KONA COFFEE AND OTHER CROPS

    The island has long depended on agriculture. "Kona" is synonymous with good coffee, though macadamia nut production is many times more valuable as a crop. Almost every kind of tropical fruit is grown on the island, but due to quarantine regulations on the mainland, the only large markets are for pineapples and ginger. A devastating flood in November 2000, that dropped three feet of water in two days on the eastern coast and southern parts of the island, also destroyed much of the largest macadamia nut orchard on the island. If it goes out of business, it will mean the loss of many local jobs in an area where the closure of the large sugar plantations has upset the lives of many families, which now face an uncertain future. Like so many other rural areas of the world people here hope that the move from an agrarian past to a networked future will bring new opportunities for jobs and growth. Everyone we met shared this hope but also had a very strong attachment to the land and the sea, whether they were natives, long time residents, or newcomers.