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8 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | MAY/JUNE 2011
A
A Community Collective
loha, dear readers, Images of a great Japan earthquake and tsunami persist in our minds as we go about our daily lives here in paradise, interrupted only by an occasional tsunami-siren, a Gabrielian clarion call, whether it be a test or the real thing. As unthinkable as the massive destruction in Japan is to us, we were handed a sample in an early-morning wake-up call on the Kona Coast. It’s really not so unthinkable. The aftermath continues, not just in clean-up efforts, but in our growing knowing that there is a need for community collectivism and preparedness beyond the government’s efforts. We suggest you read Cynthia Sweeney’s story in this issue, highlighting the North Kohala philosopher-social architect Jim Channon’s get-to-knowyour-neighbor plan. Look at the photos on this page that illustrate how the kama‘aina around Kealakekua Bay came together in short order to help clean up that precious bay and their own neighborhood. How might you work with your own neighbors? We have a new feature, “Treasures Grown from our Island Home.” It spotlights locally-sourced products, the people who make them and where to buy them. The farmers markets on Hawai‘i Island just get better all the time. Sometimes they display an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable, and you wonder, “Now just what would I do with that?” In the first of a new feature, Devany Vickery-Davidson tells you about the Surinam cherry. Our beloved kupuna continue to be a rich source of story material and wisdom. We’re sorry when they leave us before we have a chance to feature them. Such was the case with Herb Kane, whose legacy remains—a gift to the island we can still enjoy. His was a life well-lived. Marie McDonald is a living treasure featured on our pages this issue. Savor her exquisite kapa work. Island people are passionate about living in synch with the land and its resources. New ways of constructing homes continue to attract our attention. There are two in this issue—a striking “eco-house” profiled by Catherine Tarleton and the humble yurt, which offers many advantages, reviewed by Noel Morata. Let us know about innovative home construction and detail of which you might be aware. The archive of stories we are accumulating will soon have a home on our revamped website, which also features a “flip-book” of the current issue. We’re going to go back to the beginning and put all stories online so you can access them now and in the future. Readers can add comments at the end, too, and send links to friends. It’s part of our kuleana to share our stories with a broader audience and for a longer time. Did you know that you can also buy back issues? Go to our online store, and buy a subscription, too. We have also added an online reader survey and we encourage each of you to submit some information about yourself so we can get to know you and your interests better. Let us know what you would like to see in the pages of Ke Ola! Go to: www.keolamagazine.com/survey-questions. Enjoy this issue, and we’ll see you online!
Karen Valentine and Barbara Garcia
Volcano photo by Lance Miller, jlphotographydesign.com
✿ Dear Editor, I thought this image would look good in Ke Ola. It was taken on one of my 71 trips to the Big Island to shoot my photography. Here’s a small story behind the picture. I had hiked all night long at Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island looking for a good photo opp. I found lots of small ground flows but nothing unique. As dawn broke I came across what at first was a small trickle of lava coming over this 15-foot cliff face. I was standing watching this event with two other photographers: David Jordan and Steve Young. What happened next blew our minds. ( This is a true story. ) We all looked at each other and at the same time said to one another, “Gee I wish a rainbow would come out and more lava would flow.” Well, within two minutes of our request, Pele treated us to this show of her beauty! We had 15 minutes of insane photography none of us will ever forget. – Lance Miller, Santa Cruz, CA
Kealakekua Bay community post-tsunami clean-up Photos courtesy of Liza Brown
Send us your comments, letters and photos! We take email, snail mail, submissions through our website or posts on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter! Editor@keolamagazine.com
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