Wai’anae Farmers’ Market / As the Hawai’i Farm Bureau Federation opens its fourth island market Saturday, June 21st in Wai’anae, Dean Okimoto, president of the Hawai’i Farm Bureau and owner of Nalo Farms, ceremoniously unties the ti leaf as a seal to begin the day.

The manager of the market, Desiree Hikuroa, greets me with a beaming smile. “This has been in the works for three years. When I approached the Bureau about a farmers’ market in Wai’anae, they weren’t quite ready. But here we are today. Loads of people–local and visitors alike: tourists from Japan, people from Kapolei and the mainland–in all shapes and sizes came out. It exceeded our expectations.

“We have 16 vendors and one more doing a rush delivery as we speak. Can you believe we have run out of vegetables already? I did an emergency call and I hope she gets here soon. Most of our farmers are local local from Wai’anae. Check out Makaha Mangoes which is right up the street from us.”

I make my way to the Makaha Mango cart. Mother Candy and daughter Mishan Suiso are selling their mangoes for 75 cents each from a blue wagon. “My husband is on a mango run–this is the third picking today,” Candy confides.

Mellow sounds of jazz and Hawaiian music linger in the air and the atmosphere is relaxed. Makaha Resort displays its support through the efforts of resort musicians, Danny Kelly and Ron Igarta, who are physically situated in the market’s interior along with the free coffee from the Nalu Grill. Customers chat with vendors and sample bite-size SugarRush miniatures, the Filipino sobradillo with the taste of a date and the Hawaiian Chef’s organic spicy tofu poke from the Big Island, a tofu so dense, rich and robust that it is reminiscent of imported tofu from Japan. As one customer says, “Honey, check out this ogo [seaweed]–like the ogo from my grandmother. You can’t get this kind in the supermarket.”

Juanita Kawamoto, a.k.a. the Hawaiian Chef from Fresh From the Farm, and her exuberant customer talk story about the return to their mothers’ kitchens. They swap ogo narratives. “This ogo is actually an invasive species and the best way to get rid of an invasive species is to eat it. This ogo, also called guerilla ogo, is what we grew up eating and if people knew how healthy it is for you and how great the flavor is, they would help restore our ecosystem to its traditional landscape.”

Juanita’s partner, Aunty Nani, purveyor of Hawaiian Cookies, adds: “The market will bring different ethnic communities together –to brush up against each other.”

The Wai’anae Farmers’ Market is a gathering place that extends beyond the delicious indigenous produce–a place that insists upon the art of socialization.

Anuty Nani says, “We live much healthier lives when we engage in slow cooking. Today our world embraces fast food–like a temple–and our bodies don’t know what season it is because we’re eating foods that don’t make sense to our changing seasons. So, I like to incorporate seasonal produce into my cooking. Right now it’s mangoes–and I’m featuring this pasta with mangoes and spinach.”

I make my way to Juanita’s vendor neighbor, SugarRush–home of the miniature dessert. Lilliputian Frances Pons with her frenetic energy informs me: “Most or all of us were on the waiting list for the other farmers’ markets. Five years ago they begged me to come to KCC–but today they tell me it’s a two-year wait–same with Mililani. So, when Desiree called to invite me to bring SugarRush to Wai’anae, I was hesitant. But now I am ecstatic I did. There are an abundance of red velvet cakes out there but the feedback from our customers today is, ‘How do you get your velvet cake so moist?’ To which we reply, ‘If we tell you, we’ll have to kill you.’ If you’re not passionate about what you do, don’t do it.”

Pons continues, “We are making history here in Hawai’i. The market–first of its kind here as a rural market–follows the WIC model implemented in the East Coast. People can cash their EBT cards in for chips at the front. It’s an amazing system–everyone should be able to eat well. The Farmers’ Market eliminates the middle-man. People have the opportunity to engage directly with the farmer. So prices are down and quality is up.”

A girl passes by with a psychedelic tropical bubble drink in hand.

“That’s Stacy, not me,” laughs Bruce, a large young man with a gold hoop in each ear, owner of Stacy’s Lau Lau Company. Bruce and his fiancee, Stacy, are selling mouth-watering lau lau:

“I grew up making lau lau. We use tin foil rather than the ti leaf. It holds in the moisture much better. But the reason people love our lau lau is the necessary fat. No one really wants to do lau lau because it’s hard work. It’s only Stacy and me. So when Desiree approached me, she told me that they want to bring something new to the table. We have chicken, pork and turkey tail. We serve six ounces of meat. It’s a healthy and filling meal. You got to try it.”

One barometer of the optimism infused in the air is the chasm between estimations of people who pass through the market on its grand opening:

“Oh, I think it had to be at least 300.”

“No, no it was at least 1,000.”

Check out the Wai’anae Farmers’ Market online calendar at [hfbf.org]. Or contact Desiree Hikuroa, Wai’anae Market Manager at 808-848-2074. First and third Saturdays of each month: 7/5 & 7/19, 8/2 & 8/16, 9/6 & 9/20, 10/4 & 10/18, 11/1 & 11/15, 12/6 & 12/20.