Meet Palaʻai: Hawaiian squash

Meet Palaʻai: Delicious, Nutritious, and Beautiful

Brighten your plate with heirloom, Hawai’i-grown Pumpkin

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Palaʻai Fast Facts

Sweet and savory, rich in vitamins and nutrients, good for the earth, and delicious in so many ways!

Also known as Winter Squash or Kabocha Pumpkin.
Each serving has 200% the daily value of Vitamin A. It's also rich in beta-carotene and fiber which support eye, heart, gut, and nervous system health.
Squash is used in traditional Pacific Island agroforestry as a cover-crop in the understory, below the tree canopy.
Pumpkin originates from the Americas. Portuguese traders brought it from the Americas to Japan and the Philippines, and then Japanese and Filipino immigrants brought Palaʻai to Hawaiʻi in the Plantation Era (mid-1800s).
Eating well is easy with recipe-ready: farm-fresh and already washed, cut, steamed and frozen, a simple but versatile ingredient.

Palaʻai in the Kitchen

Is pumpkin a staple in your home? This humble crop sustained civilizations for millennia. Learn how to make it a culinary staple, from soups and salads to pies and cakes, with our recipe collection.

Palaʻai Recipes

Vegan Kabocha Squash Soup

Enjoy this delicious vegan squash soup made with Kabocha squash and coconut cream.

'Ulu Mousse Frosted Pumpkin Muffins

These decadent and nutritious pumpkin muffins will have your whole 'ohana reaching for more!

Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Try this creamy treat using locally grown pumpkin and 'ulu flour as a thickener.

Meet our farmers: Sweet Treats and Eats

Aileen Lubong and her ʻohana manage Sweet Treats and Eats, a home bakery and farm based in Puna on Hawaiʻi island.

Aileen’s farm sprawls across 3 acres of open land, greeting visitors with ʻulu, dragonfruit and other fruit trees. Palaʻai vines act as ground cover in agroforests of ʻulu, avocado, Hawaiian chili pepper, rollinia, rambutan, longan, citrus, soursop, mango, jackfruit, and lychee trees.

"We want to grow food in an approach that not only sustains the land but heals and improves it," she says.

From the three sisters to Pacific agroforestry, palaʻai has always played an important role in sustainable food systems.

Today, our island farmers incorporate squash into their diversified, small farms in a variety of ways, from multi-story agroforests where it serves as a weed-suppressing ground cover crop to an alley crop between rows of ‘ulu trees.

Squash Sustainability

Squash: Past to Present

Palaʻai, also known as pumpkin or winter squash, is one of the oldest known crops, originating in the western hemisphere and grown sustainably by Native Americans for thousands of years. Now spread globally, squash is a sustainable favorite, fitting well into the Pacific agroforestry model and is thought to have made its way to Hawaiʻi with Japanese and Filipino immigrants in the plantation era.

Learn How to Grow Palaʻai

Learn More About Palaʻai

Squash Nutrition and Health Benefits

Pala'ai (pumpkin or winter squash) is rich in vitamins and nutrients to support eyes, heart, and gut health.

Meet Our Pala'ai Ambassador

Chef Casey supports Hawai'i's agriculture by creating dishes highlighting local ingredients.

Squash Sustainability and Agroforestry

Pala'ai - also known as pumpkin or winter squash - is one of the oldest known crops.

Good for you, our farmers, & our planet

Our “farmer owned, ‘āina grown” approach enables farmers to focus on farming, while the co-op takes on aggregation, processing and marketing for them, helping to make small, diversified agriculture in Hawaiʻi viable and the islands more food secure.

Co-crops like palaʻai support local farmers, regenerative agroforestry, community health, and reduce Hawaiʻi’s dependence on imported staples.

You can contribute in the most satisfying way: by eating palaʻai! Let us make it easy for you with our recipe-ready palaʻai.

Meet Palaʻai's Co-Crops

Meet ʻUlu (Breadfruit)

A highly versatile and nutritious tropical fruit that has been a staple in Pacific Island diets for centuries.

Meet Kalo (Taro)

While the leaves are used to make steamy, succulent laulau and lūʻau, the root is made into paʻiʻ...

Meet ʻUala (Sweet Potato)

This Hawaiʻi favorite is used in a multitude of ways from potato chips to pie.

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