{"id":1180,"date":"2025-03-18T12:31:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/living.okinawa.halekulani.com\/?p=1180"},"modified":"2025-03-18T12:32:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:32:00","slug":"%e5%bd%b1%e9%9f%bf%e5%8a%9b%e3%81%ae%e3%81%82%e3%82%8b%e7%90%83%e4%bd%93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/living.okinawa.halekulani.com\/en\/%e5%bd%b1%e9%9f%bf%e5%8a%9b%e3%81%ae%e3%81%82%e3%82%8b%e7%90%83%e4%bd%93\/","title":{"rendered":"Spheres of Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tom Honan was walking along the Ala Wai Canal, a two-mile-long waterway near Hawai\u2018i\u2019s famed Waik\u012bk\u012b Beach, when he saw a large group hurling strange, spherical objects into its murky depths. \u201cHey, you can\u2019t be doing that!\u201d he recalls shouting at the crowd. Later, upon talking to one of the perpetrators, Fumiko Sato Chun, he learned they were part of a volunteer organization called Genki Ala Wai, united by an ambitious, if not audacious goal: to make the Ala Wai, one of the island\u2019s most notoriously polluted waterways, swimmable and fishable by 2026. Their means for this noble end are what they refer to as \u201cGenki balls,\u201d unassuming mudballs made from a mix of beneficial bacteria similar to the kind found in fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, bread, and beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Tom and his wife, Pam, are some of Genki Ala Wai\u2019s most impassioned supporters. At a recent community event, I watch Tom as he demonstrates the surprisingly precise process of Genki ball creation. He starts with sifting mounds of dirt to remove debris, then mixes in rice bran and a liquid teeming with yeast, lactic acid, and phototrophic bacteria until it\u2019s finally time to shape the mixture into tennis ball-sized spheres. I try my hand at making some. Two of my mudballs get rejected, first for being too small, then for being too big. \u201cQuality over quantity,\u201d Tom instructs, before accepting my third attempt. \u201cJust right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers like Tom are the lifeblood of Genki Ala Wai, whose work thus far has relied solely on a homegrown network of private donations, corporate sponsorships, and the very many hands responsible for the more than 146,000 Genki balls (nearly halfway to the group\u2019s goal of 300,000) that have since been released into the canal. This particular event was made possible by \u2018Ohana K\u014dkua Club, a student service organization led by high school sophomore Ellie Chung, after Genki Ala Wai raised the $1,000 necessary to host a workday by selling greeting cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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