Question:
Any one knows about Hawaiian Kapa?
I checked a website www.kapahawaii.com did not find any direct order online there.. anyone can help? how to find hawaiian kapa? Thank you
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
"There were a great abundance of wauke plants grown in Hawai`i prior to the introduction of foreign fabrics, but now this once cherished plant is rarely to be found."
http://www.canoeplants.com/wauke.html...
Today, tapa making that uses wauke, is a thriving industry in Samoa, where tapa is known as siapo. In Hawaii, wauke is rare and the tapa industry is almost non existent.
http://apdl.kcc.hawaii.edu/~ahupuaa/bota...
Looks like you will have a better chance of obtaining Samoan kapa. Email TUPITO@SIAPO.COM. Please keep in mind that Samoa and Hawai'i are Polynesian islands that share many of the same canoe plants; thus these plants are related!
Incidentally, in many Polynesian languages the "T" and "K" interchanges; thus in Hawai'i we have Kapa, and in Samoa it is Tapa.
Long-winded answer short: looks like Siapo.com will be your best. Then again, you can always try to propagate the plant : HOW TO PLANT A NATIVE HAWAIIAN GARDEN http://www.state.hi.us/health/oeqc/garde...
I hope this information is helpful. Aloha