La 'Ulu - Breadfruit Festival

Activities:

Hawaiian Cultural Activities and Demonstrations

Celebrate the ethnobotanical uses of 'ulu with free hands-on activities and demonstrations, ongoing throughout the day.

Kahokuala Papa Hana Lei will teach you how to make lei from po'ulu (aka malo 'ulu), the beautiful and long lasting leaf bracts found under all 'ulu trees.

Lisa Schattenburg-Raymond and Kale'a Raymond will demonstrate how to make kapa from 'ulu bast (inner bark).

Nameaaea Hoshino will lead a free ku'i 'ulu activity. Learn to make poi from cooked 'ulu.

Hawaiian Games

Come learn from the Central Maui Hawaiian Civic Club to play 'ulu maika (bowling with stone discs, originally made from 'ulu fruit), moa pahe'e (wooden dart sliding), konane (a game like checkers with black basalt and white coral stones), and pala'ie (a handmade loop and ball game).

Educational Booths

Support your local organizations working to support 'ulu, farms, community health, and natural resource conservation.

2024 In-Person Presentations

Craig Elevitch, Agroforestry Net
Regenerating Our Environment and Food Systems with Breadfruit Agroforestry

Breadfruit has been grown together with numerous other crops in abundant food-producing landscapes for millennia. In this presentation, Craig Elevitch will introduce methods of growing breadfruit in diversified cropping systems in our modern context.

Kaitu Erasito, Kahanu Garden and Preserves
The Art of 'Ulu Propagation

Discover the art of 'Ulu propagation with Kahanu Garden and Preserves Breadfruit Collection Manager - Kaitu Erasito! Dive into the world of air layering, root cutting, and grafting techniques as Kaitu shares his insights. Join us for an enriching experience in cultivating this cherished fruit.

Dana Shapiro, Hawaiʻi 'Ulu Cooperative
'Ulu Fruit Best Practices and Overview of Common Varieties

Join Dana Shapiro of Hawaiʻi 'Ulu Cooperative to learn about some of the common breadfruit varieties grown in Hawaiʻi today and best practices for harvest and post-harvest. Discover the best ways to extend your fruit’s shelf life and how different maturity stages can be utilized. The cooperative is a farmer-owned business with 160+ farmer-members located across four islands, including Maui!

Noa Lincoln, University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa and Hokuao Pellegrino Nohoʻana Farm
Updates About Malu 'Ulu o Lele

Dr. Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Indigenous Crops and Cropping Systems and Hokuao Pellegrino is a farmer, historian, and teacher at Kamehameha Schools. The two men have been working to save the lineage of the last remaining 'ulu trees known to have descended from Lahaina, i ka malu 'ulu o Lele – Lahaina, in the shade of the breadfruit trees of Lele (Lele is the old name for Lahaina). Hokuao will share why 'ulu was historically important in a region severely impacted by the recent fires and Noa will share the work the University has been doing to multiply these historic trees. The trees being grown are maoli or the original canoe crop variety, the only known breadfruit variety that is a pre-European contact Hawaiian 'ulu cultivar.

Sam Choy

We are excited to welcome chef Sam Choy, author of Sam Choy's 'Ulu Cookbook: Hawaiʻi's Breadfruit Recipes, for a cooking demonstration and talk story!