Decolonization Series- Make New Memories this Season

by Lauren Ballesteros-Watanabe, Chapter Organizer | Reading time: 6.5 minutes

The holiday season keeps starting earlier and earlier, at least that’s what the big box stores want. In the spirit of a just transition to resist extractive consumer driven behaviors as possible, we’d like to the following are some ways to make this season more environmentally, local, and meaningful. Starting with broadening our scope of what December means. Often synonymous with the “nationalized” Christmas holiday, December can mark a time of year that calls us to re-examine the ways the dominant culture has presumed itself “host” culturally and theologically over and against indigenous cultures.

For traditional Hawaiian culture, this time of the year is known as Makahiki season which is the beginning of the Hawaiian lunar year. There is so much deep meaning and practices during this holiday, one aspect we want to uplift is the great emphasis placed on the importance of ho‘okupu (“offering”) and ‘auhau (“tax”). Objects of great value were given by maka‘āinana (people of the land) to their ali‘i (“chiefs”) and akua (“gods”). It was believed that this annual practice of giving, an integral phase of the harvest season’s ceremonies, would encourage the continued growth and fertility of our lands and resources. It is in this spirit, the following tips are our offering to you on how to move through December holiday prep!

Support Local Foods

Everyone can agree that becoming less dependent on imported foods and supporting local farmers is a priority. Holiday get togethers are a great time to expose more of your family and friends to this need over a local dish. But even more than showing off our local recipes with meaning, adopting new practices to deal with after the holiday meal is important.

Hawai‘i residents pay some of the highest food prices in the country, more than half a billion pounds of food still go to waste each year. This comes out to almost 1.5 million pounds of food waste per day across the islands. The accumulative food waste has a big impact on our community, our local economy, and our environment. Although food waste is a systemic issue, individual households are responsible for the most significant amount. Hawai‘i residents throw away approximately one quarter of all food and beverage purchases, which equates to a loss of about $700 per person per year.

A few tips on lowering your food waste: 

1. Rethink your shopping list. If you don’t do this already, gather input from your family and friends before you buy to lessen waste. Take inventory of what is on your list and try make at least half of the items be locally grown.

2. Leftover Goodie Bag. If you are hosting, provide or ask guests to bring reusable containers and ask them what they enjoyed eating and let them pick. That way, you can avoid those leftovers reaching someone else’s rubbish.

3. Compost. You can compost many ingredients of your holiday meal. Fruits, vegetables, eggshells and coffee grounds make great compost. You can compost in your backyard or support a local company that can take it throughout the year.

4. Donate unopened ingredients. Hawaiʻi Food Bank or other non-profits are always taking donations. To help, you can donate your unopened canned and shelf-stable ingredients. Go the extra mile and collect from your friends and family. 

Give More Meaning with Less Waste

It’s estimated that 125,000 tons of plastic packaging and 277,000 miles of wrapping paper are thrown away each holiday season, enough to go around the earth over ten times. A good alternative to cut waste is to give experiences as gifts. For example, for the sports fans in your life, you could buy tickets to a University of Hawaiʻi volleyball game or Honolulu Symphony concert tickets for a night out. Or yoga classes or music lessons can be a gift for a loved one. “Sponsoring” a family outing like the Honolulu Zoo or Children’s Center is a great gifts for parents. Get creative and you will surely give experiences that are the perfect gift for the holiday season. 

However, if you enjoy holiday shopping and giving physical gifts or stocking stuffers you can try these tips too:

1. Local Business Gift Cards- checkout a statewide directory here. You can also do one for Farmer’s Markets!

2. Support Kānaka owned businesses.

3. Get social with local vendors at “Shop Small” markets throughout December.

Gift Drive for our Maui Keiki. Make this difficult season for our Maui ohana a little brighter by providing some cheer to the keiki! The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) and Kāko’o Haleakalā launched a “Makana for Maui” gift drive for keiki affected by the Maui wildfires. The gift drive is active now and runs through Friday, Dec. 15, 2023.

How to donate: New, unused and unwrapped gifts and toys can be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at CNHA’s Kāko’o Maui Resource Hub at Maui Mall located at 70 E. Ka’ahumanu Avenue, Unit D1, in Kahului. Gifts can also be mailed to the Resource Hub. The mailing address is 153 E. Ka’ahumanu, Unit D1, Kahului, HI 96732. Gift cards are also accepted.

Dealing with Christmas trees

Each year, Hawaiʻi imports an average of 250,000 Christmas trees – mostly Douglas or Noble firs – from Oregon and Washington. Those trees often bring unwanted pests and end up being thrown away or burned in illegal bonfires after the holiday season ends. On average, the Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industry Division says the state expects to receive 150-170 containers of Christmas trees, each with the capacity to hold up to 3,000 trees.

Just like anything, new behaviors may be hard because most of us have that nostalgia for the “traditional” Christmas tree. But changing your Christmas tree centerpiece this year is an opportunity to promote indigenous trees and have a meaningful conversation starter in your home. It’s a growing movement throughout our islands and doing so supports local nurseries and significantly reduces the carbon footprint produced by cargo ships significantly.

Checkout a few Christmas tree alternatives:

1. Alaheʻe is an indigenous native plant that has a similar growth pattern and shape as a Christmas tree. Once planted in the ground it can grow as large as 30 feet but are happy remaining it its pot and most keiki are the perfect size for apartments or small spaces. It has green leaves but also produces clusters of white, fragrant flowers to add to your room. Rick Barboza of Hui Kū Maoli Ola Nursery on Oʻahu, which sells these trees during the holiday season (and all year round), says they require little maintenance in pots but should be kept outdoors afterwards. 

2. Norfolk pines, a popular Christmas tree alternative in Hawaiʻi, can live up to four months after being cut. Another positive is that these pines don’t lose hundreds of needles and create the dreaded mess in our homes.

3. Topiary trees & podocarpus Trees: Topiary trees are great for small spaces. They are a popular landscaping plant for hedges. Another appealing option is the Podocarpus gracilior tree. A type of conifer with many additional uses in the landscape post-Christmas, such as a hedge, ornamental, or shade tree.

Alternatives also keep the invasives and pests away: A 2015 USDA study found that importing live plant materials is the highest risk pathway for introducing new pests and diseases to Hawaiʻi. Invasive species like snakes, wasps, and slugs have been found in shipments of Christmas trees for many years. Recently we’ve been helping to raise alarms around invasive species mitigation, including Little Fire Ant infestations on Oʻahu. This year we encourage everyone to opt for a native or non-imported alternative to the standard significant box store options.

For a statewide list of nurseries to search for alternatives, checkout the Plant Pono program. These nurseries have pledged to do all they can to minimize the spread of invasive species and pests by following recommended best management practices in their business. No matter what tree you buy, remember that they don’t have to be tossed out once the decorations come down. Here are a few different ways you can repurpose that Christmas tree and feel better about yourself heading into 2024.

Starting 2024 off on the right foot

We all have our own unique memories and experiences that identify what this holiday season means to us. We can also make it an opportunity to celebrate the breadth and depth of cultural knowledge that exists throughout our islands to carry us into a new year.

My hope is that in discovering the big and little ways giving and receiving differently, can invite us into different ways of relating with one another. Through albeit small but intentional steps we can begin seeing our roles and others in a new way, one that desires to live honorably with those who this ʻāina rightfully belongs and whose knowledge is the key to unlocking the regenerative and compassion centered systems we all deserve.