Which one is kiawe?
A. kiawe (Prosopis pallida)
B. haole koa (Leucaena leucocephala)
Jumping up and down over here! Yup, me along with all of those in the know. Have you had a kiawe craving? On a magical night in Wailea, 5 days ago to be exact, while preparing wild salad for 70 in an epic outdoor farm to table experience, I found my first ripe kiawe (Prosopis pallida) of 2019. Did I mention jumping up and down? Allelujah! Since this blessing happened I have driven around half of Maui scouting kiawe beans. Lanai tomorrow and Molokai next week. There is food going to waste on the ground out there. It is time to activate on this harvest NOW. Why?
Hot dry sunny days make for great kiawe beans. Although the trees will continue to produce beans, if we have heavy moisture from tropical storms or hurricanes, the beans become moldy. This is the time to store this amazing food, before the hurricanes come! Free food, stored just in time for hurricane season. Get them now!
Want to learn more? Kiawe is the perfect food for a community cooperative…let’s get organizing. We need kiawe dryers in Lahaina and Kihei. And remember, Hawaiian harvesting rights are protected under law, so respect the host culture. We have a window of beautiful weather right now, let’s activate and bring in this blessing of sweet abundance.Get involved —>>> contact spineofstars@gmail.com
