Blog

The Hawaiian Church of Hawaiʻi Nei is putting on more workshops to help with the care of Iwi Kupuna. My cousin had sent me info for when they were doing workshops in Hilo back in September 2021. I wasn't able to go. Instead, I sent him one which he took to Maui. I probably won't be able to attend this one coming up at Huliheʻe Palace in March either, but will try to make at least one hīnaʻi lauhala for donation. While one won't be able to keep the finished product(s), this is still a great opportunity to learn the skills and enjoy...

Wow. January blew by!  I try to post something once a month but just realized it's already February!  So... Happy New Year and Kung Hei Fat Choi Happy Year of the Water Tiger 2022. Hope you and yours had a peaceful and pleasant holiday season. I haven't made any resolutions as mine tend to be forgotten by March. It's sometimes difficult deciding whether I should pull weeds or clean/process lauhala. The weather often decides for me. Although winter is our dry season, we thankfully still get occasional rain. Just not every day like in the summer. Wet soil after a good rain...

I stopped by Kimura's Lauhala Shop the other day to pick up our coffee. Yes, I buy our coffee from a lauhala store. We drink 100% Kona Coffee. It may be considered premium coffee, but it tastes great "black" and we love supporting local agriculture. Also, the natural caffeine levels in fresher coffee makes it more cost effective and convenient, IMHO, as one doesn't have to drink as much to get the same wake up kick in the morning. Kimura's prices are very reasonable. The coffee doesn't travel far from farm to roaster to their store. I digress... Stopped by for...

Māʻona Community Garden does a community imu three times a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Reservations for turkey spaces are made online. One drops off their turkey in a covered roasting pan the afternoon before the holiday; Māʻona handles all the imu prep and loading and unloading; then the kālua turkeys are ready for pick up the next morning. All they ask for is a donation. I had seen flyers and announcements in the past but never considered it until talking to Chantal while at the garden this year. One of the things we talked about was the amount of single...

Today I went to Māʻona Community Garden after about a month hiatus. I was delayed by road resurfacing and loading perforated cardboard so instead of the usual two hours, today I had 45 minutes to work on the puhala.  In the following pictures one can see the "before" and "45 minutes after" of the puhala I worked on today.  I will chip away at it until it's cleaned and has good ventilation around it. The blue arrow points to barely visible hala leaves. The next picture is 45 minutes later in the same area. As I was leaving, I heard a...