The shoppers were craving green, but were met with orange and yellow, Friday. Vendor Bruce Jacintho, a watercress grower, and his truck were like an oasis, drawing a crowd of shoppers before the whistle sounded to mark the start of
The shoppers were craving green, but were met with orange and yellow, Friday.
Vendor Bruce Jacintho, a watercress grower, and his truck were like an oasis, drawing a crowd of shoppers before the whistle sounded to mark the start of the Friday Sunshine Market at the Vidinha Stadium parking lot.
His pickup was surrounded by other vendors who shared the seasonal produce colors, offering a variety of citrus products that dotted each stand.
“It’s the cold season,” said Glenna Ueunten, a vendor from Lawai. “Everybody catches cold and nature provides the answer.”
Ueunten’s normal sprinkling of green in the form of warabi, or a variety of fern shoot, was overshadowed by the yellow of ready-to-eat guava and an assortment of citrus including Ruby Red grapefruit that she juggled between trays.
“It’s a citrus fest,” said Larry Feinstein, the county’s observer for the Sunshine Markets.
Jacintho’s watercress was one of the few vendors that offered greens, although there were a few other vendors that had wares punctuated with a smattering of mustards and cabbage.
Papaya was another rare item at the market and Dean Nonaka’s single box was quickly consumed despite many of the fruit just showing a hint of yellow.
A shopper stopped to query where green papaya was being sold because he had a craving for chicken and papaya, but his tree wasn’t putting out any papaya at the moment.
Jacintho said the demand for his watercress, grown in the foothills of Mount Kahili, is never-ending.
“Seven minutes,” he said. “That’s how long it lasts.”
Normally, Jacintho visits the Hanapepe Sunshine Market on Thursdays, and his supply is wiped clean shortly after the starting whistle blows.
“The good thing about the Lihu‘e market is that shoppers have a longer time to shop,” he said. “Unfortunately, the watercress will still be gone in about seven minutes.”
To ensure order once the whistle blows, Jacintho said he passes out bags to customers ahead of time, limiting the number of bags to whatever supply he has for the day.
For yesterday’s market, he said he passed out 10 bags because he doesn’t know how many bunches each shopper will be asking for.
To ensure freshness of his product, he packs each shopper’s request, minimizing the handling of the greenery. Once the bag limit is reached and there is product available, he allows other shoppers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Next to Jacintho’s truck, Terry Silva had her pickup filled with baskets of assorted citrus as one of her relatives, Jenna Landagora, a student at Kalaheo School, readied a basket of tangelo for sale at the whistle.
Similarly, Nonaka’s two daughters and a son were helping Dean collect and package customers’ orders for both papaya and banana.
But they did have time to chat with regular customers who were querying about availability of items such as daikon, cucumber and other items Nonaka produces at his Hanapepe Valley farm.
“If you have, then I can make for you,” a customer told Nonaka’s daughters. “But right now, no more daikon, so no can make.”
That triggered the young Nonaka son to chant, “No more daikon, no more daikon,” all the while drumming Dean’s shoulders with his young hands.
Feinstein said Jacintho always sells out quickly at both the Hanapepe and the Lihu‘e markets, and noted the other vendors who were enjoying brisk sales in the afternoon sunshine.
“This is good,” he said. “The shoppers are taking advantage of the nice weather, and I like to see empty tables.”
For more information on the Sunshine Markets, visit the county’s Web site at www.kauai.gov
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
