MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- One of the perks of being a Marine is the opportunity to experience cultures from all over the world. This year, Marines from Marine Corps Base Hawaii had the chance to volunteer and help the local community cook turkeys in a Hawaiian imu.
Marines with 3rd Marine Regiment assisted the Kualoa-Heeia Ecumenical Youth Project, a nonprofit organization which gives all profits back to the community using the KEY Project’s facilities, with several steps in the construction phase of the 27th annual Thanksgiving Imu, Nov. 27, 2013.
Using an imu, or underground oven, is a familiar practice in several islands throughout the pacific. A traditional main meal at a luau is a pig roasted in an imu. Communities also use imus for Thanksgiving to cook turkeys and other festive foods.
An imu is a large pit or hole dug into the ground. This imu had fit more than 500 turkeys. The builders had to make it the correct size to fit the right amount of rocks, timber and food being used inside the imu. After the pit is dug, combustible wooden tender is added into the middle of the pit. Larger wood is ideal to add kindling. Vesicular basalt stones are then put on top of all the wood. The wood is set on fire to heat up the rocks.
Once the wood has burnt down into coals and the rocks are spread throughout the bottom of the pit, banana trunks and other wet greenery is split and put over the fire to create moisture. After the green vegetation is lain over the fire hot rocks and coal, the food chosen is put on top of the greenery. More greenery is put over the food and sealed with cloth or tarps. An imu cooks the food by creating a cavity of heat and steam for the food to cook in.
“It’s obvious that the KEY Project does a lot for the local community and its great to help,” said Cpl. Jose Contreras-Hernandez, a facilities clerk with Headquarters Company, 3rd Marine Regiment. “I’m looking forward to seeing how big the fire gets after they light it.”
Outside KEY’s community center complex, Marines dug and shaped the large pit with rakes and shovels. They split wood using axes, wedges and a chainsaw, which was used as kindling to heat the rocks. They layed pallets of wood, crumbled and shredded paper underneath the larger pieces of wood. After Marines organized all the wood in the pit, they layed hundreds of rocks on top of the pile.
This process took several hours and when it was time for lunch, Marines set up a barbecue with turkey and pork chops in the KEY parking lot for their own Thanksgiving meal.
“We took this opportunity to boost morale before Thanksgiving but also to build camaraderie with everyone in the unit,” said Staff Sgt. Napoleon Lopez, the movement control center chief for Headquarters Company, 3rd Marine Regiment. “It’s always good when we can help our local community and get a taste of the culture that’s so prevalent in Hawaii.”
A KEY Project volunteer selected a child from the crowd of spectators to light the imu on fire. Everyone gathered around to watch it go up in flames. At this point during the 27th annual Thanksgiving Imu, the Marines had completed everything they were tasked with. Marines and key project volunteers shook hands and said “see you again next year.”
The KEY Project imu cooked more than 500 hundred turkeys for the community.