Dregs,

we will be shooting video of a friends set up this weekend, look for that sometime next week!

I'd like to get something set up here, once i can scheme how to do it cheap enough for my blood! 
I'm not going to do it untill i get my head wrapped around how to do it cheap, here, and easily replicate-able. I go nuts when some one is like well "here's my inexpensive set up, some one gave my this gigantic aquaponics system and i found an old pool pump in my back yard, see it's cheap!" For me it has to be off the shelf stuff or stuff easily found locally, so long story short: I'LL WORK ON IT BRAH! 

Dave
http://www.survivalhawaii.com

I'd be interested in seeing more about aquaponics systems too.

Qualities I would look for in a group are people who are less likely to leave when it becomes evident that the only way to get on out here is to wait out the decline long enough to start up the Ahupua'a system again. As jobs dry up, infrastructure falls apart, and stuff gets unaffordable even when it's available there will be a mass exodus of people who think they have a better shot somewhere else. One or two guys with years of experience making a Lo'i work and don't mind being homeless for a bit are way more valuable than twenty guys on a survival forum saving rice and beans in mylar bags so they can hold out in the suburbs for a few extra months.

Oh I agree, farming and agriculture skills would definitely be at the top of the heap.  When I first learned of the ahupua'a system, I said straight out that the Hawaiians had a great system.

At the beginning of your post, you talk about a slow downward slide in the economy where people start seeing the option of moving as the only viable alternative.  That's well and good for those that have no way to feed themselves other than trading dollars for food.  Now if one had a big enough piece of land for subsistence farming to keep their family fed, then the only other problem I see is taxation from the local government.  I can only speak for myself that I don't have that dream "retreat" with a natural stream and fertile land.  So my little garden fed by rainwater caught in rain barrels will just have to suffice.  Learning the techniques of cultivation does take a bit of time, but one gets better after each year.  As I get better, I'll add different plants and maybe some chickens or rabbits in the near future.  Does that mean I'm going to be eating my mylar bags of rice and beans?  Of course, yes, but not strictly on it. 

To get back to an ahupua'a system that would run from the mountains to the ocean, one would not necessarily  need a mass exodus of people, but the property owners would have to give up their claim to the land.  How long would that take?  10, 20, maybe 40 years before it happens, unless of course, something catastrophic occurs and whole valleys are wiped out.  An ahupua'a system could take care thousands of people because it took thousands of people to keep it going. 

Now if we scale it down to just the 2 guys feeding their families, then I'm sure a smaller scale would do.

I think the point is missed that preppers/survivalists aren't prepping for armageddon, but they strive for self sufficiency whether it be food, power generation, or protection no matter what the situation is.

BTW, I'd love to have some land with a lo'i patch.  That would be sweet!  I envy you if you do. 

Should have clarified that I'm in the mylar rice and beans group at the moment, but trying to make as many contacts as I can to learn about high-intensity gardening, herbal remedies and such. Totally agree that there will be a run of oppressive taxes and likely many folks will get kicked out of their homes in forced forclosure sweeps as local govt and the banks that support it run out of options. That's why it would be good to know people who won't mind camping out for a while and watching each others' backs until the abandoned office buildings and hotels become a squatter's paradise. Would love to see the upper level parking areas at Ala Moana shopping center converted into a huge community garden.

But where would I park my Hummer to shop at Macy's? =Op

Should have clarified that I'm in the mylar rice and beans group at the moment, but trying to make as many contacts as I can to learn about high-intensity gardening, herbal remedies and such. Totally agree that there will be a run of oppressive taxes and likely many folks will get kicked out of their homes in forced forclosure sweeps as local govt and the banks that support it run out of options. That's why it would be good to know people who won't mind camping out for a while and watching each others' backs until the abandoned office buildings and hotels become a squatter's paradise. Would love to see the upper level parking areas at Ala Moana shopping center converted into a huge community garden.

"I Am Legend" mixed with "Book of Eli" = bad nightmare.  =)

1 or 2 guys with a lo'i will starve before the crop comes in...and thats where the 20 guys from the survival forum help out, with hunting, foraging, bartering, building shelters, adding a fish pond upstream from the lo'i, security, etc, etc, etc. It takes a village, it isn't easy, and most of the skills used by early polynesians have long been forgotten. We would have to adapt and incorporate modern skills with primitive skills.

Doesn't mean it can't be done or its impossible. It just means that now is the time to raise chickens, fish, plant your gardens, get in shape, learn to navigate, build your long term food supply, learn some more skills, talk to your friends/family/neighbors, maybe make some new friends, and so on.

The theory on having a mass exodus was quite interesting. I never thought of that and I'm sure we could speculate on this a little more as well.
     

1 or 2 guys with a lo'i will starve before the crop comes in...and thats where the 20 guys from the survival forum help out, with hunting, foraging, bartering, building shelters, adding a fish pond upstream from the lo'i, security, etc, etc, etc. It takes a village, it isn't easy, and most of the skills used by early polynesians have long been forgotten. We would have to adapt and incorporate modern skills with primitive skills.

Doesn't mean it can't be done or its impossible. It just means that now is the time to raise chickens, fish, plant your gardens, get in shape, learn to navigate, build your long term food supply, learn some more skills, talk to your friends/family/neighbors, maybe make some new friends, and so on.

The theory on having a mass exodus was quite interesting. I never thought of that and I'm sure we could speculate on this a little more as well.
   

Let us not forget water skills. You must have a viable water source..period.

But where would I park my Hummer to shop at Macy's? =Op

By Sears.  Nobody shops there anymore. 

It just means that now is the time to raise chickens, fish, plant your gardens, get in shape, learn to navigate, build your long term food supply, learn some more skills, talk to your friends/family/neighbors, maybe make some new friends, and so on.

The theory on having a mass exodus was quite interesting. I never thought of that and I'm sure we could speculate on this a little more as well.
   

Just ordered 3 chicks from Asagi. I think the next batch is coming out in a couple of weeks. As far as depopulation goes my guess is there will be quite a few people who take off if things continue to slow down gradually. I'm sure some will be terrified by the concept of being stuck out in the middle of the Pacific for the rest of their lives.