From Seed to Soul: North Kohala’s Eat Locally Grown Community Initiative
By Galye Kaleilehua Greco The churning sound of mixing wet cement shovel-by-shovel, two able bodies continuously mixing in rhythmic timing, are met by the words of David Fuertes, “we need ‘em, we make ‘em.” Uncle David is referring to the…
Ka Puana–The Refrain: My Year in a Yurt
Following are excerpts from Pa‘auilo resident Jen McGeehan’s book, My Year in a Yurt. Used with permission. Look Up! There are many elements to yurt living that make it both unique and enjoyable. The ceiling is just one of them.…
Aloha ‘Āina: Waimea I Uka
By Ku‘ulei Keakealani On April 20, 2008 a group assembled on a misty Waimea morning. The destination was somewhat clear and somewhat vague, i uka, to the uplands, was our chosen destination. Were we on a journey for answers? Perhaps.…
Saving Hawai‘i’s Native Dryland Forests
By Denise Laitinen Every day, hundreds of Hawai‘i Island residents and visitors drive past them—most having no idea about the rare treasures they are zipping past as they travel along Māmalahoa Highway between Waimea and Kailua-Kona. These incredible treasures are…
E Ala o Mahi‘ai: The Way of the Farmer
By John J. Boyle Here at a crossroads of two cultures—one immediately challenged by serious food needs and another steeped in a culture of sustainability in exclusion—it is understood that the foods the first Polynesians brought with them on their…
Fishponds in Hawai‘i: A Small Scale Understanding
By Barbara Fahs Sustainability is a major buzzword today. Growing food, harvesting power from the sun, buying locally produced products to rely less on foreign imports at the supermarket are values and practices that many Americans understand clearly today. Wherever…
An Abundance of Energy: An Intentional Property in Harmony with Nature
By Cynthia Sweeney Once, people didn’t use such words as sustainable and organic because everything just was sustainable and organic. The earth provided, and people lived completely off the land. We can do that again today, only with state-of-the-art technology.…
Success! Hakalau Forest Refuge: Scientists and Volunteers Partner to Save Forest Birds
By Fern Gavelek Hawai‘i’s geographical isolation means that the plants and animals found here have evolved unlike any other species found on earth. Human interaction and interference with once untouched habitats has rendered Hawai‘i the endangered species capital of the…
Community Supported Agriculture Grows Up on Hawai‘i Island
By Cynthia Sweeney Each Thursday, Lark and Steve Willey pack up their specially outfitted van with boxes of freshly picked spinach, beets, leeks, mushrooms, and other seasonal fruits and vegetables from their farm in Waimea, and deliver them door-to-door. In…
The Life and Legacy of Guy Toyama: Remembering a Green Power Hero and Friend
By Susan Cox The first time I met Guy Toyama was about nine years ago. A mutual friend arranged a business meeting between us. I didn’t live on Hawai‘i Island yet, even though I dreamed about finding a way to…
Vegetable Steel! Miracle Grass!
By John J. Boyle I awake in the ‘ohana to cooing doves in an octagonal room in the low jungle of Kapoho, smiling about how warmly organic the structure is, how much like a finely worked piece of furniture and…
We Are All in the Same Canoe: One Island Sustainable Living Center Promotes Sustainability on Hawai‘i Island
By Barbara Fahs With a modest budget and big vision, the One Island Sustainable Living Center in Hōnaunau is accomplishing some amazing feats toward farming education and sustainability. The terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘sustainability’ are bandied about a lot today. To…
Meet Sustainable Reggae Artist Sahra Indio
By Jessica Kirkwood Reggae—with its catchy rhythms and poignant messages—was born on the island of Jamaica in the 1960s and made its way to Hawai‘i nearly two decades later—right around the time Sahra Indio first landed here, too. “I identify…
Save the Bees, Save the Planet: Listening to the Buzz with Bee Oracle Alison Yahna
By Marya Mann A honeybee swarm came to Alison Yahna and it changed her life forever. The bees came in a swirling rush, alighting on a small cedar tree near her home. With help from a friend she moved the…
The Plight of the Honeybee: Big Island Honeybees are Vital to Keeping Us Fed, Our Skin Soft and Even Healing Cuts on Fish Fins
By Denise Laitinen Raw honey may look like liquid gold, but it is the bees themselves that are worth their weight in gold. “Albert Einstein once said that without honeybees the human race as we know would end in seven…
Sustainable Hawai‘i Youth Leadership Initiative: Youth Inspire All to Dream of a New Earth
By Marya Mann On the sunlit day, outdoors at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Skyla (“Sky”) D. Graig-Murray, a student at West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy, asks this question: “How often have you asked a young person what is their dream…
Young Entrepreneurs Grow Organik: From Coffee Bags to Recycled Plastic, It All goes into Clothing and Accessories.
By Hadley Catalano It was a rainy day in late spring and Ed Fernandez had to pick up coffee bags. Not for harvesting purposes but for his popular organic and sustainable clothing and accessories company, Organik. Traversing through the windy,…
Volcano Tree House Takes “Green” to a New Level
Devany Vickery-Davidson Tarzan and Jane never had it so good, nor did the Swiss Family Robinson. Nestled in the branches of several old-growth ‘ohia trees and perched above a lava tube in Volcano on the Big Island of Hawai‘i is…
Joy of Chickens: Big Islanders Are Discovering a New Use for Their Back Yards
By Alan D. McNarie I think a lot of people don’t think that chickens have brains,” muses Jeannette Baysa, co-owner of the Hilo Coffee Mill. “But I think they do. We train them. They know their names. They come when…
Beyond Organic: Natural Farming
By Noel Morata A new trend—natural farming—is being embraced by backyard gardeners and farmers here on Hawai‘i Island. These methods have been shown to enhance growing organically, focusing on long-term sustainability and using local, raw products and indigenous, green materials…
Let There Be Light! There’s Power in Photovoltaics
By Mike Moore It’s been said that the amount of sunlight that hits the Earth’s surface in one hour is enough to power the entire world for a year. Given that within the next 25 years our world’s energy demands…
Building with Bamboo
By Noel Morata Of the fastest-growing and reusable materials, bamboo is becoming a viable building material to be utilized in a tropical environment. David Sands is one of those passionate individuals who advocates and evangelizes the use of bamboo for…
Holuakoa Gardens Restaurant and Café: Connecting the Plate with the Planet via Slow Food
By Fern Gavelek Handmade potato gnocchi…house-cured bacon…homemade fresh pasta lasagna… Admit it—the above is not your normal restaurant fare. They can be had, however, in the heart of Holualoa village at Holuakoa Gardens Restaurant. The delicious, labor-intensive delicacies illustrate the…
Have You Ever Known a WWOOFer? They’re Helping Farmers All Over the Big Island!
By Hadley Catalano Dana Ronnquist had always been interested in permaculture and organic farming. Growing up in Westchester County, New York, an hour outside the city, the 24-year-old hadn’t had the opportunity to get hands-on experience in what she felt…
Viewpoint: Investment Tips for a Regenerative Future
By Michael Kramer, M.Ed, AIF®, Managing Partner & Director of Social Research, Natural Investments LLC With climate change and peak oil now widely accepted, in the past few years we have witnessed the proliferation of investment opportunities under the green,…
Who Is That Woman Behind the Green Cape? Green Power Girl…Super Hero!
By Andrea Dean The day started like any other. Gigi Starr got up in the morning, ate breakfast and went to school. She was the new girl at Goodall Middle School and was already feeling like the lone wolf of…
The “Cool Factor” Bonds Youth and Farming
By Andrea Dean Dashiell Hammet was a famous detective novelist. Dashiell Kuhr, of North Kohala, is the energetic, articulate, handsome (dare I say dashing) driving force behind the Hawai‘i Youth Agriculture Program and the operations of Uluwehi Farm and Nursery,…
Growing Our Own Fuel: Biodiesel Ventures Sprouting Up
By Alan D. McNarie Hawaii‘s lifestyle, for better or worse, depends on cars, trucks and buses. And cars, trucks and buses, unfortunately, depend on oil. Currently most of that oil comes to the island via ships from Alaska or Indonesia.…
What’s in a Seed? Seed Is the Living Source of Life on Earth
By Nancy Redfeather How many times have you bought seed in a store, planted it, and were disappointed at its failure to germinate, or worse, thought of yourself as a “black thumb?” The answer to this common complaint is in…
The New Face of Tourism: Ecotourism
By Hadley Catalano Pull up your sleeves, find your gardening gloves and lace up your work boots – you’re on vacation. What seems less like rest and relaxation and more like manual labor has become the latest trend for traveling…
