A Week of Growth: Recapping the ʻUlu Hoʻolaulea in September 2026
On September 19th, 2026, week-long celebration of everything ʻulu officially kicked off in Kona, Hawaiʻi Island! Chefs prepared breadfruit in new ways, ʻulu lagers were tasted, traditional practitioners demonstrated its cultural uses, farmers and researchers from around the world shared their manaʻo, students reflected on their current efforts to pioneer a more resilient food future, and so much more!
The ʻUlu Hoʻolaulea, or Breadfruit Celebration, cultivated inspirational community gatherings and generated international, national and local media spotlights, significantly building the momentum around breadfruit as a vital staple crop for our island communities and beyond.
A Look Back at the Breadfruit Celebrations
Held across South Kona, Hawaiʻi Island –historically home to the famous kaluʻulu (or breadfruit agroforestry belt) – the week-long celebration brought together farmers, cultural practitioners, researchers, and food lovers from across the Pacific and around the world.
Highlights of the week included:
ʻUlu Festival (Sept 19 at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden): The celebratory week kicked off with chef cooking demonstrations (featuring chefs John Cadman, Sam Choy, & Olelo Paʻa Ogawa), ʻulu tree sales featuring Ma’afala, Maoli, Pu’ou, A’puapua, and Pu’upu’u varieties, hands-on workshops, keiki activities, and traditional crafts. Cultural stories from local community members and international guests were shared every hour. Many vendors from across the islands also joined us to share their inspired ʻulu creations as part of the ʻUlu Mākeke (breadfruit marketplace). If you were searching for ʻulu chips, stew, apparel, bags, etc. this was the place to be!
ʻAha ʻUlu (Sept 20–21 at Kahaluʻu Makai): The event transitioned to two days of inspiring cultural gatherings of Indigenous practitioners sharing knowledge, heritage, and traditional stewardship of this ancestral staple crop. The ʻaha ʻulu allowed for an exclusive, intimate meeting facilitating the sharing of expertise, perspectives, and issues from indigenous viewpoints.
Global Breadfruit Summit (Sept 22–24 at Outrigger Kona Resort): The global breadfruit community representing some 350 people gathered in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi, for the 8th convening of the Global Breadfruit Summit. This conference was co-convened by the University of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Island Farmers Organization Network, with support from Breadfruit People and the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Producers Cooperative.
The three-day summit kicked off with powerful keynote insights from West Kauaʻi cultural practitioner Kaina Makua, James Beard award-winning chef Robynne Maiʻi, and professional bodyboarder and entrepreneur Dave Hubbard, alongside tributes honoring foundational breadfruit elders. Attendees engaged in dynamic panel discussions and technical sessions exploring everything from whole-genome sequencing and agroforestry economics to value-chain innovations and regional food security.
Hands-on workshops anchored each afternoon, giving participants practical tools in biocultural conservation, school-feeding and curriculum development through the ʻUlu Education Playground, and modern digital storytelling strategies to elevate breadfruit and local agriculture. Ending in a series of small group discussions about where the global breadfruit community goes here, the summit successfully strengthened international relationships, aligned shared visions for the future of breadfruit, and fueled ongoing collaboration for local and global community benefit.
Edible Showcase (Sept 23 at Outrigger Kona Resort): The edible showcase showcased farmers, chefs, distillers, and brewers who presented culinary and beverage innovations featuring diverse local breadfruit varieties. Bringing these amazingly creative and delicious representations of ʻulu fostered participants’ creativity and facilitated networking and relationship building, helping to drive collaboration across disciplines and communities.
ʻUlu Excursions (Sept 25 at Tanaka Farm, Hawaiʻi Island Co-op, Adaptations Food Hub & Hawaiʻi Tropical Fruit Growers): Closing out the week, folks from all around the world were offered the opportunity to explore how the modern breadfruit industry is scaling and professionalizing to build reliable supply chains, value-added products, and robust farmer cooperatives. The tours provided a comprehensive look at the entire lifecycle of ʻulu, beginning with a visit to Tanaka Farm, one of the first commercial ʻulu orchards in Hawaiʻi, then continuing onto the ʻUlu Co-op’s Honalo processing facility. Attendees observed fruit intake, processing and storage systems at scale, commercial breadfruit nursery operations featuring several different propagation techniques, and cooperative marketing models. This was followed by visits to other local agriculture initiatives in the region including Adaptations, the first food hub in Hawaiʻi, and the Hawaiʻi Tropical Fruit growers nursery and repository.
ʻUlu in the Spotlight: Media & News Features
The Breadfruit Celebration didn’t just stay in Kona… the conversation around revitalizing ʻulu in Hawaiʻi has been making waves across local and non-local news and media outlets!
Here is some media coverage worth checking out:
Muckrake Videos – ʻUlu Mana: Keeping the culinary inspiration going in the kitchen with delicious staple crop recipes! We cannot directly share the link due to copyright issues, but we appreciate the mention!
Sept 16 – Crave Section (Honolulu Star-Advertiser): “Join the Rev-ʻUlu-tion” explored how ʻulu is transforming local kitchens and agriculture.
Sept 19 – Hawaii News Now (What’s Cooking): Hawaii News Now featured Chef Mari Wills whipping up a creamy ʻulu mac and cheese while spotlighting the nutritional perks of ʻulu and kicking off the weeklong celebration and summit in Kailua-Kona!
Sept 23 – Crave Section (Honolulu Star-Advertiser): “Crop Stars” highlighted the farmers and producers driving staple crop innovation across the islands.
Sept 29 – Civil Beat Hawaiʻi: In “Farmers Wanted: Hawaii Tries To Fix Its Unique ʻUlu Problem,” Civil Beat dove deep into the supply, processing, and distribution opportunities facing Hawaiʻi’s growing breadfruit industry and how co-ops and local growers are stepping up to bridge the gap.
Oct 1 – Hawaiʻi Public Radio (HPR): Dana Shapiro, CEO of the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op, was featured on HPR discussing local food movement updates, including the milestone news that the Department of Education (DOE) is serving ʻulu regularly in school meals! Keeping locally grown, nutrient-dense staples on students’ lunch trays remains an ongoing pillar of island food security and farm-to-school efforts.
Oct 2 – The Marshall Island’s Journal: We were featured on the front page of the newspaper, where Majuro Junior and Stephen Patrick highlighted their experience at the summit and what was discussed.
Mahalo to the Breadfruit Community
If you were able to join us for any of the ʻUlu Hoʻolauleʻa events in September 2026, mahalo for taking the time to celebrate with us. If not, we look forward to seeing you at the next one!
Building a resilient local food system takes a village—from dedicated farmers who steward trees and other crops, to chefs, educators, funders, community partners, journalists, and consumers who choose local staples for their tables. The epic week-long ʻUlu Hoʻolauleʻa couldn’t have been possible without all of these diverse stakeholders contributing their unique value to the movement every single day. In particular, we mahalo the Hoʻolauleʻa Steering Committee: Pacific Island Farmers’ Organization Network, Breadfruit People, Indigenous Cropping Systems Lab at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative, and Moanikeala Akaka Aloha Aina Education Aha.
Together, we’re growing a healthier, more self-reliant Hawaiʻi, one ʻulu tree at a time!
