HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0047.013 2018-2020 P/CowidI
CO
COUNTY CLERK
K. tri
COUNTY OF HAWAII
From: ingrid tribaco
To: Council Testimony MO t8g18
Subject: Testimony in Support of Bill 10 and Communication 21[ `J -8 9' 18
Date: Saturday,January 05,2019 7:12:26 PM
Aloha,My name is Ingrid T.Webb a farmer and a mother of four.We moved from the Philipines to Hawaii 8 yrs ago.Me and my husband David
manage 15 acres organic farm called Sunny Kapoho Citrus,owned by David's parents Marinette and Dave Webb,the heart and brain of Sunny Kapoho
Citrus Farm.We provide a variety of tropical fruits.But our main crop is Washington Navel Oranges:We've been providing Organic Oranges to all health
food stores in the Big Island,some Foodland stores,KTA,Big Island Kombucha,Consious Culture Cafe,and many more.We also ship oranges to
neighboring Islands like Maui(Wholefoods),Oahu(Wholefoods),and Kauai.We also donate more than a thousand pounds of Organic Oranges every
season to Food Basket in Hilo.We try to be sustainable all through the years in developing Sunny Kapoho Citrus.With a very high standards of respecting
the land and all the creatures that comes with it.
To make my story short I was living my dream life raising 3 boys and a girl in the beautiful Kapoho.We are very passionate farmers,and my children
wishes to do farming as well.
May 12 around midnight lava came,took our driveway and 30 plus trees then it stopped.We were spared by lava but the brush fire took 3 structures
including 95%of our Tangerine Field and some parts of the Orange orchard.I flew in a couple times when the eruption was still on going,to check on the
houses that was spared,and my husband an my brother in law flew in to make a fire line around the houses because the fire department refuse to help us
during the Kapoho brush fires.Now I hike in every Friday,eager on cleaning our home,and getting ready for us to rebuild our life again.
Now we are renting a house at Hawaiian Beaches.Its been a very stressful year for us.We had to evacuate our home and farm right after the big
earthquake and stayed at the evacuation center for 2 weeks with all my kids,4 of my cats,2 dogs,and a pig.We've been moving around houses to houses 5x
since eruption.And about to be evicted by March 1 since our landlord has to sell the house we are currently living.Aside from being away from our home
our livelihood has been greatly affected.We are struggling to make ends meet.Though the eruption has stopped,a lot of our neighbors has moved on,me
and my ohana are still in the eruption mode.Struggling to survive,worrying about where we will go by March,wondering if we are gonna be ok in the
future.
Please build us a road.Please support Bill 10 and Support Communication 21.Aside from us Sunny Kapoho Citrus,i m also representing a couple
Filipino farmers the Magcalas Ohana and Balicoco Ohana that are renting a land adjacent to us.They grow NONI and Papayas,they too want to go back to
Kapoho,because only in Kapoho you get the perfect right amount of rain and full sun all year long.That's why Papayas and many more fruit trees are grown
successfully at Kapoho.We are a very sustainable community in Kapoho,building a road for hiway 132 neighborhood will help our community recover and
will help us farmers provide the worlds best Papayas,Avocados,Oranges,and Flower farms.Help us recover,build us a ROAD!
Sincerely,
hngrid T.Webb
(808)854-7900
14-4334 Pahoa-Kapoho Rd.,Pahoa I-II
'INK 14013003000
Comm. Nth
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Ref. Date JAN 0 8 2019