ʻUlutopia project at Kauaʻi Community College increasing production and use of breadfruit

On a fraction of a 40-acre farm behind Kauaʻi Community College in Puhi, 64 breadfruit, or ʻulu, trees bear abundant green fruit and teach important scientific lessons.

This is ʻUlutopia – a project launched in 2014 by Kauaʻi Community College and the National Tropical Botanical Garden’s Breadfruit Institute to improve ʻulu production.

“We found that breadfruit grows slowly but really well with fertilization,” said Brian Yamamoto, a professor of science at Kauaʻi Community College and ‘Ulutopia project director.

Over the years, Yamamoto estimates hundreds of students have gained hands-on experience in cultivating ʻulu, scientific data collection and research.

ʻUlutopia has a multi-pronged strategy to increase both production and utilization of the crop. Focusing on farm-to-table, Kauaʻi Community College’s culinary program and local chefs are helping to develop and share recipes to encourage ʻulu consumption. These have included ʻUlutopia bread pudding and local style ʻulu and potato salad.

“ʻUlutopia I think is something extremely important on our campus because it honors traditional food systems in a modern way,” said Kauaʻi Community College Chancellor Margaret Sanchez.

The Kauaʻi Economic Development Board has awarded ʻUlutopia $50,000 to produce flour from ʻulu with the intent to educate culinary students and the community on how to make better use of a local product and to create a local commodity.

Yamamoto said: “The idea is we produce breadfruit here, but culinary and a whole bunch of other people in the industry now turn breadfruit into a whole different set of products to be able to enhance our agriculture on Kauaʻi.”

Kauaʻi Community College has purchased a dehydrator and flour milling machine and plans to begin sharing these value-added products in 2025.