{"id":2028,"date":"2023-06-28T10:10:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T20:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2023-06-28T10:10:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T20:10:33","slug":"genki-ala-wai-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/genki-ala-wai-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ala Wai Will Be All Right"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2035\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2035\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-9.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-9.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-9.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-9.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Standing at the Diamond Head-side of the canal and holding Genki balls are Genki Ala Wai Project members (from left) Hiromichi Nago, Fumiko Chun, Kenneth Kaneshiro, Pua Kamahoahoa, Mary Ann Kobayashi, Ian Pelayo and Chikako Nago.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><strong>The dedicated volunteers behind the Genki Ala Wai Project are getting their hands dirty in order to clean one of the state\u2019s most infamous waterways.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Ala Wai Canal \u2014 and its reputation \u2014 is far from clean. It\u2019s the butt of countless jokes and the focal point of endless mockery, but when you stop and think about it, it\u2019s not very funny.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2032\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2032\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-3.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-3.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-3.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-3.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Punahou School alumni recently joined forces with the Genki Ala Wai Project<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Built in 1928 as a way to drain Waik\u012bk\u012b\u2019s rice paddies and swamps for incoming construction, the artificial waterway used to be a popular gathering place for local \u2018ohana. Canoe paddlers would glide along the glistening blue water, keiki would splash one another in a giggling fit and families would cast a line to catch that night\u2019s dinner.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s hard to imagine today given the canal\u2019s current condition. Riddled with flesh-eating bacteria, heavy metals and fecal contamination, the once-enjoyable channel is now considered a danger zone.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2030\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2030\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-1.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-1.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-1.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2030\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Punahou School alumni recently joined forces with the Genki Ala Wai Project, which aims to use Genki balls<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Enter the ardent members behind the Genki Ala Wai Project, a branch of nonprofit Hawai\u2018i Exemplary State Foundation. With less than 10 in their tally, the volunteers are making waves in the canal with their mission of making the Ala Wai swimmable and fishable by 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Believe it or not, the diverse group\u2014Kenneth Kaneshiro, Pua Kamahoahoa, Leilani Kupahu-Marino Kaho&#x2018;ano, Ian Pelayo, Mary Ann Kobayashi, Fumiko Chun, and Chikako, Hiromichi and Kouri Nago \u2014 plans to accomplish this astounding goal within a few years using just a few ingredients: clay soil, rice bran, water, molasses and a special solution called effective microorganisms, or EM, for short. Combine them all and you have a Genki ball.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2036\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2036\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-16.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2036\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-16.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-16.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-16.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-16.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Punahou School alumni recently joined forces with the Genki Ala Wai Project, which aims to use Genki balls to purify the notorious canal by 2026.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cEM is a specific group of naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, yeast and photosynthetic bacteria,\u201d explains Kouri, who\u2019s the group\u2019s social media coordinator. \u201cEM was developed in Okinawa, Japan, by professor Teruo Higa in 1982, and is now used in more than 100 countries around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kouri explains that soil and clean water are maintained by the diversity and balance of the microorganisms within them, and in polluted waters, like the Ala Wai, species that cannot survive in a tainted environment perish, with the ecosystem soon following. EM works to restore a healthy equilibrium, and in turn, increases the area\u2019s self-purifi-cation abilities, which, in this case, rebuilds the ecosystem from the ground up.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2029\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2029\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-ala-wai-project-courtesy-photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-ala-wai-project-courtesy-photo.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-ala-wai-project-courtesy-photo.jpg?resize=450,366 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-ala-wai-project-courtesy-photo.jpg?resize=768,624 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-ala-wai-project-courtesy-photo.jpg?resize=335,272 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2029\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Whether they are spreading awareness or creating mud balls, local students play a large role in the success of the Genki Ala Wai Project. PHOTO COURTESY GENKI ALA WAI PROJECT<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cFor the Genki Ala Wai Project, we mainly use EM in the form of mud balls aka \u2018Genki balls,\u2019\u201d says Kouri. \u201cThis method of using EM is suitable for the project because in the mud ball form, the microorganisms can sink to the bottom of the canal and start to eat up all of the sludge, which is the main pollutant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In July 2021, volunteers began tracking the sludge, or dead organic matter, on the Diamond Head-side of the canal. It measured 23 inches deep, which is about mid-thigh on a person of average height. Two years and thousands of the apple-sized Genki balls later, the sludge measured a mere 3 inches as of this April. Water clarity levels also improved drastically, coming down from 21 nephelometric turbidity units (the measurement used to determine the presence of suspended particles in water) to just 2. The area has also been visited by friends it hasn\u2019t seen in a while, like Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles, manta rays, indigenous fish and more.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-6.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-6.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-6.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-6.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe talk about the Ala Wai Canal all these years and how dirty it is, whose responsibility it is, how much money is spent, and we\u2019re just pointing fingers at each other,\u201d says Chikako, the group\u2019s business liaison. \u201cThe Ala Wai is not somebody else\u2019s canal, it\u2019s our canal. People feel ownership of it, so they feel good helping it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though the volunteers spend countless hours making Genki balls, securing funding, testing the water, researching and visiting local schools, it\u2019s hard for any of them to take full credit for the project\u2019s success thus far.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2031\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2031\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-2.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-2.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Genki balls are made by molding clay soil, rice bran, water, molasses and a special solution. Volunteers shape then toss the tennis-ball-sized spheres into Ala Wai Canal, with the hope of creating a healthier ecosystem.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is our joy, but it\u2019s everybody\u2019s contribution because it took all of the people who helped us make the Genki balls to get here \u2014 it\u2019s their work, too,\u201d says Chikako, who\u2019s talking about the hundreds of hands belonging to people of all ages and backgrounds who made and threw Genki balls into the water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hardly ever get to play with mud,\u201d she says playfully.<\/p>\n<p>The organization visits with everyone \u2014 from preschoolers to k\u016bpuna in assisted living facilities, and from Girl Scout troops to hotel guests \u2014 to talk about the project and its mission, and even asks them to get their hands dirty.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2033\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-5.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-5.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-5.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/06\/mw-cover-062123-genki-project-ac-5.jpg?resize=335,223 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really a wonderful experience to make the Genki balls and watch the fermentation process,\u201d says Kobayashi, who serves as education coordinator. \u201cThey\u2019ll see the microbes that look like white fibers growing out of the brown muddy balls, then it dries into a hard rock like a stone, and it\u2019s ready to throw in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From the orbs\u2019 formation until it\u2019s time for the toss, keiki have a ball \u2014 and often compete in throwing contests, says Chikako \u2014 while adults and k\u016bpuna experience a childlike wonder that\u2019s often missed in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n<p>And, as much fun as participants are having, they\u2019re met with just as much enlightenment when Hawaiian cultural advisers share their wisdom on the edge of the Ala Wai.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have memories, just a few years ago, of being across the street and smelling the stench of pollution coming from the canal while the students were at recess. It was nauseating,\u201d says Kamahoahoa, a Hawaiian studies educator at nearby elementary schools. \u201cI also experienced flooding on the campus of Ala Wai Elementary, where the canal\u2019s water would overflow onto sidewalks and student\u2019s play areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s painful for Kamahoahoa to witness these tragic occurrences. It forces her \u2014 and other locals who know of the Ala Wai\u2019s glorious past \u2014 to remember that Waik\u012bk\u012b was historically a region abundant in fresh water, flowing freely from the mountain tops of M\u0101noa, P\u0101lolo and Makiki.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe waters would then flow down into huge loko i&#x2018;a (fishponds) surrounding Waik\u012bk\u012b shores,\u201d she shares. \u201cIt became home to our many ali&#x2018;i (royalty).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a teacher, it\u2019s difficult to teach my students of the abundant fresh water that no longer exists anymore. The simple concept of an ahupua&#x2018;a (land division from mountains to sea) and water moving from mountain to ocean isn\u2019t a vision that our students can see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the Genki Ala Wai Project, Kamahoahoa sees hope for the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough just a \u2018dirt ball,\u2019 it is an activator that encourages nature to reignite and help clean the pollution that made a huge invasive presence,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a time where there are water limitations being enforced, contamination devastations such as the fuel spilling of Red Hill and the construction upon Mauna Kea that would harm underground aquifers, the concern for our fresh waters is ever more urgent,\u201d continues Kamahoahoa. \u201cOver the past five years with working alongside the Genki Ala Wai Project, I\u2019ve learned that one day my children\u2019s children will have the Hawai&#x2018;i we are deserving to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the project is making impressive headway (it celebrated its 50,000th Genki ball milestone this month), there\u2019s still a long way to go, and the clock to 2026 is ticking. But there\u2019s little doubt in the minds of these steadfast volunteers that with a little \u2014 or a lot \u2014 of help from the community, history will be made, and the Ala Wai will be all right, after all.<\/p>\n<p><em>Those interested in donating to the cause or getting involved can do so by emailing <a href=\"mailto:genkialawai@gmail.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">genkialawai@gmail.com<\/a> or visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/genkialawai.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">genkialawai.org<\/a>. The group is currently looking to fill several volunteer positions including grant writers, research partners, truck drivers, cleanup crews and more. Meanwhile, upcoming community events, where you can make and throw a Genki ball of your own, are set for June 24 and July 22. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dedicated volunteers behind the Genki Ala Wai Project are getting their hands dirty in order to clean one of..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Ala Wai Will Be All Right - Hawaii Island MidWeek<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/genki-ala-wai-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ala Wai Will Be All Right - 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