A growing threat continues to damage farms, gardens, and natural areas across Guam: feral pigs. Now, a new community-based program is taking aim at the problem by training youth and first-time hunters to protect the land and provide food for the community. 

Feral pigs have been a persistent problem across the island, causing damage to crops, soil, and agricultural land. "It’s just a problem that has continued to persist on the island as everyone sees now in their neighborhoods. Wild pigs are coming out and their numbers are just growing, and it’s hard to keep under control," explained Michielle Crisostomo with Guåhan Sustainable Culture.

Her organization is now launching a program designed to address that problem through training, safety, and community participation. The program is called Ginen I Halom Tåno’. It trains beginner and youth hunters to safely cull pigs and process the meat for community use.

The program is based at Guåhan Sustainable Culture’s 50-acre Food Resiliency Hub, where feral pigs continue to threaten regenerative agriculture efforts. "Farmers and growers are having a very difficult time being able to grow fruits and vegetables, because of course the pigs are damaging it. And it’s very costly for them to be able to mitigate that through paying for fencing. Pigs have destroyed the ability for us to grow a lot of our traditional root crops as well," she said.

Crisostomo, the GSC's president and co-founder, says the goal is not just population control, but teaching participants how to hunt responsibly, care for the land, and contribute food back to the community. "Our program is really focused on beginning and youth hunters, empowering them with skills and knowledge, and giving them a space to learn in a way that is safe with the experts that are there. But also teaching them the full scale of what it takes, not just to hunt down pigs and eradicate them, but to also learn the gamecare process, how to process the meat and turn that into food, because food security is also one of the problems we are focused on addressing," she said.

The program is funded by the First Nations Development Institute and run in partnership with the Guam Department of Agriculture’s Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources. 20 participants have been recruited and are receiving free hunter safety training, mentorship, and hands-on instruction in ethical hunting and proper game handling.

The program includes firearm and archery safety, as well as monthly  mentored hunting derbies at the Food Resiliency Hub. Those events will lead up to an island-wide hunting derby planned for May.

"We are going to be reaching out to businesses for support, looking at sponsorships to put together a team with your business and have that team participate in the island wide derby where we can help with the eradication of pigs," she said. "But also turn that into an event where we can provide prizes, awards and just recognize the achievements of our participants, as well as getting the community, like the culinary community, involved."

The organization is also seeking experienced hunters to volunteer as mentors and is asking grocery stores and markets to donate surplus produce for use in pig bait traps. She said, "If there are skilled and experienced hunters out there, we are asking for their help to come out and mentor these beginner hunters."

"In order to facilitate the success of the program, we are reaching out to grocery stores and markets if they have produce they are going to throw away. It's a way to help divert that produce from ending up in the landfill."

To get involved, reach out to Guåhan Sustainable Culture at 671-687-6491.