Maui Wowie!

It’s a quiet morning in Kipahulu. The tropical rainbursts come and go; looks like it will be a sunny day soon. Sitting in the hammock chair on the deck of our Bali House, feeling gratitude for the palm trees waving in the breeze, the clouds drifting by, and the many gifts I am receiving here and now.

Campfire in a lava tube at Venus Pools;

awesome day with DanceHer, Jasmine,

the Easleys and rock star Donny Pike

from The Lettermen

We are gently moving through the last weeks of our six-month journey around the earth. This last month on Maui is technically back in the United States, yet does not feel like or resemble the mainland much. Our dear friend Glenn is joining us this month and we were also blessed with the company of his wife and son, our beloveds Jenny and Hart. We are near the end of three wonderful weeks at Whispering Winds Bamboo farm in Kipahulu.

We are here as guests of our dear friend Niayh who so sweetly embodies his name, Now Is All You Have. Whispering Winds has 20 acres of bamboo farm that exists to support both the 5 permanent residents and the 160 acres that is an inspiring forest restoration project. Much of the unique native trees of Maui have been replaced by invasive non-native species such as guava. Here at Whispering Winds, the crew of seven apprentices and the permanent residents do strong work to restore the healthier native forest. Our primary work here as volunteer guests is with this project. The guava and other invasive trees and shrubs are cleared from slopes followed by the digging of many holes for planting. Yesterday, we enjoyed the climactic step of putting compost in the holes, planting trees, watering, scattering IMO (Indigenous MicroOrganisms) on the area around the sapling and covering it all with woodchip mulch. We are camped out in three tents and have a beautiful small house (Bali House) to hang out in and cook in. Up the hill is the Farmhouse where several apprentices live and where we often hang out and play Farkel (a rousing dice game). We have learned from and enjoyed so much from the permanent residents here, Rich and Virginia, Seth and Synda, and Ryan, along with the apprentices who are a very colorful and fun group.

Kipahulu is a peaceful, spectacularly beautiful, small and remote area of Maui. There are perhaps 300 residents in Kipahulu and a number of small farms and retreat centers. One place we love is Laulima Farm, which is a picture perfect, impeccable, permaculture-informed, organic farm with breathtaking ocean views from the gentle slope of Haleakalah volcano. Our friend Josh has created inspired treehouses there, designed to be eaten by the banyan trees with which they co-exist and evolve. Laulima has about 10 apprentices who spend a year working and learning on the farm.

A big favorite is Jean Angelheart’s place, Lokahi, where every week there are two awesome gatherings for the community. Wednesdays we go to Pizza Night where about thirty people bring and share toppings, create their own pizza, which is then baked in a righteous brick pizza oven. Every time we enjoy and learn from the free-thinking and free-living people hanging out and making music in the kitchen and outside under the pizza oven shelter. On Sunday nights at Café Attitude, we are blown away by the talent and spirit flowing from the open mic stage and from our host Jean. Lokahi has perhaps eight people who live, learn and work there.

The beautiful Red Sand Beach in Hana with Niayh and the Easleys

Kipahulu also has incomparable beaches with lava rock tidepools and cliffs to jump off of such as Venus Pools, Red Sand Beach in Hana and Black Sand Beach (Wai'anapanapa). Kipahulu is definitely somewhere we could spend part of our year happily, although there are too few teens here…

We are quickly approaching our re-entry to Home on April Fools Day (the meaning of that has yet to be revealed!).

How different will our life be? One big change: I won’t be returning to my old job at Country Doctor. I’m so looking forward to the freedom to pick and choose when I work!

How have we changed? For Isaac and Avi, I believe that their perceptual frame has grown; their paradigm of how our culture and world operate has shifted. I joked that Isaac should wear some foreign clothing when he shows up back at McMurray Middle School so they can tell he just returned from a big journey; he commented “they will see it in my eyes.” May it be so!