Shortly after we announced the selection of Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer as our new president and CEO earlier this year, he received an unexpected honor: an invitation to represent The Kohala Center, Hawai‘i, and Pacific communities at a meeting of global indigenous leaders at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

As FAO was preparing to convene a meeting of global indigenous leaders at its headquarters in Rome, Italy, a designated representative from the Pacific region became unavailable to attend. Given his vast knowledge of traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices, resource management, and agroecology, Beamer was recommended to represent Pacific indigenous communities at the gathering.

The meeting, “Indigenous Food Systems, Agroecology and the Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure,” brought together 20 UN representatives, political leaders, technical experts, and indigenous food producers from around the world. Many of the discussions focused on ways in which FAO could work with indigenous communities more effectively, the importance of recognizing agroecology and ancestral knowledge to preserve indigenous food systems and production practices, and how the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples impacts FAO’s priorities and responsibilities.

“While it was incredible to meet so many passionate and influential native leaders from all over the world, the highlight for me was hearing attendees from regions vastly different from Hawai‘i, as well as FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, espouse values and solutions so closely aligned with The Kohala Center’s strategic approach to achieving greater food self-reliance,” Beamer said. “To hear representatives from places as different and far away as Central Africa and Siberia essentially agree that small family farms, biodiversity, agroecology, and indigenous knowledge and practices are vital to achieving global food security and eradicating malnutrition actually gave me ‘chicken skin.’ It made me realize that as we advance these approaches in Hawai‘i, we’re not operating in a bubble. The broader value systems that we have in Hawai‘i and Hawaiian culture are actually aligned with what communities in other corners of the world are advocating and seeing success with as well.”

It was Beamer’s first invitation to represent indigenous Pacific communities at FAO, and he sensed a few hours into the meeting that much of what he was contributing to discussions wasn’t resonating with some of the other leaders in attendance. “It occurred to me that many of my peers probably had a perception of Hawai‘i as a developed, secure society that benefits from its affiliation with the United States,” Beamer said. “Once I began to explain that Hawai‘i imports nearly 90% of our food from at least 2,300 miles away, how vulnerable we are to potential delivery disruptions, and some of the barriers we face in expanding local infrastructure to support increased food production, they began to appreciate Hawai‘i’s unique challenges. At that point they became more interested in the creative solutions we at The Kohala Center and other organizations in the Hawaiian Islands are implementing.”

Beamer cited lo‘i kalo (irrigated taro ponds), dryland field systems, and loko i‘a (fishponds) as examples of highly productive Native Hawaiian agriculture systems. FAO representatives expressed interest in loko i‘a and invited us to develop a case study as part of a global initiative examining 20 different agroecological food production and distribution efforts around the world. “Agroecology and Indigenous Hawaiian Fishponds in the Hawaiian Islands” will investigate how loko i‘a once produced an estimated 1.9 to 2.3 million pounds of fish per year, how they are being revitalized today to carry forward ancestral knowledge and increase community sustenance and food security, the cultural and ecological values associated with them, and distribution opportunities and market demands. The case study will largely focus on Paepae o He‘eia, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring and managing He‘eia Fishpond, an 88-acre kuapā (walled) fishpond on O‘ahu. Since 2001, Paepae o Heʻeia has used agroecologial techniques to revitalize the fishpond, and offers community programs focused on restoration, education, and production. Today the pond and its stewards produce several marine species including moi (Pacific threadfin), ʻawaʻawa (striped mullet), and limu (native algae), and will soon harvest its first oysters. Most of these products are sold to local restaurants and retail markets that purchase from Paepae o Heʻeia in part because of the organization’s sustainable farming practices and its broader social justice mission.

In June, Beamer traveled to a three-day meeting of case study researchers and practitioners in Bogotá, Colombia, to provide an update on our research and findings to date and learn about the other case studies in progress. “The breadth of the case studies is fascinating,” Beamer said. “Research partners are profiling ethical rice cultivation approaches in Thailand, participatory governance and organic certification systems in Africa and India, and how indigenous communities in the Andes are organizing their agroecological systems to enter consumer markets in creative ways. It was inspiring to see how regions are seeking to develop their rural economic structures around farming and increase their support of small family farms. I’m hopeful that this work will provide rural communities with innovative ideas that encourage more egalitarian production efforts, sharing of resources, and improve economic and food security.”

As we continue to work for increased food production and security in Hawai‘i, our partnership with FAO will enable us to forge alliances with international experts and organizations to share best practices and innovative solutions to our local and shared challenges. Not only can Hawai‘i benefit from the indigenous knowledge and agroecological successes of other societies on Earth, the ‘āina (land) and ancestral knowledge of our islands have much to share with the world as well. We look forward to sharing new knowledge with our communities, supporters, and partners in the months and years ahead—for a more resilient and self-reliant Hawai‘i.