Inset: James tilling composted soil near the rabbit bins, as brown egg-laying chickens scurry and peck for their meal. - Photos: Courtesy of Jeno Enocencio

Kalalau Ahupua'a: Composting the soil, saving the soul

By Jimmy F. "Jeno" Enocencio

In the summer of 2004 in Hilo, my son Orion came into some money from his taxidermy hobby and wanted to raise cattle on the land. What the heck, the land was just sitting there not being productive, why not raise some cattle? At least we could eat meat. We started with nine head of mixed-breed cattle that cleared the land bringing forth a beautiful landscape of rolling hills, small valleys, gulches, flatland and streams – more than what we anticipated. We lifted the wire to allow the pua'a to enter and naturally 'doze the soil and dig out huge chunks of guinea grass and sugarcane roots.

With all that organic material, came organic wastes that nourished the ground that lacked the necessary organic nutrients to sustain growing crops other than grass. We established more pastures and paddocks and began our efforts to regenerate the soil by means of utilizing organic materials rather than synthetic ones; now was the time for some serious healing – to also include the non-use of pesticides and herbicides.

For the past three-plus years since introducing God's creatures to the land to do what they were designed to do, the results have been astounding. More so, ginger and sweet potato farmers asked to trade 50 acres for the 10 acres that we had naturally revitalized – one farmer told us he wished to grow organically. We did a soil comparison and found his soil, though left fallow for a number of years, was light brown, dry and crumbly. The grasses in the area were yellow-green and were filled with noxious weeds that could affect smaller and more sensitive grazing animals like rabbits, goats and sheep – most importantly there was no living organisms: no bugs, no worms, simply speaking – no life.

Cattle foraging and eating down to the root, forcing nature to sprout new growth.

On our land we burrowed near some pipi (cow) and scattered pua'a (pig) dung and found a multitude of life forms breaking down the deposits. Detritus insects, especially earthworms, plummet as the nutrients, while surrounding them, grew dark green grasses filled with chlorophyll sprouting with energy. Ten acres for 50 sounded tempting, but it took well over three years to bring it to this state – and now we were readying ourselves to plant kalo and eggplant organically. No can do.

I offered this farmer an opportunity to still practice organic farming by allowing us to graze our cattle on his land. But since there were no fences on his property, cows and steers had to be collared and chained. Though not as effective as normal grazing of 10 to 12 medium size cows per acre, in little over a year the results were fascinating. Healthy grazing California grass fills the pasture. The soil is a deeper chocolate brown and there are life forms within – but it still requires more TLC. The farmer assured me that he would be implementing organic practices – I'm looking forward to witness this promise and see what results.

Recycling at its best: kūkae (manure) from the pigpen mixed with running water fill this lo'i to nourish the kalo. The kalo stems and leaves are recycled for composting, the corm (root) is thoroughly cooked and fed to the pigs and the huli (keiki) plant is replanted in the lo'i or dry land.

Surpassing the time of three years to regenerate the soil and cleansing it by introducing organic material such as composting shredded coconut fronds, monkeypod, mango, lychee, guava tree, banana and whatever we could get from tree trimmers or the composting yard at the Hilo dump prior to planting has made a significant change in the conditioning of the soil and production. To reduce the acidic conditions of the rotting plant's life, we simply add calcium in the rows prior to planting. This method has allowed us to determine what areas are most suitable for planting root vegetables, fruit vegetables, vine fruits and vegetables, bush vegetables, leafy vegetables and fruits – all without the use of synthetic fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. There are a number of methods that we use to practice insect and pests control, weed and grass control and soil and water conservation.

Currently we have a total of 30 acres of reconditioned soil. Though the yield for kalo may be small in certain areas due to inconsistency of nutrient distribution, for the most part yields are beyond satisfying. When harvesting we find very little, if any, rot or disease. There's a diversity of bugs, but they appear to manage themselves within their own ecosystem and with very little intervention from us. Leaf blight is very minimal, even with very little rainfall. However, there is a stunt in growth, and it takes a bit longer left in the ground than when using synthetic or consumer organic fertilizers – but the consistency of the sweet flavor and density of the natural sugars and starches in the root are worth being in the ground a bit longer.

This is the cycle of life as God intended it to be. These are what animals were designed to do, for the benefit of man and the world he resides in; that is, to naturally consume vegetation, to deposit black gold back onto the earth and to have the fowls scratch and spread this tangled heap of manure while looking for the very organisms transforming these elements into nutrients. These are the very nutrients that feed the animals, fowl, plants, fruits and vegetables for us to consume. This is a pretty neat plan that God designed.

Jeno Enocencio writes about the many hats he wears.
Contact him at pointman_jeno@msn.com