Ola Ka ʻĀina

Abstract

What is the environment? To many, the environment is the space in which animals and plants dwell, and is separate from humans. One’s wellbeing is considered to be internal; the health of a person is often seen as a self-contained process of individual longevity and happiness. In the Hawaiian language, there are two approximate phrases for the notion of environment: 1) ʻano o ka nohona - oneʻs relationship to oneʻs place, and 2) nā mea e hoʻopuna ana - everything that encircles the person. The linoleum block print, Ola ka ʻāina (loosely translated as "We, the environment, thrive"), represents the intertwined relationship between humans and “the environment.”Within the print, the sun’s energy trickles down as stream water to sustain the agricultural fields of traditional crops, then becomes ocean in which sea creatures dwell. It then drapes the woman as hair, which represents spiritual power within Hawaiian and Korean culture, only to return back to the earth in which new life grows. As an artist and farmer with Hawaiian and Korean cultural values, the environment is not a separate entity from man, but a physical manifestation of relationships. Therefore, our well-being is dependent on how we connect and care for each other. ʻĀina, a Hawaiian word often translated as “land,” literally means “that which feeds.” Therefore, the way we interact with our skies, mountains, fields, oceans, and other living beings is a reflection of our own health as individuals. This notion continues to be an essential foundation for the sustainability of the collective health of my cultures and has immensely influenced my work as an undergraduate scholar in sustainable agriculture at Stanford University. I hope to encourage everyone to cultivate a relationship with all that is around us through growing and eating whole foods,