The Thirty Percent Project

 Marisa Castuera Hayase oversees a $150 million grant portfolio of grant making for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, in Hawai'i, Baltimore, Pennsylvania and Israel.  In this interview, Marisa explains the value of community-driven philanthropy that prioritizes long-term systemic change over short-term interventions. She emphasizes the deep interdependence between food systems, housing,...

Celeste grew up in Kailua, Oʻahu and returned to Hawai’i after her global education and work experience. She is now the CEO of Hawai’i Green Growth, the keeper of the Aloha + Challenge dashboard, where the 30% local food target is displayed and monitored. Celeste has an impressive history with international climate goals and is a Pacific Rim leader in engaging progress toward the United Nations Su...

In this episode, we feature  Davis Price and Keoni Lee, in conversation about their efforts towards creating a sustainable and regenerative food system economy in Hawaii. Davis, an attorney and Native Hawaiian cultural advocate, and Keoni, an entrepreneur and impact investment strategist, share insights on community-based economic development, structural food system issues and the importance of tr...

Dr. Kirsten Oleson, is an ecological economist at the University of Hawaii-  Manoa, and head of the Oleson Lab. We discuss   the valuation of ecosystem services, the potential for a climate smart food label,  and the systemic changes needed in Hawaii's agricultural sector to fulfill a statewide  vision of a sustainable food system The conversation covers the complexity of quantifying nature's bene...

 Kamehameha Schools is the largest private landowner in Hawai'i, and owns about 115,000 acres of agriculture land in the Islands. With Leanne Kami, we discuss their local food systems strategies,  support for local farmers through flexible contracting and other means, the re-introduction of traditional Hawaiian foods such as poi, and ongoing projects that integrate cultural heritage with modern ag...

My family, the Daniels family, is from Maui. It is hard to put the words together to express all the feelings, to find a place for all the thoughts. The beginning phrase of an oli (chant) by revered Edith K. Kanāka'ole is: E hō mai ka ʻike mai luna mai e -- grant us wisdom from above. In Hawai'i, this chant is offered at the start of an event or small gathering to focus the energies on the kuleana...

Kuleana is “a uniquely Hawaiian value and practice which is loosely translated to mean ‘responsibility.’ The word kuleana refers to a reciprocal relationship between the person who is responsible, and the thing which they are responsible for.”  (from Hawaiian Word of the Day , Hawaii News Now).  In this episode, we talk about kuleana and politics with Anne Frederick, Executive Director of the nonp...

The Hawai’i Food Hub Hui serves as backbone for about 14 food hubs in Hawai’i,  supporting about 1300 farmers, and moving around $14 million in local food from farm to fork. Which means, they are serving about 20% of Hawaii's farmers, and moving about 20% of their agriculture economy.   Our guest Dr. Saleh Azizi runs the food hub hui as an initiative of the Hawaii Good Food Alliance, which in turn...

Josh Stanbro developed and led the Office of Climate, Sustainability and Resilience for the City and County of Honolulu as its first Chief Resilience Officer. Josh is now in Washington DC and is Deputy Director of the Policy Lab with Elemental Excelerator, a global nonprofit accelerator for climate tech which was founded in Hawai’i.   His path from California to Hawai’i of itself tells a valuable...

Manao Chocolate is one of the top few largest craft bean to bar chocolate makers in the US today.  It was founded in 2010 by Dylan Butterbaugh, who was born and raised in Hawai‘i, as a way to build a local business from an environmentally sustainable tree crop and support supply chain transparency.  Tamara Butterbaugh, who owns Manoa Chocolate along with Dylan, is also a chocolate sommelier. And w...

Jonathan co-authored a book on water use on Maui called “ Water and Power in West Maui ”, and was on the board of the Hawai‘i State Land Use Commission for 11 years. As we talk in depth about land use in Hawai‘i over the centuries, we delve into some specifics about what changes are needed now to restore local food production to a meaningful percent, from conservation easements to land trusts to m...

Mahina Paishon-Duarte is co-founder and chief executive officer of Waiwai Collective , a regenerative urban oasis, a kīpuka, for creatively growing community, culture, and commerce. As a social entrepreneur who has also led several educational and cultural organizations, her vision and mission are one and the same–– to catalyze positive, lasting change for Hawaiʻi in one generation . Most notably,...

Dr. Noa Lincoln is Associate Professor in Indigenous Crops and Cropping Systems at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and the Principal Investigator of the Indigenous Cropping Systems Laboratory. He is also a farmer and works with his wife on an ‘ulu (breadfruit) farm on Hawai‘i Island, as part of the Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative which they founded.  We have a wide ranging and deep dive discussion about:...

In this inaugural episode, we have the benefit of an illuminating conversation with Kamuela Enos, the director of the newly formed Office of Indigenous Innovation at the University of Hawaiʻi . Before that, Kamuela was director of social enterprise at MAʻO Organic Farms. Born and raised in Waiʻanae, he comes from a family of cultural practitioners and farmers committed to sustainable agriculture....

Why I’m doing this podcast and what I hope listeners will get from it – as told in a tables-turned-on-me interview by my niece, Noelani. For more info, and some of my published work :  The website of the Center for Good Food Purchasing , which I co-founded;  the Center is a spin off from the LA Food Policy Council, which I founded and incubated during my time as Senior Advisor on Food Policy to Ma...