This presentation brings on not only the notion of purchasing locally grown vegetables and fruits at the farmer’s market but also businesses producing sustainably made products as well. They interview vendors at local farmer’s markets in Hawai’i to get a better understanding of the connection of sustainability and farmers.

1. The Entertainable
Sustainables

2. Mission: Reconnect with our sources of food. Where it
comes from and who is distributing it.

3. What was done?
Our project focused upon the
importance of the relationship
amongst humans and their
relationship with the environment.
This project aimed at reconnecting
our group members to the food that
we eat, the farmers who grew it,
and the farming practices used to
produce that food.

4. Why?
We realized that when we went to the farmers market
we often did not know the farmers, we were unsure
where the produce came from, and how the farming
practices were affecting our community and the future
generations to come. Our goal was to reveal the
unknowns, establish a more intimate connection with
our beloved farmers, and showcase the wonderful
efforts made by many of the vendors we conversed
with. The experience provided us with a very real sense
of what was happening to our food and what the plans
are for the future of farming and farmers markets.

5. How/when/where?
Our group connected Paris, New York,
and Hawaii with the goal of gaining
insights into the practices, thoughts
and considerations of farmers from
close and from afar.

6. Who are the stakeholders involved?
We are the stakeholders as much as the vendors are, for
we (the buyers) are interested in the in the practices of
our farmers. The vendors themselves are constantly
aiming to fulfill the needs and desires of the
community, who are actively involved in the every
aspect of the process of food production. We have the
purchasing power to vote with very dollar for what we
believe is right and with an experiential understanding
that we have gained from our observation and
interviewing process we can better understand what is
truly happening at farmers markets. With this
knowledge we can make educated decisions in the
purchasing of produce as well as having connections
with farmers that we can trust.

7. What role did communication play?
Communication was an integral part of the
interviewing process, and we became better at
communicating our questions and concerns to the
vendors as time went on. Nearing the end of
projects we got to the point where we could
freely converse with the vendors while
addressing the topics and questions needed for
our research. We learned that instead of asking
questions that only exposed superficial
sustainability, we instead created questions that
would gain insights into the improvements
needed to be more sustainable.

8. How is success to be assessed?
Our success has come through in the form of
experiential knowledge which we have
gained through the interviewing processes.
We have become dynamic conversationalists
with a purpose and meaning. We have
gained a drive and an activist position within
our island community. Another major
success which came about through the
project has been the many diverse friends
we have met along the way.

9. Discuss how your project relates to each of the
course themes: Sustainability, Communication, and
Culture
Our project has embraced the cultures and places we
were in as our homes and our communities. The people
we met and talked with along the way have become our
friends, farmers, and an essential part of our
community. They supply us with what is necessary for
survival and food for thought which we are sharing to
the college community. We are what we eat, and we
are facilitating an inner dialogue with who we are and
what sustainability means to ourselves and the
members of our community.

10. Where we are as a culture
Society has brought us to a place and time in which it
is venerated to be on your own and independent of
all other human beings. However, with this drive for
independence there is a disconnect. Being such
community based creatures, we are lost in the ideals
of a societal structure that just doesn't work with our
needs and functions as a species. The need to come
together as a community to work together and
sustain our lifestyles in a way that is ever connected
and stress free is important. This is why we must
break away from the institutions that are being fed
off of our money and put the money back into our
local systems.

11. Farmers Markets: Community
Farmers markets have always been around.
They hold a sense of community, giving and
sharing, and create a bond between the providers
and consumers of goods. With this direct
connection between vendors and customers, a
spark is seeded, grown, and tended as the
relationship between the two flourish. There is
no distance between the two, such as a grocery
store or department store. We must learn to
cherish these connections and relationships as
much as possible, for in the end, we must help
each other out.

12. Where Does your Food Come From?
The process of farming has moved so far away from the
people who consume their products that food
production has been placed in the hands of
corporations and businessmen who seek profit, high
yields, and uniformed mass production. Many of us
donʻt know where our food comes from. Even if we are
at a farmers market we donʻt truly know if the food is
sustainably produced, organic, and local. The
Entertainable Sustainables set off on a mission to get
closer to our farmers, our Farmers Markets, and our
food. We wanted to know who the farmers near our
home were, what their practices were, and what they
thought about sustainability.

13. Hilo Farmer's Market: Wednesday,
10:30 a.m.
The Hilo Downtown Farmers Market has a wide
variety of goods including locally made crafts,
prepared food, exotic fruits and vegetables,
clothing, baked goods, teas, coffees, and bath
amenities. This market also features live music
and is relatively cheap. The hours are every
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 7-2 pm.
There are also some vendors who stay open
throughout the week days during daylight hours.
Website:
http://www.hilofarmersmarket.com/index.html

14. Live Entertainment at Hilo's
Downtown Market

15. A Few Interview Questions
1) What does the term sustainability
mean to you?
2) Are your products local?
3) What is your favorite part about
vending and being a part of this
market?

16. Aurora: Fruit and Vegetable Stand

17. The Interview with Aurora
1) I don't know what sustainability means
2) Yes, my items are local and organic
3) I like the people, selling my stuff, and
making money

18. Interview with Jean: Buddha's Cup
1) Sustainability means not having to go to
the store, having a garden, and limiting
what you consume. Products from the
island are better than anything that comes
off a ship. Sustainability is a choice we
must make for ourselves.
2) Yes, our products are from Kona
3) This particular market is small enough to see familiar
faces week to week
Additional comments: At this market you must be wary,
because not everyone knows where their produce is from

19. Interview with Sarah:
One Simple Salsa
1) Sustainability is about people taking
responsibility for their actions and taking care
of the land. It also means to figure out a way to
cope with our situation financially through the
use of trade and cooperation with one another.
We must take responsibility for our
environmental features such as our wetlands.
2) All of our ingredients are grown in Hawaiian
acres. We moved here from Iowa because the
growing season is practically all year long
http://www.hilofarmersmarket.com/onesimplesalsa.html

20. Michael: Wao Kele Honey
http://www.hilofarmersmarket.com/waokelehoney.html

21. Interview with Michael
1) Sustainability means producing resources
that are able to continue over time, and not
getting our products elsewhere. We use all
of our byproducts which means that we have
practically zero waste.
2) All of our candles, honey, and wax are
local. My family and I all work together
during production. All but our jars are
local. Local is the way to go because it
keeps the money here in the local economy

22. Devin: Filthy Farmgirl Soaps

23. The Interview with Devin:
Filthy Farmgirl Soaps
1) Linguistically, it means to continue over time without
running out. Our products use coconut oil that is a
sustainable and renewable source instead of oil or
petroleum which are processed, unsustainable, and
quintessentially non renewable. Oils that are sucked out
of the earth and processed over and over are not meant
to be absorbed by our skin.
Although a lot of our practices are sustainable, what
you really should be asking is "What is not sustainable
about our business?" The tape, plastic wrap, and 100%
post consumer product labels used to wrap our soaps
are recyclable, but it takes the consumer to make sure
it gets to the recycling bins.

24. Devin: Continued
Our office uses solar power, but we use propane to cook our
soaps because we require a really high heat. It would be
ideal to install $100,000 worth of solar panels to be fully
functioning without dependence on electricity, but that's
just not within our budget right now. We are currently on
the verge of being able to do that.
We have just come out with a Filthy Farmgirl Chapstick and
the tube is from China that comes off of a ship. There are
many middle men involved, and those ships don't go by
miles per gallon, we're talking feet per fallon. That, is not
sustainable, but the tube is recyclable. We are doing all
that we can, and all we can do is try to start off well and
make it better over time

25. Devin: Continued
2) Most of the coconut oil we use for our soaps is local, but
the economics of it all doesn't make sense because we can
buy it cheaply from somewhere off island, whereas it costs
us more to buy it from our own people.
Side note: There is a ministry of coconuts in India. They have
a coconut press that runs off its own byproducts. The
machine itself uses the husks from the coconut as a fuel to
power the machine to extract the oils.
We are trying to be more flexible with our company and
allow for change while remaining far away from idealism.
We're realistic.

26. Maku'u Farmer's Market
Sunday: 9:30 a.m.

27. Brief Description
At Maku'u Market, there are various food booths
ranging from Indian curry and samosas to pasteles
and laulau plates. Acai palms, mangosteen trees,
lychee, fresh breads and pastries, coconut oil,
machetes, fresh coffee, a new ceramic cup to
drink your fresh coffee, hemp clothing, artwork,
good company, and live music are all bonuses of
this fabulous market. A sense of community is
felt as soon as you approach this gigantic market,
along with the laughter of the children and
smooth Hawaiian music floating over fresh food.

28. The Gateway to Maku'u

29. Samantha: Interviewed vendors
and took notes
Interview Questions:
1) What does sustainability mean to you?
2) Do you believe in practicing sustainability?
3) Are your items local?
4) What is your favorite part of the farmers
market?

30. Tim: Ceramics and
Homemade Pottery
1) Sustainability means having something that is
long lived and continuous from generation to
generation
2) Yes. At our home in Pahoa we recently ripped
out our entire yard. It wasn't doing us any good
just sitting there. We have now turned it into a
working garden. At first it took a lot of time and
effort, but now that it's established, it has
become easy to maintain. We have a forest next
to our house with trees that fruit often and we
usually go in there to get our citrus and guavas.

31. Tim: Continuation
3) Yes, all of my products are locally made at
my house
4) The sense of community. This market is
pretty large, but with all the familiar faces
and the vendors we see week to week, it
feels like a big family.
5) I do what I do to make a living

32. Abby and her booth, along with my
companion Marisol

33. Abby: Sativa Hemp Wear:
Supernatural Clothing
1) The term sustainability essentially means that it can
take care of itself with its own resources. The hemp
fibers I use in my clothing are sustainable and
renewable. The hemp plant renews itself every year,
and in Hawaii it goes through three growing seasons.
This makes Hawaii a prime place to grow hemp. Hemp
is a fast growing plant and intakes more carbon than
any other crop they're mass producing here.
Side comments: Hemp is illegal because of politics.
Industrial hemp would do very well in Hawaii because it
would create jobs and help the economy in Hawaii
grow. It would keep the money here while employing
the locals.

34. Abby: Continuation
2) I definitely believe in practicing sustainability in our
everyday routines
3) All of my products are locally made, I make everything
you see here, all but the t-shirts. The purses, saddle
bags, towels, pants, wallets, skirts, and dresses are all
made here in Pahoa by me. I get my fabrics from a
wholesale company called "envirotextile.com". They
sell wholesale sustainable hemp fabrics and organic
cottons. Envirotextile.com does use some harsh
chemicals in some instances to get their fabrics to a
certain pliancy and color, but I don't believe in
purchasing those fabrics. I don't deal with bamboo
fabric because of all the chemicals used in order to get
their fibers soft.

35. Abby: Continued
4) The ohana. All of the market vendors are our
family. We see them every week and watch each
other grow as a business. We're all self employed
and, as you can see, everyone here is doing what
they want and are here because they want to be.
We are all, in a sense, sustainable, because we're
sustaining ourselves and our livelihood.
5) To bring the money back to the people. I would
much rather buy local produce and goods from
people I can actually see, rather than some
faceless corporation. We are here to provide for
our self among ourselves.

36. Abby's hand made hemp towels

37. Andy: Tree and Local Plant Vendor
1) It means to live on your own and support
yourself.
2) I'm trying
3) Yes, all of my trees are grown by myself. Once in
awhile I buy offline, because I can't find them
anywhere else. Mostly I graft the trees or start
them from seed.
4) The people and the local nature of it all. I like
that you can get your food directly from the
growers
5) To make a living

38. Andy's Stand

39. Kohala Market: Under the Banyan

40. Under the Banyan Tree: 9:37 a.m.
This market is more
intimate, diverse, and
beautiful. It takes place
under a banyan tree.
Regardless of its small
nature, there is a great
selection from homemade
kombucha to homemade
lilikoi syrup.
Fresh raspberry, lime kombucha!

41. More Interviews
Yasha: interviewer
Samantha: note taker
By this time, we are more comfortable with
interacting with vendors and didn't use a
question sheet. It was more of a
conversation between producer and
consumer.

42. David: Produce and
Live Culture Smoothies
Sustainability: How you define it defines where
you are at as a person. In a fundamental sense, it means
recycling all your resources. It also means that you
need very little from outside, and if you do bring
things in from outside sources, it has to be an even
trade between the two units. Let's say you have two
farmers trading with each other, these two units are
working together and creating a sustainable trade of
resources. Korean natural farming can teach us a lot.
They have learned how to recycle every nutrient with
no waste products.

43. Sustainable Practices of David's
Honestly, there aren't many practices that I utilize. I do
use aquaponics and recycle all my "waste". I ferment all
my green waste that contributes to the processes
necessary to make my yogurt and live cultures. I keep
barrels of waste from my aquaponics system and feed it
to my worms or microbes. The juices from my microbes
are then put back into my aquaponics to feed my
lettuces. Even though I do a little to stay sustainable, I
also need to bring things in from outside. I'm
considerably more sustainable than most, but if we ran
out of shipments to Hawaii, I'd have some major
adjustments to make.

44. Sustainable Practices of David's:
Continued
All of my wash water gets put back into my
garden and all the water used for the
gardens is collected and reused again.
Plans to be more sustainable: Financially, I
don't know what I can do to be better. If I
could afford it, I'd use PV to run my
aquaponic system off-grid.

45. Brett: Tree Salesman
Sustainability: I do like this word sustainability, but I like the
word abundant much more. It would be great if we could
become, not only sustainable, but also abundant. I sell trees
to make areas thrive with life, food, and protection. These
are the first steps we must take to gaining abundance.
Sustainable practices: I use solar water. Haven't gotten into
PhotoVoltaic yet, but that's on my list. Wind power is on the
horizon. Right now, I'm just working on planting as many
trees as possible and improving soil as much as
possible.Plans for sustainability: This is a good question.
The list is endless. I'd like to raise more animals and plant
more, get into agroforestry. I already have a few chickens
and pigs, but ideally, I'd like to have a farm and own three
acres for trees.

46. Lauren: Produce sales and
Farmer of Risley Farm
Sustainability: This can mean
everything and nothing at the
same time. It can mean doing
things consciously without over-
consumption, making sure our
resources are renewable (please
ignore our crappy plastic bags).
We are an organic farm and we
use a lot of companion planting
for pest control. We only sell our
products locally and everyone
here basically has their produce
coming from within a ten mile

47. Lauren:
Risley Farm
Plans to become more sustainable: Ideally, we'd
like to move away from depending so much on
tractors. I'd rather rely on veggie oil than diesel.
I'd also like to move away from the plastic bags
we bring to the market, but it's hard when people
come without a bag and wants to buy our
produce. I don't like the word sustainable, I feel
it has become more of a trend and marketing
scheme than an actual, everyday routine. It has
become popular within the culture and is being
used to sell things.

48. Hannah: New York and Paris,
France
Union Square, New York
Market: Union Square Green Market
14th Street and Broadway NY, NY
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday year
round
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
History:
- First began in 1976 in the heart of downtown NYC
- 140 vendors participate in the city market during
Peak season

49. Union Square Market, NY
- Available produce includes seasonal fruits and
veggies, meats, cheese, breads, jams, honey,
wine, flowers, potted plants, and more.
- 60,000 shoppers attend this open air green market
- accepting EBT and Credit cards, available to
everyone
- "Best Market in Manhattan, hands down" - Honey
Farmer

50. Union Square Green Market:
Vendor Q&A
"Our
produce is organic, we
never use pesticides and
we never will. We care
about our customers, their
health, and we care about
the earth. It's the only thing
that makes sense.
- Organic apple farmer

51. Cider Brewer: NY, NY
"You know, we live in a city; that makes sustainable
practices a bit trickier. I'd like to think that we don't have to
rely so much on cars, fue,
and plastics and all that..
But I think we have to start
somewhere, and here we
are at Union Square! It's
great that the younger
generations are so
supportive, gives me hope"

52. Prospect Park Green Market: NY, NY
Market: Prospect Park Green Market, Grand Army
Plaza and Bartel-Pritchard Circle Brooklyn,
NY
Every Saturday, year-round 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

53. Prospect Park Green Market
"Food is grown and produced by regional farmers specializing in
organic, unprocessed, and free-range products"
- GrowNYC
Fruits, vegetable, meat, cheese, you name it! Prospect Park
Green Market has it!
Everything from blueberry
wide, goat cheese, hundreds of
varieties of apples, and fresh-
picked flowers, plants, and
seeds"

54. Prospect park Green Market
-Compost stations are available
as well as special events such
as "Earth Day" Fairs, organic
farming technique discussions
and cooking classes
- Accepting EBT and Credit
Cards, available to everyone

55. Prospect Park Green Market:
Q & A
"It's important to the community that we support our customers
health" - Organic Bread Baker, Brooklyn, NY
"Every day you have the
choice of how you want
to care for yourself and
the earth. By choosing
organic and seasonal
produce, you are

56. Prospect Park Green Market
"New York is getting there, slowly and
slowly I see improvements. The market's
getting busier and you see more regulars.
It's exciting to see that it's (sustainable
living) finally catching on"
- Customer at organic produce vendor
Brooklyn, NY

57. Marche President Wilson:
Paris, France
Market: Marche President Wilson
- one of the largest open green markets in Paris
- here you can find everything from
fresh produce to meats, fish, flowers,
pasta, breads, sweets, and crafts/household
products
- seasonal fruit selections are abundant
- best quality of seafood: lobster from
Brittany, fresh oysters
- snails and stuffed mussels
- olives, tapenades, salads, side dishes
- the best French cheese varieties!

58. Marche President Wilson:
Paris, France
- Produce quality is a huge part of
French culture, and availability of
fresh products such as vegetable
produce, meats, eggs, and so on
is a cultural necessity
- Communication between vendors
are extremely important too,
"Bonjour Madame/Monsieur" is a
typical greeting, and vendors have
the utmost pride in their produce,
whatever it may be
- Sustainable living is becoming
increasingly popular, and "bio"
organic produce is common among
markets as well as within
supermarkets

59. Conclusion
Along the way of asking questions and gaining
knowledge, we made a lot of friends,
understood what sustainability means on a
variety of levels, and achieved a new found
sense of community with those who are
providing us with the very essence of life.
Food for thought.
Mahalo!