June 1–14, 2018
A collaborative project between the First People’s Conservation Council, the Olohana Foundation, and Lomikai Media
First People’s Conservation Council participants:
4 youth, 4 Tribes:
Sierra Ancar, Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha, Grand Bayou
Dominick Naquin, Isle de Jean Charles
Devon Parfait, Grand Caillou/Dulac
Dezzi Synan, Isle de Jean Charles
Olohana Foundation and Lomikai Media teachers:
M. Kalani Souza
Julie Stowell
Chris Shaeffer
Sarah Purgus
Sierra Ancar, Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha, Grand Bayou
There are beautiful places all over the world, but Hawaii is special, and the people are even more special. The Hawaiian culture has an intact corporative worldview that persists despite the impact of modern culture. A perfect example is the Hamakua Farmers Market. The market shows community effort to be self-sustaining. The community works together to provide fresh local organic goods for each other. I’m excited to share with my community the impact a mini farmers market would have on us. Not only would the market provide fresh goods but it would strengthen our community as well.
Learning film with Chris was definitely something new for me. Working on a film or short video not only captures something beautiful, but allows you to portray an important and meaningful message to the viewer. You also learn teamwork skills. I honestly had the best film crew. Everyone was very unique and different, which was great for creating a film because we all brought a variety of ideas to the table. I look forward to what the future holds with the knowledge I’ve gained through my film experience.
In the Hawaiian culture the people see the earth as their mother. Meaning, they use the resources she provides to be self-sustained. Seeing how the people appreciate and take advantage of the resources their mother provides was one of the most beautiful things about Hawaii. Working with Sarah in the garden opened my eyes to a new way of living. I’ve learned you need to have a relationship with the garden, and with that you can grow an abundant amount of produce.
Which brings me to food; I’m convinced Sarah and Julie are secretly chefs, because their meals were some of the best I’ve ever eaten in my life. And most of the time the ingredients came straight from the garden. Dinner in the Koahe house was something I looked forward to every night, not just to eat a delicious meal, but to spend time with the whole family. The people I’ve met through this experience are truly special. Listening to their stories and wisdom were inspiring. I still think Kalani should write a book of Kalanisms, I would definitely read it. As my trip comes to an end, this journey is just the beginning. Hawaii is a home away from home, and the strangers I met two weeks ago are my family. Ohana Forever.
Devon Parfait, Grand Caillou/Dulac
For most people, Hawai’i is an incredible vacation spot filled with beautiful beaches and fun things to do. However, I now know it as much more than that. Hawai’i is the place where I grew so much more as a person, learned how to produce and film, and formed connections that I will cherish for a lifetime. Going to the big island was a fulfilling and incredible journey through producing and filming as well as exploration into culture, the environment and collaboration with Dezzi, Sierra, and Dominick.
Once we met everyone in the Koahe Home and had a day to recover from our travels, Chris gave us our first film lessons. He took us to a beautiful place called Laupahoehoe. We learned how to get the best shots, and what we should look for to get them. We spent some time enjoying the Beautiful Scenery as well as learning how to capture it. We also met Kai Mana, who taught us the basics of producing film and what roles you play as filmmakers.
Our first taste of producing media came from a trip to a local market in Hamakua. Alongside Julie, we used the market as a tool to get hands on experience conducting interviews, getting B-roll, and learning how to work together. We had an exciting time together learning and having fun. Eventually we brought the footage back to Chris in the studio. He taught us how to go through and organize footage as well as teaching us how to edit and use a film making software.
Our next learning project was a visit to the Hamakua Cultural Center. With Chris and Julie we met with Lanakila who was kind enough to give us a tour of the entire Cultural center. We learned a lot about Hawaiian culture and about the Mauna Kea movement that sparked the creation of the center itself. We were able to get hands on experience conducting an interview as well as the technical details tied into it.
Our biggest project was our visit to the Sweet Cane Café. Chris and Kai Mana took us to a local café that uses fresh ingredients from Ginger John’s Farm to create delicious and organic foods. We were able to learn how to collaborate with a client and shoot footage for commercial media. Kai Mana taught us how to generate ideas for the client and use them effectively. We were able to enjoy incredible food while also gaining more hands-on experience filming.
After our lunch at the Sweet Cane Café, we headed over to Ginger John’s Farm. We were able to get an exclusive interview with Ginger John as he took us around his lush Farm. We learned about the crops that supply his farm, how his hands helped build a once barren landscape into a plentiful farm, and how beneficial plant life can be in our diets. He was very eager to share his knowledge with us and we gained some amazing footage to use.
We also had a wonderful opportunity to film a body-boarding competition. We were able to sleep on the beach overnight with Kai Mana to wake up early and begin filming the first glimpses of body boarders and other people setting up for the competition. We filmed some of the largest waves they have ever seen in the history of the competition and we also got some pretty good interviews from the locals and tourists alike. They had a delicious potluck of food and everyone involved was friendly and excited about the annual competition that brings friends and families together.
As much as we’ve learned about the filmmaking process we have also learned a lot of other things as well. We spent time with Sara helping her in the garden and learning about the plants that grow in Hawai’i. She taught us about agroforestry and how to use these techniques with gardens we could create back home. It was always fun being able to spend time outdoors and contributing back to the home while also learning from Sara.
We also learned so much from Kalani. We had dedicated time to be able to talk with him. He taught us about the world, how to cherish connections, valuable skills, and many more. Kalani has had so much life experience and being able to gain even a small amount of his own experience and insights has been an honor on its own. He has been one of the most influential people in my life and I will always be grateful for the many things he has taught us while we were in Hawai’i.
We also had delicious food. Julie and Sara always came up with something tasty to eat and every night we had a loving Ohana dinner. We all contributed to making the food, as well as the cleanup that followed. We learned how to live together peacefully and contribute to an already productive household.
While learning so much in such a short two weeks we also had amazing experiences with each other. We all laughed together and had the time of our lives. We spent days enjoying everyone’s company and never felt out of place. I personally never became homesick. Everyone became my family and Hawai’i is now a safe place I can call home. The experiences and memories I now carry with me are some of the best in my life, and the knowledge I have gained, in such a brief time, will be incredibly valuable to my tribe. I am so thankful to everyone who made this amazing journey possible and I can’t wait to see what knowledge and experiences I will have the opportunity to gain next.
Dominick Naquin, Isle de Jean Charles
Hawaii is a stereotypical tourist spot with many breathtaking sights, but at the heart lies a beautiful community with layered culture. This is the Hawaii that I was lucky to experience during my stay. It brings me great pleasure to be able to inform you about my experience. Hopefully, this experience can be useful and knowledgeable in the future.
In the beginning I’ve met two amazing people at the airport before the long flight to Hawaii. At the time, I didn’t fully know Sierra and Devon, but we soon became good friends. After the flight, the three of us met Sarah, Alex, and Chris. Their hospitality was amazing as they quickly showed us around and allowed us to get situated for the night. The next day was considered a chilled day. That evening, Dezzi, Kai Mana, Julie, and Kalani all arrived home from their flights.
The next week was very educational. The next day we trained with Chris and learned from Kai Mana on the introduction of Film and Media. Chris went over the specs of our phones while Kai Mana taught us the basics, roles, and styles of filming. Kai Mana printed us out a schedule for the first week and explained our big filming events.
The first event we had filmed was at the local market in Hamakua. We filmed this segment with just the smart phones we had in our pockets. The day before, Chris had shown us how to use our phones by practicing and testing out the various settings on them to see what would work best for that day. One of the first problems that appeared in our journey was the compatibility of the versions of phones. My phone was an android while the rest of the group was apple. This led to problems with the smart sync in the editing software. To make it easier, my phone was strictly used as a recorder. It was beneficial to have a second audio file as the video’s audio wouldn’t be as clear as the one being strictly for audio. From this event, the group experienced many different vendors with different reasons on opening shop at the market. From musicians, chiefs, farmers, and consumers the community was vibrant with life that early afternoon. After experiencing, interviewing, and recording the friendly vendors and consumers, we started working on the footage during the next few days.
In the studio is where most of our time was spent. This is because it takes time, effort, and skill to use the editing program to successfully create a film. Chris is the technician that taught us to put our vision from paper to the program. The first day we worked strictly on the basics of the program and how to put together a simple video. We cut and placed small segments together to create a flowing video with clear dialogue. We learned the importance of B roll and how it can be effectively used to make a film less boring and more entertaining. That day we used the interview as A roll and fixed the B roll around some of the key words in the interview. This made the video pop and flow more.
Our next big event was the Hamakua Cultural Center. Before we walked into the facility, we traditionally greeted Lanakila, which gives classes at the center. After the greeting, he was able a to give us a complete tour of the culture that the center showcased. During this event, we used our phones as a video source as well as a device known as a ZOOM to record audio. The device has two mics which are crisscrossed to ensure maximum audio quality. Chris and Julie was behind the scenes filming us while the students, (Me, Dezzi, Devon, & Sierra), were filming the tour. We learned the meaning of the name Kea and the spark of the recent movement there. We also learned about the shrines and the certain way to approach them. We viewed local artwork and pictures of the journeys that the community experienced.
After the cultural center, the team started to prep for the commercial event, Sweet Cane Café. Each member of the group oversaw creating a 15 second Instagram commercial. Then the group had to create a minute commercial and a short infomercial lasting a couple of minutes. We start this task by going to the restaurant. From there, we sat down and finished planning our ideas on the 15 second commercial. After we each took turns using the studio’s equipment to record footage for our segments. Kai Mana and Chris was there to help with technical issues and help the group stay on schedule. After the group finished filming and ate lunch, we went to Ginger John’s Farm. The farm is where the restaurant procures some of its ingredients to produce their quality food. We got to personally interview Ginger John about his journey starting the farm. He talked about the various plant life he is currently growing and some past stories on how plants helped saved his life. We talked about how plants could be beneficial if incorporated into our daily diets. We solved the problem of wind interference by using fabric. This helped muffle the wind and prevented it from interfering with the audio. Overall with the knowledge the group had gained from Mr. John and the wonderful footage of the restaurant. The Sweet Cane Café event became a success.
Our last event was filming a local body-boarding contest. This is where our knowledge was honed and polished as we used what we had been learning until that point to create good footage for us to use. One such example was Dezzi’s idea to do a time-lapse of the contestants setting up and reversing it to make it seem like they were also leaving. The community was ecstatic about the event and had deep emotional ties to the contest. The competition was a great example of how a community can come together. The event was so meaningful that it could inspire future generations.
Majority of the two weeks was in the studio editing the footage to create our vlogs and commercials. There was also time to help out Sarah in the victory gardens. This help the group have a better connection with the land physically and mentally. We learned how to plant and tend to the variety of plants that they are currently growing. She also taught agroforestry, and a few other things that was very interesting.
Our amazing chefs during the stay was mostly Julie and Sarah, but from time to time Alex would also help in grilling or cooking. From them we had an amazing chance to eat a variety of food. From traditional Hawaiian to homemade pizzas, there was always something new every single night. We also learned how to keep up the house with daily chores or tasks to do before we began with events or editing. This helped build structure in our daily lives in those two weeks. This was beneficial as following a schedule is sometimes difficult.
One of the greatest things about this trip was meeting and spending time with Kalani. His vast wisdom and experience made what he was able to teach us invaluable. He talked about a variety of topics such as history, phycology, networking, skill building, skill sharpening, and so much more. Any time I had spent with Kalani was cherished down to the seconds. That is how life-changing and knowledgeable Kalani is. Everything that I was able to learn from him will always be in use and cherished until I die.
Two weeks seemed long at first but became too short towards the end of my stay. This was more than an educational experience that I thought it was. This became something much greater and more rememberable. As the days went by,4 everyone started to become family. It became a home away from home. I have gained a lot more skills and knowledge than I thought I was able to gain. I am grateful to be able to go on this journey and want to personally thank everyone involved that made this trip possible. The two weeks was not the end of the journey but only the beginning.