Looking Outward

by John Cannizzo

The Kauai County Correction Center (KCCC) is on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Island chain. KCCC is a state facility that also functions as the county jail. About 150 women and men with sentences from months to 10 years or more are incarcerated.

Driving along the Kuhio highway from Kapaa to Lihue past golf courses and tourist hotels, the facility is on the right - a green area which was once a swamp. It is nestled among palm trees surrounded by gardens ponds and fish hatcheries. A mountain ridge of the volcanic range which formed the island rises up behind the compound.

There is no perimeter fence around the facility and only a simple kiosk manned by one correction officer at the entrance. The penalty for crossing the highway without authority is five years. Warden Wagatsuma aims for sustainable self-sufficiency in as many areas as possible.

Horticultural therapy is part of Lifetime Stand - a program at the jail that uses gardening, military/martial arts-style discipline and self-awareness to meet goals of retribution, restitution and productivity.

Lifetime Stand uses rules. It has been pointed out by Rice and others that inmates adhere and respect rules when their goal is to give structure rather than impose conformity. Lifetime Stand offers offenders redirection in their lives through commitment. They are encouraged to examine criminality, drugs and family. Truthfulness, and the other elements that influence peoples behavior, are core issues and can lead to self-awareness.

Almost everyone in Kauai does some kind of planting. It is not necessary to include a classroom component to the work. Education here is done informally, hands-on. These exchanges form a shared body of knowledge, in keeping with the Hawaiian custom of passing on understanding within a family or community context.

The afternoon grows late. It gets humid, the Kona wind comes up; garden hoses dance in the wind. Torrents of tropical rain fall on the highway as I drive back to Pam's mother's house.

“This is where I like to be -- in Kauai," my mother-in-law will say, “you folks should move here." Tomorrow we will pound mochi in the old Japanese way to make the sticky sweet cakes that everyone eats at New Year.

** All photos by John Cannizzo

....................
More GreenTeam

Print this page: Printer-friendly page

Lance Yamagouchi, Pam's cousin, said that the coral reefs around Kauai do not yield the same quantities of fish as before. No one would give serious thought to being a hunter-gatherer on the land, and yet for some reason we still believe that it is possible to follow that path on the oceans. Yet aquaculture brings with it another set of considerations. What is the environmental impact of sectioning off areas of the ocean to make fish farms. What will be the impact on “wild" fish. KCCC prisoners tend the fish farms. Water from the baths is used for irrigation

The corn grows in 8 weeks and is ready to harvest. There is scarcely any need to use pesticides in Kauaii. At KCCC all food is organically grown. So carefully protected is the island from invasive species that the insect population can be controlled with routine IPM.

At night the bridge is taken down so that the cats won't bother the ducks. One of the officers brought the first duck to the facility. Wild Chickens are abundant but ducks are unusual. There was some idea of raising ducks for food at first but I don't think that anyone seriously believed that they could do that. Anyway, Lifetime Stand members seldom eat meat other than the fish they raise themselves.

There are so many vegetables here that not only do the inmates feed themselves but they give away cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, taro (to make poi), plums, figs, chilis, pumpkins, peas, gandules, beans and carrots. The papaya trees are laden with fruit as are the 3 varieties of banana, plus avocados, mangoes and bread fruit. Pineapples line one edge of the plantation. Coconuts are used in many recipes along with fish and rice or pasta which are the only things, along with oil and coffee, that are not grown on the island. Everything is wholesome, good, and plentiful.

The stickiness of the mochi binds the family together, people believe. Mochi pounding is a festive event. Aunties sit and gossip, children play, there is plenty of food. In recent years, after falling into disuse with the invention of the mochi machine, our generation has embraced the delights of the ritual food preparation as they rediscover the tradition and all of its association and take their place as the family leaders.