Hawaii’s Back yard Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

Molokai expo shows off
island products

Barbara Haliniak, president of the Molokai Chamber of Commerce, believes Molokai's unique identity should be preserved. So in May of last year, when Lynn Arakaki-Regan, coordinator for the Maui County Office of Economic Development, asked her if Molokai vendors would like to participate in a business fair on Maui, Haliniak's answer was firm.

Second Annual Food and Business Expo When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Place: Lanikeha Community Center, Hoolehua, Molokai Admission: Free Call: 808-553-3773 E-mail: mkkcham@mobettah.net Web site: www.molokaichamber.org

"I said if we want to showcase our Molokai businesses, it must be at a venue here on Molokai and be marketed as such," she recalled. "We at the chamber felt it was important to host such a fair on our home turf."

With the help of Arakaki-Regan, Haliniak obtained a grant from the Maui County Office of Economic Development to put on Molokai's first Food and Business Expo last October. "The goal," Haliniak explained, "was to provide avenues for sustainability to existing and potential Molokai businesses. We wanted to create a venue where they could get exposure, develop successful partnerships and promote, sell and test-market their products."

In addition, chamber executives saw the expo as a way to introduce new businesses, promote their mission of stimulating business and community growth on Molokai and raise money to support their programs, which range from youth entrepreneurship golf tournaments to workshops on subjects such as subcontracting with the military, tax strategies and employment law.

"We felt the biggest benefit of such an event would be to foster well-managed economic growth without compromising the cultural values and unique lifestyle that make Molokai so special," Haliniak said.

Indeed, from food and informational exhibits to entertainment to products, "homegrown" is the hallmark of the second annual expo, which takes place tomorrow. The theme is "Pu ke Pono Maikai: Sharing the Goodness."

Among participating vendors will be farmers, artisans, merchants, restaurateurs, financial advisers, visitor industry entrepreneurs and representatives of trucking, Internet and wireless services.

Food vendors will unveil an array of made-on-Molokai edibles, including sweet potato and yam chips, gourmet salts, seaweed products, poi and honey. "We'll also have wonderful crafters who have marketed their wares via the Internet and at trade shows," Haliniak said. Look for their handmade clay hair adornments and necklaces, baby blankets, ukuleles, coconut frond hats and bowls, and other creations.

In addition, six Maui County chefs will present cooking demonstrations throughout the day: Anthony Ramos of the Royal Ocean Terrace, Royal Lahaina Resort, Maui; Tom Muromoto of Tiki Terrace, Kaanapali Beach Hotel, Maui; Dean Louie of Cafe Sauvage, Lahaina, Maui; Erwin Kudoba of the Mauna Loa Dining Room, Lodge and Beach Village at Molokai Ranch; and Chris Speere and Darryl Dela Cruz, instructors at Maui Culinary Academy.

Molokai-grown ingredients will serve as their inspiration, and samples will be offered of such dishes as Potage of Hawaiian Pumpkin Soup with Basil-Truffle Oil (pumpkin and basil from Molokai) and the Baby Green Salad of Peppered Molokai Prawns with Duo of Sweet Potatoes and Mango Cilantro Vinaigrette (baby greens, prawns, sweet potato and cilantro from Molokai).

COURTESY MOLOKAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Visitors to the Food and Business Expo are treated to a taste of what Molokai's entrepreneurs have to offer.

Five groups of junior entrepreneurs from Molokai High School and the Hoikaika Youth Opportunity Program will be marketing ready-to-eat poi, ceramics, artwork, potted plants, and videotaping and manpower services. These ambitious youths, ages 14 through 21, received instruction on how to run a successful business -- from brainstorming ideas to setting operating budgets to writing and submitting plans to obtain seed money -- in a business class at school.

"Molokai's children are our future," Haliniak said. "At some point we need to pass the torch to them. Through the expo, we hope to help them see the great potential that lies in the field of business -- that there are numerous ideas they can bring to fruition, that they can make a good living from being in business and that they can have some fun to boot!"

A Sweet Potato Recipe Contest invites anyone age 21 and older to enter as many recipes as they'd like in pupu, entree and dessert categories. There are no entry fees, and judging will be based on presentation, creativity, nutritional value, taste and accessibility of ingredients.

All recipes must be submitted with an official application form, available at the Molokai Chamber of Commerce's office at 40 Alamalama St., Suite 108, in Kaunakakai. Completed entries can be dropped off at the chamber in person or mailed to P.O. Box 515, Kaunakakai 96748. Entry deadline is 2 p.m. Thursday, and entrants can pick up sweet potatoes for their dishes at the chamber beginning Tuesday.

"More so than any other island, Molokai has retained its rural appeal," Haliniak said. "As such, farming remains an important industry here, and the expo celebrates that. We live in a fast-paced, computer-dependent world, but there's certainly something to be said about the joys and rewards of getting close to the aina (land) and working with your hands. It's amazing what treasures the earth can produce, given some attention and care. And it's amazing what people can do with those treasures; we're expecting some innovative entries for our sweet potato recipe contest."

Haliniak expects that more than 1,000 people will attend the expo, which she regards as "a win-win event. It gives Molokai businesses some well-deserved recognition. At the same time, attendees get to see what's going on in our business community. Many, many talented, visionary entrepreneurs are doing many, many wonderful things here. The expo puts them in the limelight and serves as a jumping-off point for them to launch even more exciting ventures."