I’ve really enjoyed getting to do more technical activities and technical assignments. It takes a bit of a learning curve but I’ve liked seeing the different ways how history can be taught as well as learning about the software that does it. I decided to focus this map around the first chapter of Cooling the Tropics by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart, I’ve excited to finally read the book and was already really fascinated with the first chapter. I never thought of ice and cooling in the ways that I have now. I decided to do some research about refreshment stands in Hawaii because I wanted to see how many were owned by indigenous people/companies versus ones owned by settlers. There is also the fact that many of Hawaii’s farmers and plantation workers have been immigrants which gives a very strong image of “diversity” while simultaneously diminishing indigenous autonomy.
I found Banan Company and their emphasis on serving banana-based deserts from a local banana farm. The owner is a scientist who moved from Colorado to Hawaii to specialize in banana farming which I thought was really interesting. I tried getting as much information about the farm as possible but it was hard to even find a location to put on my map which was a bit frustrating. Often times if it felt I had to “guess” the proper location for the map it didn’t feel like I was giving an accurate set of data compared to when I was able to type exact coordinates or a full address. I also, for the specific topic I was researching, wish I could have put multiple locations on one slide. I wanted to try to highlight the different places that Hawaii farm workers came from such as Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, etc. Maybe with more familiarity, I could try to make it work but I am still pretty proud of the map I was able to come up with. I thought it was great that the company cares about farming and “creating jobs” as they say in their mission but I found it interesting how it is a collaborative effort between indigenous people and settler recourses which in turn brings other conversations like the history of farming and still advertising the tropics as a place for refreshment and have shop locations in highly touristy areas.
Lua– this is a fabulous story map and I really enjoyed learning more about the Banan Company in a history context of “refreshment” in Hawaii. This makes a very interesting case study that grapples with complex topics like Indigeneity and immigration. I have so many questions about the “Banan Company” after browsing their website more– their origins are a little murky (was that intentional?), and their mission/impact is heavily at the forefront of their work. They emphasize things like “farm to table,” ethical sourcing, and reviving Hawaii’s banana industry, but I had a hard time locating how they are supporting Native Hawaiians or recognizing a connection between Indigeneity and banana farming. This is so interesting and now I want to know more!
As you pieced this together, it sounds like you encountered several limitations with Story Map JS but identified how you might portray this information differently to show other key data or visualize different components. This is a recurring challenge with all digital projects; searching for a platform (preferably free) that does exactly what you want it to do. Sometimes this means combining different platforms into a single project, or having to build your own from code. I’m glad that you found this exercise to be useful and interesting, and it’s a great starting point for figuring out other possibilities or how to expand this in new directions!