Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

This Sacred Plant is Now Growing in Oregon

In the heart of Portland, Oregon, a vibrant taro garden is helping displaced Native Hawaiians reconnect with their culture—one leaf at a time. Known as kalo in Hawaiian, taro is more than just a crop; it’s a spiritual ancestor in Hawaiian mythology and a cornerstone of traditional diets. The project began with a humble community garden in 2021 and has blossomed into a thriving symbol of resilience, identity, and food sovereignty. With support from the Oregon Food Bank and Pacific Climate Warriors, the garden now yields hundreds of pounds of kalo leaves and feeds families through free community distributions.

The project is about much more than nutrition. Weekly volunteer days have turned the garden into a gathering space where cultural education, healing, and belonging take root. For many Pacific Islanders in Oregon—relocated by the high cost of living in Hawaiʻi—the chance to grow kalo again is deeply emotional. Volunteers come from all walks of life, including many with strong ancestral ties to the islands. Even through Oregon’s cold winters, the taro grows, nourished by shared purpose and ancestral memory. The group is also launching clinical trials to explore how traditional foods impact health, aiming to show that reconnecting with culture can heal body and spirit alike.

PrevPreviousLost in the Wild—What She Found Saved Her Life
NextThe Grocery Stores Where Everything Is Free and Everyone Is WelcomeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

A New Lord Of The Rings Movie Is In The Works, Written by Stephen Colbert

March 26, 2026

This is not a drill. Warner Bros. has announced that Stephen Colbert, one of the most famously devoted Tolkien fans on the planet, is developing a brand new Lord of the Rings film alongside his son and screenwriter Peter McGee. The announcement dropped in a video that opened with director

Read More
Happy News

A Teen Just Solved A Huge Microplastic Problem

March 26, 2026

Mia Heller is 18 years old, lives in Warrington, Virginia, and has invented a water filter that removes 96 percent of microplastics from drinking water using a magnetic oil and a clever self-recycling system she built herself in her garage and kitchen. The idea started when her local newspaper reported

Read More
Happy News

Science Just Explained Why Music Makes You Feel Closer To People

March 26, 2026

Most people feel it but cannot fully explain it: the way a song playing in a room seems to pull people closer together, the way a shared playlist can make strangers feel briefly like they know each other. A new study from Yale School of Medicine has now provided one

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.