Press Release, 10/22/2012

PRESS RELEASE
Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden
and the
Hau`ula Community Association

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE 11 A.M. 10/20/12

PLANT A TREE OF LIFE – GROW ‘ULU
PROJECT TO DISTRIBUTE TREES TO O`AHU COMMUNITY

Kalāheo, HI (October 11, 2012) - The Breadfruit Institute of the nonprofit National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Hau‘ula Community Association will distribute hundreds of breadfruit (‘ulu) trees to the Hau‘ula community on October 20 from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. at the Hau‘ula Civic Center*. Breadfruit is highly nutritious and the Saturday event aims to contribute to a resurgence of its use in Hawai‘i.

Members of this windward O`ahu community will receive the variety called Ma‘afala, along with information on how to plant them in their yards and home gardens. Ma‘afala is widely grown and popular in Samoa and Tonga. It has been in Hawai‘i for several decades and is often known as a ‘Samoan breadfruit’. The trees are quite vigorous and can begin bearing fruit in 2 1/2 to 3 years.

Dr. Diane Ragone, director of NTBG’s Breadfruit Institute, will be at the event to share information gathered during her years of research on this plant. Plant a Tree of Life-Grow ‘Ulu was launched by the Breadfruit Institute in 2012 to provide breadfruit trees to native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and low-income residents of Hawai’i under a grant from the Ceres Trust, which supports organic and sustainable agriculture. The Breadfruit Institute, based on Kaua‘i, promotes the conservation and use of breadfruit for food and reforestation worldwide and works in the Islands with the Hawai‘i Homegrown Food Network under the “Ho‘oulu ka ‘Ulu project to revitalize breadfruit as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant, affordable, and culturally appropriate food that addresses Hawai‘i’s food security issues.

For the October distribution, the Institute has partnered with the Hau‘ulu Community Association, which serves the neighborhood through initiatives in community-based resource management; health, education, and safety, and natural disaster preparedness. To learn more about these organizations, visit their respective websites at breadfruit.ntbg.org and hauulacommunityassociation.com.

* Hau‘ula Civic Center, 54-010 Kukuna Street, Hau‘ula, HI

Press Contacts:
Diane Ragone, Director of the Breadfruit Institute:
(808) 332-7324, ext. 224; breadfruitinstitute@ntbg.org
Dotty Kelly-Paddock, President, Hau‘ulu Community Association:
(808) 255-6944; dotty.kelly@verizon.net

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