foraging?

[Hanley]

Hey all

Does anyone have a good link to all of the foraging that can be done in the Puna jungle? What about hunting?

Getting more excited to move to your parts every day!

[csgray]

Much of what looks like "jungle" from the road is actually private property. Do not assume that undeveloped land is open to anyone who wants to go there. Going onto private property without permission is considered trespassing, even if it isn't posted. If you want to forage here, or hunt and fish, it would be best to make friends with someone who already knows the ropes and is willing to teach you. The jungle here can be very dangerous, there are overgrown fissures and lava tubes that you don't see until you fall into them, some are quite deep.

Carol

[MarkP]

Native forest doesn't have all that much that is edible. The polynesians would have starved if they had not brought their canoe plants.

Some people will say that strawberry guava is food. True, it won't kill you and you will starve more slowly with it than without it, but it doesn't meet my definition of food, not when suppressing it would result in more productive agriculture due to fruit fly control.

[Rob Tucker]

For real practical foraging on the Big Island you have to take up dumpster diving.

[Seeb]

There are several issues here
There is food in the jungle, for those that know what they are doing.
But it is a limited resource
And no one wants someone coming here thinking they can” live off the fat of the land” and end up trespassing, squatting in the woods with a bunch of blue tarps, hacking down trees just to get at a little food, and then start stealing and end up on the welfare rolls

[Hanley]

This seems to be a bit of a sensitive issue! I can assure you all that I have no intention of squatting, trespassing, ruining natural areas, stealing or going on welfare. Asides from living a western lifestyle which is destructive in itself, I have never done any of those things and don't plan on starting

Here in my native Utah we have tons of edible plants that most people have no idea about. These is also great hunting as natural predators like wolves are endangered due to cattle ranching. I assumed the same is true for Hawaii but hey, that's why I'm asking...

If I find a good dumpster I will definitely be hitting it up for edibles. Same goes with finding solid restaurant compost sources. Otherwise I'll be on the lookout for someone to teach me about other foraging sources.

Thanks!

[topograph]

I think it is pretty telling that after reading the original post, I searched for "foraging Hawaii puna," and came across a blog post from someone who came here in March but is currently subsisting mainly on brown rice purchased with food stamps.

[shave_ice]

Here is a link that describes some edible Hawaiian plants. Most of them are not native, but a lot of them have naturalized in the area. Some of them are very familiar and edible and others seem more like famine food, but if you're serious about foraging then they are worth looking into.

http://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/cate...an-plants/

[MarkP]

A couple of years ago I planted some bananas. I just finished the last of the first 4 bunches. Boy was I tired of bananas.

[Hanley]

Thanks for the link shave_ice. Very helpful