{"id":204958,"date":"2024-10-14T15:58:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T01:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=204958"},"modified":"2024-10-14T15:58:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T01:58:25","slug":"ancestral-circular-economy-sustainable-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/14\/ancestral-circular-economy-sustainable-future\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> revives ancestral circular economy for a sustainable future"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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The 800-year-old loko iʻa<\/span> kuap\u0101 (walled coastal fishpond) at Paepae o Heʻeia<\/span> serves as a cornerstone of a university-community partnership to restore ancestral circular economy practices and values in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. From left, Keliʻi<\/span> Kotubetey, Kanekoa Shultz, Kawika Winter, Hiʻilei<\/span> Kawelo and Kamanamaikalani Beamer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amidst today\u2019s global climate crisis, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s sustainable development challenges are being exacerbated by rising sea levels, environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, which are amplifying strains on energy sources, increasing costs, and the state\u2019s dependence on imported goods and industries such as tourism and construction.<\/p>\n

However, long before the advent of today\u2019s model of an extractive linear economy, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> operated on a unique ancestral circular economy that embraced a “give, take, regenerate” model that sustained an isolated island civilization for centuries.<\/p>\n

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Farm Manager Emeritus Nick Reppun running steamed kalo into a poi mill. (Photo credit: K\u0101koʻo<\/span> ʻ\u014ciwi<\/span>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recognizing the significance and values of this ancestral circular economy, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is developing a first-of-its-kind P\u014dʻai<\/span> ke Aloha ʻĀina<\/span> Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice under the leadership of Professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer, director of the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Kamakak\u016bokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies<\/a>, and the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment.<\/p>\n

His lab, P\u014dʻai<\/span> ke Aloha ʻĀina<\/span>—which loosely translates to “center for ancestral circular economy and justice,” like the upcoming center that it will serve—is paving the way toward this new paradigm for UH<\/abbr>. Through annual summits and publications, his team of graduate students and mentees are helping to catalyze local research, advocacy and partnerships, while fostering international collaborations.<\/p>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is an ideal setting for implementing and studying sustainable development, and circular economy principles and practices,” said Beamer. “Our isolation and finite resources offer a controlled environment to rapidly assess the impact of environmental changes. But more importantly, our rich ancestral knowledge and values-based circular economy practices can serve as blueprints for universal application for other community-based circular economies around the world.”<\/p>\n

This topic was featured in the 2023 UH<\/abbr> Innovation Conference x Piʻo<\/span> Summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more on the UH<\/abbr> P\u014dʻai<\/span> ke Aloha ʻĀina<\/span> Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice, see Noelo<\/em>\u2019s 2024 cover story<\/a>. Noelo<\/em> is UH<\/abbr>\u2019s research magazine from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

P\u014dʻai<\/span> ke Aloha ʻĀina<\/span> loosely translates to “center for ancestral circular economy and justice.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[197,1500,1505,1503,1467,1465,1363,158,947],"class_list":["post-204958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-economics","tag-hawaiian-studies","tag-innovation","tag-kamakakuokalani-center-for-hawaiian-studies","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t