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E kipa mai! Come visit!
E kipa mai! Come visit!
The Indigenous Cropping Systems laboratory focuses on indigenous agroecosystems, emphasizing the links between knowledge intensive practices and agricultural production. We employ interdisciplinary methods to generate a holistic understanding of agrarian systems as situated within environmental and social contexts. In particular, we focus on our Pacific Island ancestors and think about islands as model socioecosystems for our planet. Our analytical laboratory focuses on biogeochemical analyses, exploring nutrient cycles in plant and soil systems. We also utilize ethnographic, geographic and ecological methods to engage in holistic investigation of indigenous land management systems in the past and today. We work closely with farming and indigenous communities, extension faculty and staff, industry players, and high-quality researchers to improve the awareness, understanding, and adoption of traditional practices.
Featured Story
Featured Story
Saving Malu Ulu o Lele
On August 8, 2023, the deadliest wildfire in US history swept through Lahaina town, destroying the town and claiming many lives. Also burned were nine breadfruit trees, with roots that stretch back to the days before Europeans and the breadfruit grove that once enveloped all of Lahaina town. So prevalent were the ʻulu, that is was written that: Hālau Lahaina, malu i ka ‘ulu - Lahaina is like a large house shaded by breadfruit. In the colonial era, deliberate efforts were made to eliminate the breadfruit, and today only a few trees that are known to descend from the ancient grove, known as Malu Ulu o Lele, remain. All of these trees were burned in the fire. Our lab, at the request of concerned Native Hawaiian community members, entered the burn zone and retrieved propagation material from all 9 trees. To date, eight of them have been successfully propagated and their lineages preserved. The carousel to the left documents the process we use, and we anticipate being able to make hundreds of trees from the roots that we were able to gather. Read more about the work at this story by Hawaii Public Radio, or this updated story by Maui News.
Weaving Knowledge: Hala
Based on Hawaiʻi island, this project brings together different knowledges and practices (including those from Native Hawaiians, weavers, natural resource managers, university researchers from different disciplines, artists and curators) to co-learn, research, explore and create projects around climate resilience, and the cultural, economic, social, and ecological regenerative potential of hala (Pandanus tectorius). This project involves a consortium of organizations coordinated by the Enlivened Cooperative, including: the University of Hawai’i; The Kohala Center; and Kū-A-Kanaka and a number of community members that included weavers and land stewards. The project started in October 2023 and is being funded by the US Geological Survey’s Pacific Island Climate Adaptation Science Center (USGS/PI-CASC). The envisioned results are co-created research, conservation and education projects, and art/communication outputs that coalesce from the encounter of scientists, researchers, natural and cultural resource managers, cultural practitioners, educators, students and artists who have a stake in hala. One key output of the project is an exhibition of pieces created by project participants exhibited at the Wailoa Gallery in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island in May 2025.
Inspire!
Inspire!
Through our work, we focus on inspiring passionate, value-driven members of our community, who can leverage observation and knowledge to improve the well-being of our land and people. Kahealani Acosta, who conducted her undergraduate and graduate work with the Indigenous Cropping Systems Lab, says it better than we can in this short video!
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