Delicacies of the land is a short film/music video that teaches us a little about taro cultivation in Hawaii. In Hawaiian culture, the taro, which is a plant with a starchy root used to make the traditional poi,is incredibly important. The root of the plant is referred to as kalo in the Hawaiian language.

This video is an informative few minutes long. It is half sung in Hawaiian with subtitles and half a lecture from Jerry Konanui, a well respected taro advocate and traditionalist. What struck me most about this film was the similarity of the plight of taro and that of most other traditional vegetables such as heirloom tomatoes. There are hundreds of varieties of taro, each one bred over the centuries to be perfectly adapted to different environments of the Hawaiian Islands, but 90% of the commercially grown taro is only one variety. But advocates such as Jerry Konanui are trying to reverse the trend and get people to grow more of the traditional varieties.

This post from Intelligent Travel also includes a short interview with the directors. They discuss the importance of taro to Hawaiian culture and the proliferation of genetic modification on the Islands, among other things. There are also recommendations of places to go if you're visiting Hawaii to find out more about the taro and the isses surrounding it.