Hawaii
Hawaiian Salt Makers Aim to Protect Tradition
Last summer on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, Tina Taniguchi was working close to the ground. Her coconut leaf hat covered most of her thick brown hair. Wet soil had gotten on her clothes and her smiling face.
Taniguchi smiles a lot while working on the Hanapepe salt patch on the west side of Kauai. It is a piece of land about half a hectare in size with pools of salty water. The salt becomes crystals as the water dries.
“It’s hard work, but for me it’s also play,” Taniguchi said with a laugh.
Spiritual tradition
Taniguchi’s family is one of 22 families who make “paakai,” the Hawaiian word for salt, following a cultural and spiritual tradition. Hanapepe is one of the last remaining salt patches in Hawaii. Its holy salt can be traded or given away but must never be sold. Hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, rituals and as protection.
Taniguchi drives a car for about an hour to get to the salt patch. For her, it is like religion and play at the same time. It is the time when she makes a spiritual connection to the land.
“This would be a religious practice of mine for sure,” Taniguchi said. “My dad raised us saying that these mountains are his church, and the ocean is where you get cleansed.”
Malia Nobrega-Olivera is another salt maker. She is also an educator and activist who leads efforts to preserve this old tradition. Her grandfather helped form the group of salt-making families called Hui Hana Paakai. The organization’s goal, she said, is to communicate with the landowner, the state of Hawaii, whenever problems arise. Nobrega-Olivera said the salt patch is part of the lands taken away from Native Hawaiians after the U.S.-supported overthrow of Hawaii’s monarchy in 1893.
Native claims to the land
“Regardless of what a piece of paper might say, we are stewards of the area,” she said.
Over the past 10 years there have been several threats to this field. They include development, pollution from a neighboring airfield, damage to the sand from vehicle traffic and waste left by visitors to the nearby beach. In addition, rising sea levels and weather might stop the practice.
Nobrega-Olivera believes Western science and native knowledge can combine to combat the effects of climate change and save the salt patch. The steps she takes include building up the wells’ edges, so water won’t cover the salt beds. Another step is to prevent damage to the beach from vehicle traffic.
“Some ask us why we can’t move this practice to a different location,” she said. “That’s impossible because our cultural practice is particular to this land. There are elements here that make this place special for making this type of salt. You cannot find that anywhere else.”
The process of making salt
The process of turning sea water into salt can be slow. The season begins once the rain stops, and water starts to disappear from the salt beds. Ocean water travels underground and enters the wells. Each family has their own well. As water enters the well, so do tiny, red brine shrimp. These small ocean animals give Hanapepe salt its unusual, sweet taste, said Nobrega-Olivera.
The families first clean the salt beds and line them with black clay. Then they move water from the wells into the beds. There, salt crystals form. The top level, or layer, is the whitest. It is used for table salt. The middle layer is pinkish and is used in cooking, while the bottom layer, which is a deep red color, is used in blessings and rituals.
Fires on the island of Maui in August claimed 100 lives. After the fires, salt makers began sending their salt to survivors, so they can “make their food delicious and bring some of that joy into their lives,” Nobrega-Olivera said.
Keeping traditions alive
Interest in Hawaiian culture and language has recently grown on the islands, Nobrega-Olivera said. She now thinks about how to teach her knowledge to younger generations.
One way she honors the Hanapepe salt patch is by writing Hawaiian songs and chants. She recently taught some school children one of those chants using the words aloha aina, which means “love of the land.”
“Aloha aina captures our philosophy, the reason we do this,” Nobrega-Olivera said. “You take care of the land, and the land takes care of you.”
I’m Dan Friedell.
And I’m Jill Robbins.
Deepa Bharath reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
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Words in This Story
patch – n. a small area of land where a particular plant or crop grows or is produced
crystal – n. a small piece of a substance that has formed naturally into a regular symmetrical shape.
ritual – n. a religious service or other ceremony which involves a series of actions performed in a fixed order
cleanse – v. to make clean, pure
steward – n. someone who has the responsibility for looking after property
preserve – v. to save or protect something from damage or decay
clay – n. a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry
blessing – n. a prayer asking God to look kindly upon the people who are present or the event that is taking place
chant –n. to sing a word or phrase repeatedly usually in connection with prayers or a religious ceremony
philosophy –n. a system of ideas about truth and meaning
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HONOLULU (KHON2) — Heavy showers are moving through the islands Thursday night. The moisture is due to storm remnants from a former cold front. Trade winds are expected to push in a drier airmass into the islands this weekend, with drier than normal conditions through next week Wednesday.
Friday:
- Expect: Trade wind showers, mainly windward and inland areas of Maui County and the Big Island.
- Possible: Heavier showers on the Kona slopes of the Big Island.
- Chance of: Thunderstorms around Maui in the morning and on the Kona slopes in the afternoon.
Weekend:
- Expect: Enhanced trade wind showers, especially upstream of the Big Island and east Maui.
- Generally: Fair weather over Kauai and Oahu.
Next Week (First Half):
- Expect: Drier and more stable conditions statewide.
- Possible: Brief weakening of trade winds on Monday.
- Return of: Moderate trade winds on Tuesday.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new Aloha United Way report released today shows 1 in 3 Hawaii households considered moving away over the past year. Should the trend continue, it would have a devastating impact on our economy.
Hawaii’s high cost of living and lack of affordable housing mean more than half a million residents are barely scraping by.
That’s one of the findings from the 2024 State of ALICE in Hawaii report, which looks at the struggles of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households, known as ALICE.
First the good news: fewer Hawaii households are living in poverty — down to 12% versus 14% in 2022. ALICE households remained the same at 29%.
Advocates attribute the slight drop to government programs and increased minimum wages, but also more ALICE families are leaving the islands.
“180,000 people right now are considering leaving the state of Hawaii, from our workforce, from our younger families, our Hawaiian families, and that is something that we are deeply concerned about at Aloha United Way and of course, Bank of Hawaii and Hawaii Community Foundation.” said Suzanne Skjold, COO of Aloha United Way.
These working poor make too much to qualify for government aid and live paycheck to paycheck. Many are on the brink of financial crisis.
“This is absolutely critical, because affordability and just economic well being in our state is not where we need it to be,” said Peter Ho, Bank of Hawaii CEO.
So who is ALICE? They’re likely to be women or have children.
58% of native Hawaiians and 52% of Filipinos live under the ALICE threshold.
You’re more likely to be ALICE if you live on the neighbor islands. Maui is especially vulnerable, especially since the Lahaina fires.
“The people that are leaving hawaii are the people that can afford to leave their workforce and the people our engine. And if this continues, we’re going to have this hollow community where our engine is is just not there, right? And you’re gonna have very, very poor people, and we’re gonna have very, very wealthy,” said Micah Kane, President/CEO of Hawaii Community Foundation.
Advocates hope the report compels policymakers, businesses and community leaders to work together to reverse the trend.
“Employers will never be able to elevate wages and meet the cost of living requirements of this place,” Kane said. “Unless we come up with a host of very disruptive policies that drive down the cost of living, these people that are striking are going to leave.”
To fill gaps in services, Aloha United Way and other nonprofits are helping ALICE families access financial stability, affordable housing and higher paying jobs.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he plans to lobby for ALICE-focused funding during this legislative session.
“We need to own this, all of us, and so from that standpoint this data becomes the argument you put on the table when you say we have to change,” Blangiardi said.
Some ways to ease the burden on ALICE families include tax credits, safety net programs, support for caregivers, mental health resources, debt reduction programs and financial incentives.
Read the full 2024 ALICE Report here.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the debate over when and where to build Oahu’s next landfill continues, some are working toward phasing them out altogether.
Re-Use Hawaii is a local nonprofit organization that promotes sustainability and hopes to foster a circular economy through material reuse.
“The City & County of Honolulu announced plans for a new landfill, and this decision will shape Hawaii’s future in waste diversion and sustainability and directly affect our communities. At Re-Use Hawaii, we believe in less waste, more reuse,” said Executive Director Quinn Vittum.
The organization works to salvage reusable materials and return them to the community, and it’s the only licensed contractor in Hawaii providing deconstruction services.
“We aim to reduce waste by salvaging reusable materials, providing affordable resources to the community, and supporting green workforce development,” added Vittum.
Recently, Re-Use Hawaii opened a new location at Stadium Marketplace (4561 Salt Lake Boulevard) which was formerly Sack n Save, Castle Park.
“Our new location is three times larger than the previous warehouse in Kakaako, which operated for 18 years,” said Vittum. “It took approximately 260 truckloads to complete the relocation.”
A grand opening ceremony is slated for March 1.
Re-Use Hawaii plans to host sustainable businesses and other community groups that align with their mission.
In the meantime, the public is invited to come check out the new space Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The nonprofit said it’s planning to open seven days a week sometime in February.
To learn more, click here.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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