According to the 2020 census, over half of Native Hawaiians live outside of the islands. Over 60,000 live in Washington, more than any other state besides California.
Living away from Hawaii has meant many crave community and also a taste of home. The Seattle Poi Company has been offering just that since 2017.
Poi kind of looks like pudding, but it’s not by itself naturally sweet. It’s actually kind of bland but can be eaten by itself or combined with things including fruits, honey, granola, or even meat.
"We explain the health benefits of the poi and how healthy it is," Dana Lastimado, co-owner of Seattle Poi Company said.
"It's easy on the stomach, very easy on the stomach. We have a lot of people who have cancer and have chemotherapy and different stomach issues and they eat the poi because it's something that because it's so mild on the stomach, they can actually hold it down."
The process to make poi starts with taro root, or kalo as it's called in the Hawaiian language, that’s been cooked and softened, and then pounded. Slowly, the taro becomes pa’i’ai – a sort of sticky paste. But it’s not quite poi, yet.
Dana and Palika Lastimado are married and run Seattle Poi Company together.
Sitting in their living room and Dana explained how, with just the addition of water, the pa’i’ai becomes poi. Palika is Kanaka Maoli, or Native Hawaiian, and Dana is Filipino and Korean. Both grew up on Oahu eating poi.
They learned to make poi after years of hauling back as much as they could when they went to Hawaii. In 2017, they decided to test the waters and see if there was a market for poi in Seattle. They set up a booth at the Hawaiian cultural festival, Live Aloha.
"And we sold out in...?" Dana asked.
"I think no more than an hour and a half," Palika said.
"Yeah, and the event is from 11 to seven," Dana said.
In 2018, just a year into their business, floods hit Kauai. Dana and Palika’s taro supply was in jeopardy. Dana said they decided to use the 30 pounds of the crucial ingredient they had left to give back, even if that meant the end of their poi business.
"I said, 'What if we make poi mochi because...the poi can spread, I can make a batter we'll sell that, all of the proceeds will donate it to Kauai and we're done, our company’s done," Dana said.
Dana and Palika raised just over $1,000 and made a new direct connection with a taro farmer to keep their business going. They’ve since raised money for other causes, including Black Lives Matter and protests against a plan to build a telescope on sacred Native land on Mauna Kea.
"You know we can't help everybody, but we sure try our best," Palika said.
In August, when wildfire devastated Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaiians everywhere sprung into action. The Seattle Poi Company organized a fundraiser. Dana and Palika had family members affected by the fires so it hit particularly close to home.
They set up in the parking lot of Cakes of Paradise in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood on the Sunday following the fires. Customers came by in droves both for the poi and taro products, but also to drop off donations like diapers, first aid kits, and clothes. They had to rent a 15-passenger van to transport it all.
"We probably could have filled that thing at least 15 times, at least," Palika said
"The company we were dealing with came and brought their flatbed because they heard how much we had," Dana added.
In addition to the loads of supplies, they brought in over $6,000 in monetary donations and sales, which they contributed to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Hawaiian Peoples Fund. Much of that money has been used to get victims of the fires into housing.
Dana teared up remembering that day and how much support there was.
"It doesn't matter where you live, we take care," Dana said. "We take care of our people, we will do whatever we need to do."
It’s been four months since that fundraiser. Right now, Dana and Palika are focused on filling holiday orders of poi, poi mochi, and chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. A taste of home that is especially sweet for Hawaiians these holidays.
