PUHI — Kaua’i Community College Provost Peggy Cha and Gary Figueroa, a landscaping and vocational horticulture instructor, feel the college can help fuel a local forestry industry or other agricultural alternative to sugar by supplying a constant flow of experienced
PUHI — Kaua’i Community College Provost Peggy Cha and Gary Figueroa, a landscaping and vocational horticulture instructor, feel the college can help fuel a local forestry industry or other agricultural alternative to sugar by supplying a constant flow of experienced workers.
And while it is Hawai’i Community College on the Hilo side of Big Island which is developing a full-blown agroforestry curriculum, that doesn’t mean KCC can’t borrow its instructors, textbooks and expertise.
KCC, for its part, is joining in a training and retraining effort, teaching people about soils, plants, farms, farming and otherwise working the land. It is an effort that has seen, for example, Hyatt Regency Kaua’i Resort & Spa and other employers send new workers through Figueroa’s plant propagation class.
An agroforestry demonstration project going on here is designed to show participants how a commercial forestry operation on the island might perform successfully, said Figueroa, who also manages KCC’s 40-acre farm. Seven acres are in active production so far.
While Cha said the college is considering a full-blown forestry curriculum of its own, the program Figueroa leads is something “immediate” designed to put marketable skills into the hands of willing, enthusiastic students.
It is invaluable hands-on, hands-in experience for the students to be able to get down and dirty at the KCC farm, Figueroa said.
Working with some former Amfac Sugar Kaua’i employees searching for skills they hope will land them new jobs in new fields, Figueroa said his classes have experienced low dropout rates and high enthusiasm and motivation.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
