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Comment by Raychel A Watkins on March 23, 2012 at 8:00pm

Aloha Jim

You should have come by my place.  If I am home the world is welcome at ant time.  This is the motto I coined foe myself :Start where you are, use what you have, scrounge for the rest low budget aquaponics for non rocket scientists.  I delight in building something out of as close to nothing as I can.  The little system I built for the BOW class cost me 50$.  My WWOOFer built me 2 beautiful BSFL bins for the cost of the screws.  You can't beat that.  I will have to figure a day I could come over and we could try to visit some systems.  There is no reason to be private  I don't want to compete I just want everyone to have a system.  I was over at Glens yesterday and he was showing me his new air pump to lift water into the beds.  It is amazing and economical and he is willing to share with all.  Did you see Glen's farm at Olamana Gardens.  I wish I had his enthusiasm and mind to build things.  

I think the association is a a good thing.  I do believe that it will take a while tget it going.  I am willing to hang around util we get someone who wants to run with the ball.  The way they are coming after small farmers we need all the help we can get but we have to get some clout.  I would appreciate it if you would be the branch manager.  We are supposed to something for Earth day.  I am going to do another class and probably give this little system to BOW or a school.  It is good for the association and it is good publicity for me.  I have another class of 23 waiting for me to give a date. We don't even have enough officers over here but we are not going to let that bother us.   Mahalo if you will be the branch chair.

This the little system I built at the BOW all from recycled materials and it works

Comment by Jim Hall on March 23, 2012 at 4:42pm

Bee talk tonight at the college.

Comment by Jim Hall on March 20, 2012 at 10:24am

Aloha Rachel,
Yeah, some times we lead, but more often we follow some unknown. I seem to be "using the force, Luke" day by day. Never really sure where the day will lead.
One of my motivations, and sometimes limiting factors, is striving for the most economically built systems, especially through repurposing things and trying to overcome the variables. Aquaponics already has a good set of variables on it's own.
While on Oahu this weekend I got my fix by visiting to systems, but was surprised at how hard it was to find others or info on others. As I drove around I would see awnings or pvc pipes and such, just visible in a yard and suspected some aquaponics was going on and was tempted to stop and see, but many aquapons have a thing for privacy.
We have the next Maui (Hawaii) Farmers Union United meeting coming up and with 100+ people attending the last one, it's a great chance to share.:
Would love to visit systems on Maui myself and more than willingly to go around with you to any I know of.
Spent some time reading the association by-laws last night. Seems pretty straight forward, although kind of repetitive, maybe that's the legaleze.
My concern with beating the drum about aquaponics is that it always generates interest and it's that point that it needs to be capitalized on. If I can't give them more info, direct them or help them get started, the excitment fades and life gets in the way.
As it stands, there is the UN Water Day already going to come and go, Earth Day soon and before long the schools will be out, not to mention time to get gardens planted for an impressive summer and fall. So there is lots of potential out there.
Well, sun's up and time to feed my fish. :peace: Need a smiley raising 3 fingers for W water. :peace:

Comment by Raychel A Watkins on March 20, 2012 at 2:35am

Hey Jim do you think I wanted this position.  I just hope we can get the aquaqponic people to get together.  I will be talking to Sylvia on Wed and see if we have the brochure out yet.  I think they need to get it out and revise later.  Our branch here consists of just Kirsten and I.  We just gave a talk at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply about making an economical aquaponic system.  We did in the name of the Association We had 40 people and it was great,  Hungry people out there.  

Hey can I come to some of you guys farms if I take a trip to Maui one of these days..  The Association is so new I am not sure they know what is happening yet,  I will keep you informed as best I can.  

Mahalo for trying Raychel

Comment by Jim Hall on March 19, 2012 at 5:09pm

I'd be interested in it at least temporarily to see a chapter get formed. I'm not very experienced at a position like that, but better there than secretary or treasurer. I need to read over the by-laws to see what's involved and would hope to actually meet a few members beyond a virtual meet up. Just introduced some of my tilapia to their new home. Let's see who we can recruit. :D

Comment by Jennifer on March 19, 2012 at 3:40pm

So Jim if you wanna be Chair; I'm willing to be secretary.  We just need one other person to be the Treasurer and then we can get Raychel to start us up on a Maui branch.

ANYONE out here on maui that is a dues paying member of Aquaponics Association that would like to serve as treasurer?  Any takers?

Mahalos,

Jen

Comment by Larry Yonashiro on March 19, 2012 at 12:11am

Thanks Rebecca.  I submitted my testimony online in support of HB2703.

Thanks Jim, for sharing your experiences with siphon.

Comment by Jim Hall on March 18, 2012 at 11:48pm

Got to visit Fred Lau's Mari's Garden and Glenn Martinez' Olomana Gardens briefly yesterday. The tilapia looked like I needed to break out a trolling pole to catch them. Nice to see other systems and re-energize.

Comment by Jim Hall on March 18, 2012 at 11:44pm

They say a watched potnnever boils, sometime I feel like that with setting up my siphons. Cycling my newest system. Seems innthe beginning they are stubborn and either don't break into a siphon or stop. Then after I get them to work they kick into being pretty consistent.
Noticing too that each system almost has a personality. The sounds they make and the smell or lack of smell from the water talks volumes.
Noticed my original bucket system started hanging up on the siphon and havng been through a similar senario just after I started it, i checked for roots and sure enough, the roots had taken off and filled up the pipes and also the bell siphon in a second system.

Comment by Rebecca B on March 18, 2012 at 10:54pm

Received this today:

Our food self sufficiency bill is not supposed to still be alive.  Thanks to you it is. Now we need one more push to get over the finish line and WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP!

Last month you testified in support of HB 2703, a bill to require the state of Hawaii to double its food production by the year 2020.  The bureaucrats and the developers hated it.  But thanks to your support it survived in the House of Representatives. Now it is going to be heard on the other side: in the SenateAgriculture Committee - and one more time we need you to testify.

We’ve heard that opponents are unhappy that we’ve gotten this far and they are going to make another effort to finish us off.  We need to show that a lot of people support this bill - both in writing and in person. 

Why is it controversial?  Think about it: If the state has to double food production in just 8 years, how could they possibly justify reclassifying the best farmland currently growing food in order to permit more suburban sprawl?

Please write to the Chair of the Committee, Senator Clarence Nishihara.  You can submit testimony here  and if you can spare the time please come testify in person this Tuesday at 2:45pm at the Capitol in Room 229. 

Here are some of the things you could say:

§  Doubling our food production, according to a 2008 UH study, would give a $313 million jolt to the state economy, create $47 million in profits, provide $6 million in state tax revenues and create more than 2,300 jobs.

§  Hawaii currently only grows 8% to 10% of the food we eat, according to the US Department of Agriculture.  This leaves us incredibly vulnerable to supply disruptions.

§  Opinion polls repeatedly show this issue is one of the top political concerns of voters in Hawaii.  They also show that local people are prepared to pay a little more than for imported food because they place a premium on locally grown food.

§  A statutory goal for food production will have a galvanizing effect both on the state and on the private sector - in the same way as the Clean Energy Initiative has helped lick-start the booming alternative energy sector.

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