* Limu * Seaweed *

When I first got back from Japan and started teaching macrobiotics in Hawaii, I went to the library and checked out a local cookbook about "limu" or seaweed. The cookbook showed all the types that grow around the islands, but said they were mostly all extinct which made me feel so sad.

Henry and Wally of Ewa Beach Limu Project taught us about how they are doing aqua culture on the Leeward side of the island. It sounds like they find species of limu that grow in the ocean, and then bring them back to their farm to cultivate them. They didn't feel we could sustain ourselves on what's available in the ocean because development and environmental changes have diminished the supply.

They told us how certain varieties that were previously thought extinct, they have actually been finding and regrowing. That's so fantastic! They taught about the nutritious qualities of sea veggies, and also that they can be used in home remedies, such as a poultice on wounds.

This reminded me of how when my friend Dan cut himself while working at the farm last week, we made our own "bandaid". To do this, we took kombu, soaked it until it was soft, and taped it over the cut underneath a piece of gauze. The students at the farm were amazed to see how quickly his wound healed. Kombu power!