Category Archives: Community

The Kids at Kua O Ka La Charter School

High school students from the charter school Kua O Ka La came to Hamakua Springs the other day on a field trip.

HamakuaSprings30

Richard talked about how great it was to connect with that school, which is located on the ocean at Pu‘ala‘a in Puna, right next to the Ahalanui warm pond. “They are off the grid and all their computers are run by solar,” he said. “They have composting toilets that are very sanitary. They live on, and with, the land. I really like their hands-on learning style. They live sustainability.”

From Kua O Ka La’s website:

Pu`ala`a is an intact ancient Hawaiian village complete with historical sites, fishponds, and native habitat that affords an ideal outdoor learning environment for our project-based curriculum.

Kimo Pa, the farm’s manager, told me that he and his wife Tracy Pa were surprised, and pleased, at how interested the students were.

“We told them about what Richard has been working on,” said Kimo, “wondering how we are going to adapt to the new way of doing business, and to the high cost of oil. I talked about how we looked into Peak Oil, studied it for a few years, to really understand it. And how Richard got to the point of looking at geothermal and how he can help the rest of the community.

“We told them we’ve been looking at our resources here. We had water, so we could make hydroelectric….

“I told them that Richard said, ‘What about our workers, the island, the state? What resources do we have that could help the rest of the people?’ That’s how he found geothermal. Now he’s working with Ku‘oko‘a.

“They were really into that part, and had questions,” he said. “This has to do with their community. They’re next to the warm pond. Why is that water hot? Because of the volcano.”

He told the students that our huge dependence on oil now has to do with the leaders we have picked over the years, and their decisions.

“I told them how important they are as an individual, and that it’s their responsibility to pick the leaders; that their vote counts, because they are the future leaders. That their decision making is for the generations under them.”

He showed the students the farm’s hydroponics system, the tomatoes, and the fish they are raising.

“And I explained that we are working with other farmers, and that we like to employ people from nearby,” he said. “Working with other farmers, we can produce more food. We want to fit into the community and grow food for the area. It’s all about the sustainability – taking care of your neighbor, doing the right thing for your community so in the next generation, and the next generation, things don’t get worse.”

It’s a perfect fit with the school’s vision:

Kua O Ka Lā has adopted the concept of `Ke Ala Pono – The Right Path – to describe our goal of nurturing and developing our youth. We believe that every individual has a unique potential and that it is our responsibility to help our students learn to work together within the local community to create a future that is pono – right.

 

Supporting Kids’ Financial Literacy

I recently attended a reception for Richard Henderson, who had just been inducted into Junior Achievement of Hawaii’s “Business Hall of Fame.” It was a nice evening at the Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, and a nice tribute to him.

From the Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald:

Henderson was born in Hilo in 1928 and graduated from Punahou High School in 1946. Armed with a degree in business from Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Henderson returned to Hilo in 1951. He joined The Realty Investment Co., which became his springboard for launching and managing a number of Big Island businesses, including nine theaters, an insurance agency, a wireless phone company, several car dealerships, Comtec Cable Co., KPUA and KWXX radio stations.

In addition, Henderson served for 15 years in the state Senate, often in leadership positions. Over the years he has also supported and served in key roles with many non-profit organizations on Hawaii Island.

It was also interesting to hear more about Junior Achievement (JA). What a terrific organization. I already knew that, but it was interesting to hear that, just here in Hilo and Puna last year, more than 100 of our local business people volunteered several hours each in 116 K-6 classrooms, and reached 2800 students. JA also meet with middle school and high school students.

Junior Achievement’s purpose is to “educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise so they can improve the quality of their lives and their communities.”

Its high school Company Program pairs business leaders with high school kids who create a business and learn how to write a business plan, research their market, efficiently manufacture their products, promote and sell their goods, keep the employees happy and keep the books straight.

Lee Wilson, president of JA on the Big Island, said, “This year, the six companies amassed revenues of nearly $50,000 in a shortened sales window of just over 8 weeks. What recession? I think Mr. Henderson would have been thrilled if a few of his startups had generated that type of volume right out of the gate.”

I think so.

Pahoa Holds a Forum on Geothermal

I attended a geothermal energy forum at the Pahoa Community Center on Saturday, and the seats were all taken.

Patbrandt

Pat Brandt is CEO of Innovations Development Group, which hosted the forum

This article, which ran in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the day before the forum, gives some background:

Forum on geothermal energy to include Hawaiian leaders

By Alan Yonan Jr. 

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 08, 2011

A Honolulu-based company that has developed geothermal energy projects on Maori trust lands in New Zealand will lead a community forum on the Big Island tomorrow to discuss the pursuit of geothermal energy there.

Innovations Development Group, which specializes in socially responsible development, said the forum will include presentations by six native Hawaiian leaders who will offer their views on how development of geothermal energy can be done in a way that protects cultural and resources…. Read the full article here

By my quick count, I would say 60 people attended.

I was there to hear people’s points of view, and there were many. I was very encouraged because we had the opportunity to talk story and bridge gaps. The overriding sentiment, which I heard over and over, was that we were talking about benefits to the community – not just the Hawaiian community but the whole community!

This made me very happy. It is truly about all of us!

The second thing that rose to the top was that we could have moved further forward if not for a historical lack of transparency. For example, 10 percent of geothermal revenues right now are royalties paid to the state of Hawai‘i, and 50 percent of that goes to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. People ask: How is that money used? There is no answer, though, because it merely goes into a general fund.

The same question is raised about the 20 percent that goes to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Where exactly does it go? No answer. To the credit of OHA Trustee Robert Lindsey, he knows this is unacceptable and has said that it needs to be fixed.

People also want to know why geothermal is available on the Big Island, and yet we have the highest electric rates in the state. How come? Had the utility been more transparent about its cost structure, this would not be an issue. But the people are often told, “We cannot tell you the cost; it is proprietary information.” That just breeds distrust. People feel that transparency should be the trade-off for having a monopoly!

Wally Ishibashi and I agree wholeheartedly. We were joint chairs of the Geothermal Working Group, and agreed that we would make the process transparent. We know about people’s concerns.

Moanikeala Akaka was there. She is a community watchdog, and told the IDG people, “I have not made up my mind. You guys may be Hawaiian developers, but I’m watching you, too.” I’m glad she’s watching. There’s nothing to hide.

A young girl had the most impact on me. She said, “We need to move on. I worry about the world my daughter will grow up in. I don’t want to come back here 20 years from now and be having the same discussion.”

That was a very powerful statement and I feel it resonated with everyone there. And that’s what makes things very hopeful.

People do know that “one day the boat not going come.”

This was a heavy-duty meeting, and I will be writing more about it in the coming days.

Foodland, Farming & Future

We went to a great luncheon recently, on O‘ahu at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, which was sponsored by Foodland and the Hawaii Society of Business Professionals. It was titled “The Next Steps in Farm to Table.”

Foodland is a great friend of local agriculture.

Waimea market

From the Foodland blog:

Why Eat Local?

by Veronica the Visionary on February 21, 2011 / 11:48 AM

Did you know that if Hawaii were hit by a natural disaster, we would only have only two to three weeks supply of food – and that’s not considering that people would begin hoarding the minute that fear of the disaster hit! In the aftermath of a frenzy of people buying all they could, Hawaii’s food supply could last only a few days! I was shocked to hear that on Thursday at a luncheon our company sponsored called “The Next Steps in Farm to Table.” Hosted by the Hawaii Society of Business Professionals, the lunch featured a panel of restaurateur Alan Wong, local farmer Richard Ha, and master sommelier Chuck Furuya. We were excited to be asked to sponsor the event because we are passionate about the importance of buying local and have great respect for the three speakers and all they have done to promote local producers.

The event was entertaining and educational. Alan shared that if our community just increased its purchases from local farmers by 10%, this would result in an incremental $94 million for our farmers and an additional $188 million in sales for our economy. Without question, supporting local farmers is good for our ENTIRE community. As Richard put it, “Food security has to do with farmers farming. If farmers make money, they farm.” In other words, if we buy more local produce, farmers can afford to farm more and we will be less dependent on outside sources of food – and contribute to a healthy economy in our state. Read the rest

Here’s June sampling some of Chef Keoni Chang’s creations, which he made with Hamakua Springs tomatoes. Keoni is Foodland’s Chef-in-Residence.

June and salsa

“Hamakua Springs Salsa,” which is found in all Foodland supermarkets, is Chef Keoni’s creation. It’s my favorite tomato salsa by far.

Adopt-A-Class, Year 4!

It’s the start of a new school year, and we are kicking off our fourth annual Adopt-A-Class project. This is where we ask if you’ll give a little bit to help students at Keaukaha Elementary School take field trips.

Why Keaukaha Elementary? Early on, when Richard became interested in the Thirty Meter Telescope, at that time “possibly slated” for Mauna Kea, he noted that the multi-million dollar telescopes atop the mountain sacred to many Hawaiians were not benefiting the Hawaiian community at all.

He focused in on Keaukaha as one of our most Hawaiian communities. He learned that students at the elementary school there only took walking field trips to sites near their school, due to lack of funding. He and his friend Duane Kanuha decided to ask the community to help.

***
It’s been four years since then, and truly amazing things are happening at Keaukaha Elementary School these days.

For a very long time, it was near the bottom of the list in all rankings and achievement. And when the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program started, Keaukaha Elementary was one of the first in the state to be put on corrective action – after what its principal Lehua Veincent describes as “years of struggling to meet state standards.”

Under his leadership and during his first two years as principal, the school met federal standards in 2007 and 2008, and in 2008 it was one of seven schools in the state to exit restructuring status under NCLB.

Kumu Lehua has had a phenomenal impact on Keaukaha. (If you know him, you won’t be surprised to hear that he’s quick to acknowledge the importance of his “dedicated and committed faculty and staff, and the collaboration with community and business partners”).

To Kumu Lehua, though, this whole topic is about so much more than merely academics. He talks about the change in behaviors and attitudes – social aspects that are not accounted for under NCLB.

“When we see 550 people come to our Open House, as they did two weeks ago, that’s powerful,” he says. “When we have 15 kupunas that come and have our children go and sit on lauhala mats and listen to our stories of Keaukaha, that’s powerful. When we’re able to take the entire school, 350 students, and have them chant and hula in unison, that’s powerful. Those are the things that set us apart from everyone else. They are our uniqueness, our spirit.”

He said they always have to remember the school’s mission: “That our children are proud of who they are and where they come from.”

***

In 2007, we did our first Adopt-A-Class campaign, and met our goal of raising enough for every class at the school to take one field trip both semesters. The cost per field trip per class is about $600 (that’s for bus, admissions, etc.); classes sometimes find ways to use that amount to take more than one field trip per semester.

Students have taken their huaka‘i, their field trips, to Hamakua Springs Country Farms, Waipi‘o Valley, Mauna Kea, ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center and more. “Our 4th graders went up to Mo‘okini Heiau and spent a whole day there,” says Kumu Lehua, “learning the whole historical perspective of why it exists. It was a wonderful day for them.” See the links above for some past stories we’ve done about the kids’ excursions. Here are some of the students’ thank you notes.

Kumu Lehua says what’s important about the Adopt-A-Class program is taking the learning into other places where some of the skills and concepts they learn about in class are more easily visible, in a setting that has been discussed, learned about. “That’s where the application becomes a little more real,” he says. “Everything is so focused on reading and math, but not necessarily making connections between those skills and the outside.”

He says that Adopt-A-Class has brought about a lot of other opportunities for the school.

“People hear about Adopt-A-Class and they donate,” he says. “They tell other people, and people tell people, and you have a slew of people wanting to help, whether it’s with snacks, events, opportunities.”

***

These days the school philosophy centers on “Maoli Keaukaha,” the spirit of Keaukaha. Everything they do, explains Kumu Lehua, ties into one of five key points that make up the spirit and uniqueness of Keaukaha – genealogy, history, place, language and traditional practices.

“It’s the spirit of Keaukaha,” he says. “It’s what you cannot find anywhere else.”

***

Can you adopt a class? You or your company can donate $100 toward the adoption of one class (it gets grouped with other donations), or $600 supports the whole class. Your donation is tax-deductible and 100 percent goes to the school.

See the Hamakua Springs website for more details and how to donate.

Mahalo.

Dawn Chang as Candidate for Kamehameha Schools Trustee

Dawn Chang is one of three candidates for a position as Trustee for Kamehameha Schools.

I have written about Dawn here before, recently when she was a consultant working on the Comprehensive Management Plan for Mauna Kea.

That was a controversial and very difficult situation, with extraordinarily strong feelings on both sides, and she really impressed me under fire. She did not falter. She just focused on pono and let the chips fall where they may. She even endured someone cursing her children’s future kids.

But, nevertheless, by the end of the long process, some of the most skeptical folks – the ones who were strongly against the Thirty Meter Telescope – called her “Sistah.” This is why we became friends for life.

The Court required candidates to demonstrate expertise in one or more of the following areas:
•    Business administration
•    Finance and investment
•    Strategic planning and policy setting
•    General areas of interest including education, law or governance

As well as possess the following:
•    A recognized reputation of integrity and good character
•    The capacity to fulfill the responsibilities of a fiduciary under trust law
•    Respect for and from the community

•    Consistent and active leadership in the community with specific emphasis on issues impacting the well-being of the people of Hawaii

•    A formal education

•    Outstanding personal traits including Hawaiian values

I have no reservations at all in supporting Dawn for the position as Kamehameha Schools Trustee and I’m sending in my written support. If any of you that know Dawn’s work, character and integrity would like to do the same, written comments and/or expressions of support must be received by 4 p.m. on September 14, 2010.

Mail to: Kamehameha Schools Trustee Screening Committee
c/o Inkinen & Associates
1003 Bishop Street
Pauahi Tower, Suite 477
Honolulu, HI 96813
email: jobs@inkinen.com

Imiloa, Mau Piailug & More

Yesterday I had breakfast at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center restaurant with Ka‘iu Kimura, the executive director of ‘Imiloa; Chad Kalepa Babayan, ‘Imiloa’s Navigator in Residence, and Nico Verissimo, ‘Imiloa’s Membership & Fund Development Manager.

We meet periodically to catch up on the goings on at ‘Imiloa. I am always amazed at ‘Imiloa’s progress and evolution. Steadily, inexorably, ‘Imiloa is becoming the focal point where people come together to help the larger community.

Ka‘iu talked about how people from all over the world are interested in knowing how ‘Imiloa joins together modern science with Hawaiian cultural values. She is running out of space to accommodate all the requests to participate. Can someone out there help to fund the expansion?

It was a far-ranging conversation. Kalepa mentioned that Mau Piailug, who passed away recently, was known for helping to train our modern day Hawaiian navigators. But Kalepa says the most important thing Mau stood for was teaching about the oneness of mankind. He was all about taking care of each other. We are all of one race–the human race.

In our conversation yesterday, it hit me that ‘Imiloa is becoming the beacon where that message is broadcast. It is awe-inspiring.

This article Kalepa wrote in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser is a classic. Although everyone knows that Mau played a major role in the resurgence in Hawaiian navigation, few know that he was about much more than that. The article sets the record straight.

You need to read Kalepa’s account–it is inspirational.

Help Our Food Bank With Your Vote

Vote for Rose’s project! Rose Acevedo is a board member of the Sierra Club. Here’s what she’s up to:

Pepsi Co. Refresh Project is offering a million dollars every month for great ideas that support local communities.

My idea, FRUITBUSTERS, to help feed the hungry in Hilo was approved by Pepsi on May 1st.  The goal of FRUITBUSTERS is to develop a small crew who will rescue all the ripe fruit from trees whose owners can’t do their own picking.  This abundance of fruit will then be donated to food banks and meal programs in our area.


The grant money will be awarded to those ideas that have the most votes.  FRUITBUSTERS is a finalist, so I have all of May to get as many votes as I can!  We need your support, so please log on to:

http://www.refresheverything.com/fruitbusters

to find out more, register and vote. Everyone who registers can vote EVERY DAY until May 31. 

Muchas gracias!

Rose Acevedo
roseacevedo@hotmail.com
756-5990

Picking fruit, that would otherwise just fall to the ground and go uneaten, and donating to the Foodbank  is a wonderful idea.

Let’s all vote for Rose so we can help her to help our community.

It Takes A Community

It’s been a busy few days.

Last Wednesday evening, Don Thomas, a geologist from UH Hilo, accompanied me to a meeting of the Keaukaha Community Association where he described two drilling projects. The first was a 3,000 ft. or so pilot hole sunk by the Hilo breakwater. It was a test to see if the concept of drilling to acquire a profile of the land was feasible. The second was a much deeper hole on the National Guard side of the Hilo airport. This was a part of a National Science Foundation-funded study. It was meant to gather information on the formation of the Big Island by studying the layers of lava as the hole was drilled deeper and deeper.

The background as I understand it: In eartlier days, only the Kohala Mountain range, Hualalai and Mauna Kea protruded above the ocean. Then Mauna Loa erupted and the Hilo side of Mauna Kea was covered by Mauna Loa’s lava.

Core samples showed that there was Mauna Loa lava atop soil from Mauna Kea, much like the kind of material you see on the Hilo/Hamakua coast. Then, as the drill went deeper, they found fresh water at 160 lbs. of pressure in the Mauna Kea lava, way below the surface of the ocean. This is what’s called an artesian well, and is when you get water shooting out under pressure from the surface of the land. That means that this water is under pressure from water that is pushing against it.

As I understand it, drill deep enough and water will just shoot out of the ground. I’ll ask Don what all this means and report back here.

I saw Luana Kawelu at the Keaukaha Community Association meeting Wednesday night. Kumu Lehua calls her one of the “Gang of Three” (with Patrick Kahawaiola‘a) — the folks who together help to make Keaukaha Elementary School the excellent school that it is. She is also the driving force behind the Merrie Monarch Festival. She has never let marketing and dreams of bigger and better things cloud her judgment. She just focuses on the pono thing. I cannot imagine how the Merrie Monarch Festival could be done better. “Pono” is way good enough.

Thursday, I flew to Maui to visit supermarkets as part of my marketing involvement with the new organic farm at Kapalua called WeFarm@Kapalua. This organic farm is on former Maui Pineapple Company lands and consists of approximately 158 acres. David Cole, the former CEO of Maui Land and Pine, started the organic farm awhile ago. When MLP got out of pineapple, the Ulupono Initiative submitted a bid to take over the former organic farm. From the Ulupono Initiative website:

Ulupono Sustainable Agriculture Development LLC, a subsidiary of the Ulupono Initiative, announced today that it would be assuming operations of Kapalua Farms, an organic farming and agriculture research facility located near the entry of the Kapalua Resort in West Maui.  Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc., owners of the 158-acre agricultural parcel, successfully reached an agreement with Ulupono earlier this month, with the transition of the property already underway.
 
“We are pleased to partner with Ulupono Sustainable Agriculture Development as they assume operations of Kapalua Farms,” said Warren H. Haruki, chairman and interim CEO of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.  “Our desire was to find an operational partner that would be able to continue organic farming operations and to maintain Kapalua Farms as a community resource, employer, and provider.  Ulupono is an exemplary organization committed to preserving our agricultural land, and we look forward to working together.”

I am especially pleased to be working with the Ulupono Initiative and WeFarm@Kapalua because I watched Jeff Alvord put this initiative together over the last several years. Jeff would call when he was in town and we would talk about the larger picture of a sustainable Hawai‘i. I knew from early on that the Omidyar Group had the best interest of Hawai‘i at heart. I’m very happy to be closely involved with this new organic farming initiative.

Later, when I made my way to the Maui airport, I ran into Stevie Whalen, the President of the Hawai‘i Ag Research Center, which is the modern-day iteration of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association’s research arm.

Founded in 1895, the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA), dedicated to improving the sugar industry in
Hawaii
, has become an internationally recognized research center. Its name change in 1996 to Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC) reflects its expanding scope to encompass research in forestrycoffee, forage, vegetable crops, tropical fruits, and many other diversified crops in addition to sugarcane. HARC is a private, non-profit 501c5 organization.

HARC specializes in horticultural crop research including agronomy and plant nutrition, plant physiology, breeding, genetic engineering and tissue culture, and control of diseases and pests through integrated pest management. HARC also performs pesticide registration work; training in areas such as pesticide application and environmental compliance; ground water monitoring; and technical
literature searches.

Stevie was on Maui to help provide research info about new biocrop possibilities that could possibly be the base feedstock that would provide the U.S. Navy the kind of second and third generation fuel that it could use to fly its jet planes and run its ships. Liquid transportation fuel is very important for us living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It will take a huge research effort to develop high-yielding bio feedstock. It will not just happen miraculously, out of the blue. I have the utmost confidence in Stevie and her HARC crew, as well as Andy Hashimoto and the CTAHR crew.

Stevie told me that it’s becoming evident that biofuel production will need to use the added value of co-products to make it an economically viable form of energy. There is no doubt that we want to develop a biofuel that will eventually be cost-competitive with fossil fuels. I am very aware that much more work needs to be done.

Then, on the plane back to Hilo, I ended up sitting next to Arnold Hara, extension entomologist for UH Manoa. He was on Maui as part of a project to intensively inspect imported produce coming from the mainland and foreign countries. He was very concerned about the amount of invasive species insects that are being found on imported organic produce. He called imported organic produce “dirty.” He meant that there are lots of hitchhikers on organic produce. It is very worrisome.

I’ll call him tomorrow and ask what varieties of organic produce we should grow to replace imported organic produce. I’m very happy to be associated with WeFarm@Kapalua, where we can help to protect Hawai‘i from invasive species.

Check Out Honolulu’s Civil Beat

Do you know about Pierre Omidyar’s new online news organization out of Honolulu? It’s called Civil Beat, and it just went online this week.

It’s a whole different approach to news, and it’s really interesting. From Editor John Temple’s introductory remarks:

A New Approach to Journalism

By John Temple

 (photo: Randy Ching & Mark Quezada/Civil Beat)

Welcome to Civil Beat. We’re glad you decided to join us.

I’d like to tell you about the journalism you can expect to find here
from
our team of reporter-hosts. It’s different. And I’m excited to
begin talking with you about it before we start
publishing articles on May 4
.

We start this news service with the belief that we’re here to serve
you. That means our daily work is to ask the important questions
citizens might have in the face of the complex issues facing our
community. And to answer them in a way that helps members reach an
informed opinion, based on our reporting and the discussion that will
take place as we together create the new civic
square
.

You’ll find that our initial coverage is centered around five
fundamental beats: Hawaii, Honolulu, Education, Land and Money. For each
of these coverage areas, we have identified critical issues – and now
that you’re here we hope you’ll help us sharpen our focus.

How will we do this to best serve you? First, you’ll be part of the
process. You might have noticed that we’ve opened the doors to this new civic square without putting up any news articles. That’s different – a news service without news, at least initially. It’s intentional. We want to begin by talking with you about what we’re doing, to hear what you want from us and what you think we should be asking. We believe
conversation and civil debate with our reporter-hosts and with other
members is central to what will make Civil Beat valuable. And we want
you to see that the core of our service isn’t the article itself. Of
course, incisive news reporting soon will be an important part of what
we offer. But at the heart of our service are pages dedicated to
providing you context and understanding about the issues you need to
know about. These “topic pages” are living pages. They’ll grow over
time, with your help. We know you’re busy and that our job is to help
make it easy for you to learn about and truly understand what’s going
on, and what you might be able to do about it. With our approach, you
should be able to find the background you need when you want it, without having to surf thousands of pages of documents or make numerous phone calls to unearth what should be readily available to you. (Read more)

I love that they are thinking differently, and providing “topic pages” that lay out background and context about the issues they then report about, and that there will be conversation.

How will they make money? It’s by membership. Anyone can roam around the site, but to delve more deeply into the content you’ll need to be a member. Right now they are offering a discount on the first month’s membership. Normally it’s $19.99/month, but if you sign up now you get the first month for $4.99. I’m going to join.