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My feeling about Hawaiian Sanctuary, Mile Marker 12, is that from the beginning, they have
<br />actually been trying to do it the right way, which I don't see everywhere. They've really been
<br />trying to do it by Code, been trying to do it the way you all want it. Been trying to make it right.
<br />And, you can feel that when you're up there. It's, it's a really classy joint. It's lovely to be
<br />there. It feels healthy. The environment is productive, educational. It's a great spot.
<br />So, I just want to say that I completely support them, and I hope that you do, too. And, we need
<br />more of this, and we need it to start out right and fly right and be available to the whole
<br />community, people of all ages, people from everywhere from here, letting it happen in Puna. So,
<br />thank you for letting it happen in Puna.
<br />HEAUKULANL Thank you.
<br />KEAWE: Aloha mai kakou. `O Dana Melina Keawe-Pe`a ko`u inoa. No Puna mai au ma
<br />Kaimu, ma Kalapana. Aloha, my name is Dana Keawe. I'm from Puna. I'm born and raised
<br />from Kaimu, Kalapana. Related to all the families out there. This year, I turned 50, and I've
<br />lived there my whole life. I went to Pahoa Elementary and High School, and I've watched our
<br />community grow from about 2,000 to well over 40. I grew up without electricity or running
<br />water, and our families, we lived with the land, and we were what people called sustenance
<br />gatherers. We hunted. We fished. We hardly—we didn't go to stores. We helped each other.
<br />And people would have said that we were poor, but when I look at my life now, and how things
<br />have changed, we were rich. We were rich in culture. We knew how to survive. And, I feel like
<br />now that is where I'm striving to get back to.
<br />I only have three minutes so I'm going to try to be brief, but I just want to speak to each of you
<br />through my heart in support of 12—of Mile Marker 12, LLC/Hawaiian Sanctuary as we all know
<br />it in our community for the last ten years. Like many things that come into our community,
<br />we're always weary, yeah? But, this place always had a good reputation, you know. And, about
<br />three years ago, Steve came to me and asked me if I would come. I'm a Korean natural farmer.
<br />I'm certified in that. I went there to meet with him to talk about sharing some of the `ike that I
<br />learned from my kupuna down in Kaimu, Uncle Jerry Konainui, fifth generation kalo farmer
<br />passed his `ike on to me and some of my cousins. And, so I got the blessing of my family to go
<br />there and teach. They said go. Because I'm hapa, my mom was English and my dad was
<br />Hawaiian, I'm able to walk in these different places, yeah? And, I have the full support of my
<br />family to be there. I've been going there and just volunteering my time, teaching our community
<br />how to grow food, how to make their own inputs, which are also medicine. I'm also a La`au
<br />Lapa`au practitioner with Po`okela Ikaika Dombrigues, and I know about La`au, and as I teach
<br />natural farming, I also teach La`au Lapa`au. And, I just volunteer my time there. It is a
<br />Hawaiian Sanctuary for it is Kanaka. I always feel welcome when I go there. It is like a center
<br />of well-being for me personally.
<br />When Hurricane Iselle came and then Tutu Pele came to Pahoa, our community formed a group
<br />called Modern Ahupua`a, some of you may know, because we were concerned of how we were
<br />going to survive out there. One out of three families in Puna do not have food security. And, so,
<br />in this group, we brought experts in all different types of agriculture and we offered free to our
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