It’s common knowledge that you’ll want to stock your campervan with groceries for your island adventure. But what if you supplied your kitchen cupboards with staples like coconut oil and salt, and supplemented your regular meals with food from the aina (the land)? Talk about next-level camping and authentic island living! Also, the nutritional benefits of wild-harvested foods are off the charts.
Private land means privately owned resources, so we don’t encourage stealing fruit. But what’s super cool about Maui’s public spaces is that they are covered with edible invasives. This means that when you harvest certain edible plants, you are also preventing them from spreading and choking out other valuable plant species.
Stop by Mana Foods in Paia for some books on local food foraging, and start your foodie road trip around the island.
One example of an edible invasive is Haole Koa, a tree that looks somewhat like the Kiawe. The young green pods of the Haole Koa can be cooked and eaten like vegetables, and sometimes the seeds are substituted for coffee or popcorn. Who would have known? There are hundreds of edible plants around the island, so happy foraging and happy campervanning!