Hawai’i Island’s Waipi’o Valley is a historic place of stunning beauty—rich in history…cultural significance…and agricultural lands.
The Bishop Museum has owned most of the valley for more than a hundred years—leasing land to local farmers…often going from generation to generation.
Three years ago, Bishop Museum announced its intentions to sell the land. But this past January, the museum took the land off the market—saying it was opening up “opportunities for partnerships of its mission, which includes the perpetuation of living culture.”
Today, as part of our continuing partnership with the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawai’i, we’re featuring interviews done forty-one years ago—with taro farmers who worked the land—and saw the valley through some changes. We’re also joined by Morgan Toledo—who still farms taro in the Valley….and by Raymond Kong, vice president and general counsel of Bishop Museum.
