Waipa Foundation
In ancient Hawaii ahupua’a were sustainable communities of land, water, and people. Waipa, on the North Shore of Kauai, sustained a significant community of Hawaiians who grew kalo and other crops. Several ‘auwai systems (water irrigation) were used for kalo growing in the Waipa valley through the 1860′s. Rice was then grown and milled between the 1860′s and 1940′s, followed by ranching through the 1980′s.
The Waipa Foundation is restoring these 1,600 acres as a learning and community center for the preservation, perpetuation, and practice of Hawaiian culture. It is a place where Hawaiians can renew ties to the ‘aina (land), and to restore the health of natural resources and native ecosystems of the ahupua’a. The land is rich with resources, including 1,400 acres of lowland conservation forest, 120 acres of agricultural land, 22 acres of coastal land along Hanalei bay, and its own perennial stream.
The non-profit foundation envisioned a valley in which streams would always flow uninterrupted from the mountains to the ocean, allowing migrating native fish to flourish. They dreamed of ‘ohana returning to farm native crops, gather medicinal plants, and support their families from the land. They imagined children learning their culture, and ‘olelo Hawai’i (Hawaiian language) would be spoken throughout the valley.
The Waipa Foundation welcomes lifelong learners to participate in various cultural and ‘aina based programs and projects, and to share what they do, and how they do it. They also provide various programs for keiki on farming, cultural practice, vegetables, and poi. They feed families from all over Kaua’i, and welcome customers and vendors to a weekly farmers market. They are managing and restoring native forests, a fishpond, wetland, native plant communities, kalo farming areas, and a stream. Waipa is an example of the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture, lifestyle, economy, and ‘ohana by just doing it.
Paepae o Heeia
Paepae o He’eia is a fishpond on the Island of Oahu that was constructed over 600 years ago by the residents of the He’eia ahupua’a. It is a loko kuapā (walled fishpond) and is unique because the 1.3 mile wall completely encircles the pond. The 88 acre pond is fed by He’eia Stream and Kāne’ohe Bay with a depth of two to five feet and six sluice gates (mākāhā) that control the flow of both fresh and salt water into the pond. These mākāhā are divided equally between the mauka (mountain-side) and makai (seaward) sides of the wall, to bring in salt and fresh water to a brackish environment, ideal for the cultivation of fish.
Fishponds were originally created by ali’i (chiefs) as stocking ponds to raise fish and provide for easy access to fish during the winter months when deep sea fishing was dangerous. Kua (from kuapā) means backbone or support, and is fitting since this 1.3 mile wall also ranges in width from 10 to 14 feet. It was constructed using pōhaku (basalt rock) and ko`a (coral) obtained from adjacent reefs. This unique natural resource provides fish, including pualu, moi, ‘awa, kaku, papio, ‘ama’ama, and crabs like sāmoan, mo’ala, kuhonu, ala’eke, ‘alamihi, and limu (seaweed) gracilaria salicornia, acantophera spicifera.
The friends of Paepae o He’eia are dedicated to the return of sustainability using this ancient fishpond which was considered an engineering feat in its day. If you would like to be a part of preserving this fishpond, they are always looking for volunteers to help in their restoration efforts – from scholarship recipients working off service hours to researchers to employee staff development participants. The best way to educate students about the fishpond is to involve them in the process of bringing it back to life through activities like rebuilding the wall, removing invasive limu, predator fish, and mangroves, aquaculture activities, native plant propagation, lo‘i (taro terrace) restoration, and stream restoration.
Hawaii Organic Beer
Hawaii’s first and only certified organic beer makes its debut. Kona Brewing Company’s Oceanic Organic Saison will begin appearing in 22-ounce bottles. The organic beer is a Belgian style ale that was brewed with all organic malt, fermented with a custom blend of Belgian yeast strains and spiced with an abundance of organic hops, organic coriander and grains of paradise. The straw-colored unfiltered beer has a crisp, dry, quenching flavor and distinctive spicy aroma balanced by a rustic hop flavor. The Hawaiian fish hook (makau) on the label symbolizes power, prosperity and good fortune.
Kona Brewing Company received certification to brew the organic beer from Hawaii Organic Farmers Association. Organic beer ingredients can be challenging to find and get to Hawaii, not to mention much more expensive. Brewing this organic beer is roughly six times more expensive than most of Kona Brewing Company’s more conventional beers, which are already approximately 50 percent more expensive to brew in Hawaii. Nonetheless, it has become one of their most popular pub beers. “Beyond the taste, our fans really love the fact that it’s organic!”
Kona Brewing Company was started in the spring of 1994 by a father and son team that had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion, and quality. It is a Hawaii-born and Hawaii-based craft brewery that prides itself on brewing the freshest beer of exceptional quality, closest to market. This helps to minimize its carbon footprint by reducing shipping of raw materials, finished beer, and wasteful packaging materials. The company is headquartered where it began, in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island.
BizAid Tweetup WinWin
The BizAid Tweetup is a win-win event. If you are a small business owner you can tweet to win thousands of dollars worth of products and services to grow your business. Or, if you have a product or service to help small businesses you can become a sponsor. BizAid Tweetup is a global Twitter-based event to provide participating small business owners a stimulus of free resources and awareness of quality services that will help them grow. The event lasts thirty days from October 1st to October 30th. Small business owners should go here to enter BizAid Tweetup.
Sponsorship of BizAid is perfect for most small business vendors. These would include accounting, hosting, design, marketing, business education, training, advertising, eCommerce, software, banking, programming, virtual assistant services, etc. By sponsoring BizAid, you will get massive exposure to a targeted audience of small business owners. There are three levels: Automatic, Premium, and Grand Prize. The Automatic prize goes to everyone who enters with a minimum value of $20. Every day during the event there will be two Premium prize drawings with a minimum value of $300.
At the end of the event there will be one Grand Prize with a minimum value of $3,000. Sponsorships will be featured prominately on the event landing page. Follow this link to Sponsor BizAid Tweetup.
Business Success and The Go-Giver
The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for business success. Joe is a go-getter that finds new relevance to the old proverb “give and you shall receive.” In a world where it seems businesses are increasingly out to get your dollars and not your loyalty, it’s refreshing to find a business development book that teaches just the opposite. Joe is introduced to several Go Givers who share with him the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success. At the root of this methodology is the concept of giving, and experiencing the rewards that result. Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving, and continually adding value to customers lives leads to unexpected returns. The Go-Giver is an exceptional masterpiece that conveys to business owners and entrepreneurs the importance of serving the customer.
The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
- The Law of Value – Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
- The Law of Compensation – Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
- The Law of Influence – Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
- The Law of Authenticity – The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
- The Law of Receptivity – The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
Hawaii Libraries
‘Keep The Doors Open!’ is an ambitious, state-wide campaign launched by The Hawaii State Public Library System and the Friends of the Library of Hawaii to keep the doors of all of Hawaii’s public libraries open. The library budget has been cut so severely that every library has had to cut back its staff and its services. “We are asking every resident of Hawai‘i to donate at least $3 to help us meet this additional budget reduction of $3 million.”
“We know that each community values its library as an important resource, and the Friends of the Library of Hawaii wants to ensure that no community loses its library,” said Susan Li, president of the Friends of the Library of Hawaii. “We believe that communities will do whatever is necessary to keep their libraries open, and so we are turning to all of you throughout the state to be part of this fundraising effort.”
There are several ways to donate:
1. Send cash or a check payable to FLH to Friends of the Library of Hawaii with “Keep the Doors Open!” in the memo line. Address: 690 Pohukaina St., Honolulu, HI 96813
2. Visit the Friends Web site and make a donation on line using your credit card.
3. Call the Friends office at 536-4174 and use your credit card over the phone.
4. Visit any branch of Bank of Hawaii and tell them you’d like to make a donation to the Keep the Doors Open!
Visit Friends of the Library of Hawaii
