Sting of the vana

Sitting atop the magnificence of the vast pacific ocean, waves gently lapping under the nose of my Aunt's standup paddle board, it's rare that I've felt so immersed in the abundance of the universe. Letting the cacophony of sensations flow through... no attachment, no aversion - simple presence.

Suddenly my awareness shifted as I realized that the gentle lapping of waves had ratcheted up several notches in volume and intensity. Lifting my head and looking around I found I had drifted close to shore where the surf was crashing against the jagged black lava rocks only a few feet ahead. Attaching to my board I now needed my skills in aversion to steer clear of a rather painful incident. So much for my meditation!

As I climbed over the sunken lava rock, waves pushing and pulling on my already tired legs, my heel came down on something sharp that sent a warm toxic pain through my calf muscle.

"That can't be good" I though as I quickly scooted forward to avoid further damage. Vana, I later found out, is the Hawaiian name given to spiky little sea urchins that like to hide in the dark crevices of lava rock.

By the time I had freed myself from the bully arms of the ocean and pulled my board up onto the sandy shore a nickel sized lumpy black spot had formed on the very hot and tender back of my heel.

"Hmm... I guess this means I should take a break," I thought as I hobbled back over to my towel. I was a little worried that, whatever I had stepped on, I might be in for more pain as the toxin made it's way into my blood stream. My aunt hadn't told me any stories of people dying out here from stepping on mysterious hot spiky things... but she also didn't mention that I might encounter such a hazard.

I figured, if it was a life or death matter, I would have been cautioned. I was already concluding that it must have been a sea urchin (even though I really had no idea what that meant) and that it was probably not going cut my adventures short... although it could certainly put a thorn in my heel!

After about thirty minutes, I was confident that I was not going to go into anaphylactic shock and that I could probably get up and limp over to the resort beach house where my aunt was working. Already my concerns of dying alone on the beach were fading. The pain had not gotten any worse and, because it was only affecting the very back of my heel, I could get up and walk without aggravation.

No man is an island

Paradise does not come without a little pain. Personally, I know this. I worked hard to get here and, although it has been quite the vacation so far, my adventures are intended to provide growth and experience over a pleasurable paradise retreat.

The sting of the vana, for all it's warm discomfort, provides a healthy reminder that there is urgent work to be done. Nipping at my heels is the stark reality of how dire our cultural shortsightedness is to our long term survival on this planet.

The Big Island is a striking example of the devastation our myosis can create. When I reached the top of the hill I ran into a landscaper by the name of Mark.

"Your Aunt tells me you're into permaculture," he says glowingly.

"Well yea, it's what is taking me to Australia... I stopped here along the way to visit."

"You ever hear of 'Bill Mollison'?" He asked with a grin.

Before I could even get an answer past my lips he was regaling me with long winded stories of how he once met and worked with Bill in Portugal. His first exposure to permaculture, back in the mid-nineties when it was still "hokey hippy stuff", he says, changed the way he looked at his trade.

He talked to me about building grey water systems and flow-forms as well as something called "Sonic Bloom" where artificial bird sounds are used to induce flowering.

An interesting guy with genuine intentions, Mark's current work involves installing and maintaining landscaping for the uber-wealthy within the Hawaii resort community. He was happy to be making a decent income doing what he loved but he conceded to the challenges of esthetics over the practicality of natural methods. Creating systems of self-renewing fertility does not often fit the esthetic ideals of the super rich.

Mark was optimistic though. He shared with me his vision of reforesting the island, starting from the beach front resorts and moving mauka (Hawaiian for 'toward the mountain'). He then proceeded to tell me some of the history behind how the Big Island came to find itself in the situation it is in now.

The whole island aside from the most immediate lava flows was forested at one time, he explained. "...but the monarchy got greedy and sold all the trees off for guns and alcohol. Now it's all ranch land."

Ranch land indeed. Much of the leeward side of the island is dominated by cattle ranches. Parker Ranch, with nearly 225,000 acres, is the largest and oldest ranch on the island. In fact, Parker Ranch is one of the oldest and largest ranches in the United States!

Near the Volcano National Park, rangers are in the process of fencing out the cattle to restore the once diverse landscape. Needless to say, cattle are in no way endemic to this island. First brought here as a gift to King Kamehameha in the late 1700's, there are now somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 head of cattle roaming the 700 square miles of Parker Ranch alone. That is nearly one sixth of the island!

According to a Livestock Management report produced by the University of Hawaii in 2003, even if the islands were to double their production over the following 10 years since the report was written, it would still supply less then half the total state's beef consumption. To re-quote a statistic from an earlier blog, 80 - 85% of Hawaii's food is imported.

This presents a serious challenge for islanders. How can we feed the islands in a responsible and sustainable way? My only hope is that my trip to the small island of Molokai this weekend can help to shed some light on this very interesting subject.

Stay tuned to hear stories from my visit with Malia, president of Sust `aina ble Molokai:

Island life...

It's so stunningly beautiful here that I've forgotten several times today that it's my birthday. I can hardly believe this place exists!

It's not just the natural beauty, the cool ocean breeze, the enchanting chorus of so many songbirds, or even the fact that I can see several mangos ripening on the tree just a few yards in front of me. The real allure is in the eyes of so many beautiful people here. Even in the big city of Honolulu everyone seems to have a soft contentment in their eyes.

It could be so easy to loose myself and become spoiled and complacent in an environment like this. I've already discovered how easy it is to adapt to swimming in the ocean and exploring lush rainforest daily (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!). It might be considered fortunate (to some) that I'm too much a glutton for punishment and damaged eco-systems to stay here.

That is not to say the islands don't have their problems. Like any place, Oahu struggles with poverty, gentrification, poor public schooling, media consolidation, crime and a litany of other issues that the unsuspecting tourist may never catch wind of -- but the issue that most concerns me is that of food production.

As it turns out, the Hawaiian Islands, despite their ideal soils, year round growing seasons and ample rain fall, is currently importing 80 - 85% of all their food. This is astounding!

It seems even paradise has a long road ahead when it comes to food security. At current consumption, the islands only have enough food for ONE week should the supply chains from the mainland ever become disrupted.  This is very bad news.

The good news? Well, much like Cuba who recently weathered a rather extreme example of what an island community can do with they become cut off from the rest of the world, Hawaii stands a very strong chance of being able to transition back toward a more sustainable balance in consumption vs. production.

It's as much about the climate here as it is about the community. Many folks already understand the dire situation they've come to find themselves in and are working to change it. The private schools are even making it their first priority to help improve the standards in the local public schools.

I feel very confidant in the island peoples ability to begin to change their circumstances and recognize the amazing gifts that are these stunning islands. It wasn't long ago that the entire island chain was entirely self-sufficient. Using a system of land division and management known as Ahupua `a the people of Hawaii were able to produce everything needed.

These days, with an expansive population and disruption of many natural ecologies... it's going to take a lot more than Ahupua `a to feed the islands. On several islands, permaculture is starting to become more ubiquitous and shaping a new way that the islands can rediscover their self-sufficiency.

Next weekend I'll be hopping over to the Big Island to visit my Aunt Chris. I'm very excited as I credit her as my earliest influence in gardening. Growing up in Northern Idaho, I spent much of my childhood in her household snapping green beans, watering the garden, brushing and feeding the horses, throwing rotten chicken eggs... ahem, well that wasn't exactly her influence.

Aunt Chris always had a way of showing me how special the simple things in life were. I'm so excited to reconnect and share with her all the ways her quite and patient influence has guided me.




Until then... Aloha!

Plans beginning to take shape

Time is compressing down on this long awaited adventure. Only a matter of mere months now. It's challenging to even relate all the little details. So many moving pieces, so many beautiful new connections, so many inspiring new inspirations. With all that's happening, it's sometimes difficult to maintain focus on all the ducks that I'm trying to corral into neat little rows.

Over the course of the next three and a half months I'll be handing my role as Stocking Supervisor at Wheatsville Co-op over to a new set of hands. With any luck, this new person will be able to take the position (and the co-op) to places I've not even considered. Already the position is rapidly evolving into one that will be much more effective for my predecessor. I've taken a lot of pride in my work there and it's important for me to continue to see it progress and improve, even when I'm not at the helm. 

Even as I'm planning an effective exit strategy at Wheatsville, I'm working to insure Community Cultivators has a solid foundation and leadership to continue growing and making a difference. The variables involved in those two things alone are enough to take up all my energy and then some. Somehow, I've still managed to make time to enjoy my life. In fact, I think I enjoy it now more than ever!

I'm not sure how exactly I've found the time to maintain two blogs in the midst of all this, either. One thing I do know is that I've hardly seen my house in weeks!! It's mostly a place were I go to sleep at night and brush my teeth in the morning. why I'm spending so much money on something I could get at a free camp site I'll never know.

Once the next three and a half months are up, I'll have only a month and a half to get my stuff together before I embark on this crazy adventure. During that final month and a half there are several things that still need to happen. A trip to Douglas, Texas to visit my folks and store the few personal affects I'd like to retain is not least among them. A tour through Dallas and Houston will surely also be in the works for that short time.

On September 14th, two short days before my 31st birthday, I will board a plane to Honolulu, Hawaii. While there, I will spend much valuable time catching up with my cousin and aunt who I've not seen in several years. This is where I hope this blog will really start to take shape. The plan is to travel across the islands meeting new people and exploring the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. 

Oahu, Molokai, and the big island are all definite destinations for this leg of my journey. My aunt lives on the big island, in Kailua-Kona. I'm looking forward to checking out the lava fields and other sites I've been hearing about there. In Oahu, my cousin has a beautiful home (I've only seen in pictures) in Honolulu. The surf calls to me and, with any luck, you'll see a picture or two of me riding the waves and climbing the mountains of Oahu.

My adventures in Hawaii will conclude, most appropriately, with a trip to the island of Molokai where I hope to meet up with Malia Akutagawa who heads up the Sust`aina ble Molokai network. Recently, Sust`aina ble Molokai Partnered with Permaculture Research Institute USA to develop a Molokai Permaculture Education Initiative. Check out this video that came out as a result of their hard work:

It's a highly inspirational piece that I'm very excited to get the opportunity to visit first hand. I'll do my best to document the progress their work has made on the landscape and share that with you here. 

Of course, there are plenty of things I'd like to get to do while I'm in Hawaii, and I'm sure there will be plenty of adventures of the spontaneous variety, but my time will be limited and the things I've listed here are about the only things important enough to me to have scripted.

After almost 20 days of island fun I start the grueling 22 hour flight that will take me to Brisbane, Australia. From there, I travel 3 hours inland to start my internship on Zaytuna Farm with the esteemed Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. 

The internship is a 10 week intensive that traverses five weeks of course work interspersed between five weeks of hands-on application. After completion of the internship, the real fun begins... and this is where I begin to show what your generous donations can do. 

After the internship I will venture into unknown territory. Although I am trying to establish some idea of where I'll end up... I'm also hoping to leave this end of my trip somewhat open-ended. I'm sure opportunities will arise while I'm in Australia that are too appealing to pass up. The book is open and the pages yet to be written. Your generosity will help to carry me into unexplored lands. And, through this blog, you'll have the opportunity to see the powerful influence a small donation can have on the lives of people who have very little.

Imagine, you could provide generations worth of food security to a whole community abroad with very little effort of your own accord. In return, I'll show you techniques and methods to achieve the same thing in your own back yard!

Thanks to all those who have donated already. It's been very inspiring to witness the generosity of my family and friends!

My deepest appreciations,

Theron