Kauai History and Taro

Taro became the mainstay of the Hawaiian diet and the spiritual center of Hawaiian society. So important was taro to their survival and prosperity that it was considered an elder sibling to the Hawaiian race.

Taro farming developed into a sophisticated system with the cultivation of approximately 300 varieties of taro adapted to grow in marshy land irrigated by streams or in the uplands as high as 4,000 feet. Wet taro planting required a ready source of flowing water that could be diverted through the taro terraces (lo’i). A new lo’i was first cleared of grass and weeds and allowed to absorb the nutrients from rotting hau and kukui leaves which were worked into the damp soil. The area was flooded for several days and mud was thrown along the border forming an embankment. Once they hit firm soil and the banks were built up, they stamped down the embankment sides with their feet. More soil and leaves from sugar cane and coconut were beaten into the surface preventing the banks from drying and cracking.

Taro cuttings (huli) were planted in the soft mud and the field was flooded. Once leaves unfurled, the lo’i was drained and left alone for two weeks. The terrace was then flooded again with slowly circulating water until the crop was pulled for harvest. The taro roots (corms) reached maturity when the leaves began to curl and yellow, but they could be left in the flooded lo’i for months longer without rotting. Taro generally matured in nine to twelve months, and farmers rarely harvested a whole lo’i at once, only pulling what was needed. The roots were worked free from the mud by hand or foot, the plant was pulled, the leaves were chopped off, the top portion of the corm was replanted, and old leaves were returned as fertilizer.

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