On one of my trips to Hawaii I learned that poi is created from mashed taro root with a tool appropriately enough called a poi pounder. I met a man who made a good side income fashioning poi pounders from monkey pod wood. I was so fascinated that I bought one from him and have admired it on a shelf for years. I must say it has never pounded poi. Sometimes the functional can become our art and delight us more than any amount of intended use.
