Ginen i Halom Tano’: Supporting Local Agriculture by Training Responsible Hunters

Wild pigs are a problem. This isn’t news to our farmers, backyard growers, or really anyone in the community who’s had to deal with herds of pigs tearing through our yards and rooting up our gardens and farms. Here at our Food Resiliency Hub with its 50 acres of growth potential, the pigs are hindering our efforts to sustainably cultivate the land. Despite successfully culling about 1,000 pigs a year, according to local USDA folks, their population here on Guåhan continues to grow. To support farmers and protect our local agricultural development, its going to take deeper community involvement to make a real impact with these pigs.

Recognizing this, GSC earned grant funding to launch the Ginen i Halom Tano’ program. With support from First Nations Development Institute and in collaboration with Guam Department of Agriculture Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DoAg DAWR), we’re providing a cohort of new and youth hunters with free hunter safety training, as well as hands-on game care instruction. This experience will prepare program participants to engage in monthly mentored hunting derbies here at the Food Resiliency Hub in 2026. These monthly hunting derbies will then build towards the islandwide hunting derby slated for May 2026.

It’s a win-win-win-win community partnership: program participants get free training and hunting experience, DoAg DAWR gets to collaboratively engage with and support more hunters, GSC gets feral pigs culled from the property, and processed meat from the hunting derbies can go directly to the community.

Ginen i Halom Tano’ program participants, DoAg DAWR instructors, and GSC staff at the hunter safety education class in November 2025.

Last Saturday we hosted our first Hunter Safety Education workshop up in the Food Resiliency Hub classroom. Nine participants engaged in a full day of training, learning from DoAg DAWR instructors about different hunting techniques, gun safety protocols, as well as other critical skills for hunting on Guåhan. Throughout the day participants were taught how to responsibly hunt with care and respect for our land, people, and wildlife.

With the remaining spots in the program, GSC is prioritizing participation by indigenous community members interested in supporting local agriculture through hunting, and who have deep respect and cultural connection to Guåhan.