Participants are growing kalo in Portland while continuing food practices connected to Hawaiian culture.
The plant distribution therefore extends the project’s reach beyond the 400-square-foot garden. It provides material for additional cultivation while keeping the crop connected to the community that grows and uses it.
Community Garden Supports Hawaiian Cultural Education
The Portland community garden also provides a setting for Hawaiian cultural education. Participants can learn about kalo through direct involvement with cultivation, harvesting and traditional food preparation.
The garden allows agricultural knowledge to be practiced rather than treated only as information. Growing the crop creates opportunities for community members to work directly with a plant that has a place in Hawaiian food traditions.
Traditional food preparation is another part of the project’s educational role. The harvested leaves can be used by families while participants maintain knowledge about preparing culturally significant food.
The project also provides an intergenerational setting for sharing that knowledge. Community members can participate in agricultural activities and learn practices connected to Hawaiian food and culture.
The connection between food and cultural education is particularly direct in a kalo garden. The crop moves through the process of planting, growing, harvesting and preparation, linking agricultural work with the foods that families eat.
The Oregon setting adds another practical component. The garden’s experience growing kalo outdoors through Pacific Northwest winters provides knowledge about cultivating the crop away from its traditional Hawaiian setting.
The project is based at the Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms in Portland, giving the Hawaiian community group a dedicated place to grow and distribute kalo. Portland’s broader cultural calendar also includes longstanding gatherings such as the Delta Park Powwow and Encampment, where cultural activities, food and educational opportunities bring community members together.
The garden’s harvest, free plant distribution and cultural activities all contribute to the project’s role within the local community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Hawaiian kalo garden located in Portland?
The garden is located at the Oregon Food Bank’s Unity Farms in Portland. The growing area covers about 400 square feet.
Which Portland organization is growing kalo at Unity Farms?
The Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona Hawaiian Civic Club is growing kalo at the farm. The project combines cultivation with food distribution and Hawaiian cultural practices.
How much kalo did the garden produce this year?
The garden produced more than 300 pounds of kalo leaves this year. The harvest has been distributed to Oregon families.
How does the project distribute kalo to Oregon families?
The project distributes harvested kalo to Oregon families and has also provided approximately 1,200 kalo plants at no cost.
How does the garden support Hawaiian cultural practices?
The garden provides a place to grow kalo, prepare traditional foods and share agricultural knowledge connected to Hawaiian culture.
