Kauai History and Farming

The tropical climate provided plenty of sun, water, and rich soil, but the lack of metal tools or wheels meant planting and harvesting was done literally by hand. A farmer’s hands and feet were his best tools for clearing the soil, weeding, raking, and digging. Hawaiians also developed a variety of wood, shell, and stone tools for use in husking coconuts, harvesting breadfruit, harvesting taro, carrying objects, felling trees, and planting with the aid of an ‘o’o.

While the Hawaiian word for water is ‘wai’, the word for wealth is ‘waiwai’. Farming centered around taro which grew best with an abundant supply of fresh water. Water, therefore, became a symbol for abundance and prosperity. The importance of water shaped ancient laws, justice, property rights, and was an important resource to be protected and cared for. The water needs of taro spurred Hawaiians to some of their greatest engineering and construction achievements by developing sophisticated irrigation systems that kept taro terraces flooded with slowly circulating water.

The building of irrigation ditches or watercourses (‘auwai) required the labor and planning of a whole community. Irrigation ditch construction began at the lower elevation end of a stream and was dug upward, adding dams of rough stone in the stream that could be opened and closed by removing or replacing the large stones. Terraces were designed so that water from the ‘auwai flowed from one terrace to the next, moving slowly enough not to sweep away soil or young plant shoots, but moving quickly enough so that the water temperature remained cool. Farmers taking water from the ‘auwai followed a time schedule, and no single user was allowed to divert more than half the stream’s flow.

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