Puna vs Hamakua (Mountain View, Pahoa, Eden Roc: transfer, subdivision, live)

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

The Volcano Golf Course Sub-division didn't seem to have County water. We were just there yesterday and I was surprised at how many people were putting their catchment tanks in their front yards.

People who have water hauled need to have their tank where the tanker truck can easily get to it. 4,000 gallons delivered from Kea'au runs about $225 - 250, something like that. For some of the folks who live in that subdivision it's a trivial expense.

Also, putting the water tank in front, near the road, makes it more accessible to fire trucks. I know the retired former fire chief from Hilo lives over there... maybe he talked them all into doing that.

[terracore]

There were some half hearted efforts to force people to put their tanks in the front where the FD could access them from the road, I don't recall if it was a county effort or something to do with neighborhood association(s). In Kona, the opposite is true, where some of the associations forbid having catchment tanks visible from the roads. I can picture them sipping their martinis poolside and talking about the uncivilized folks who live with those "unsightly" catchment tanks and then laughing about how the "other half" live.

[ArchiDog]

We've lived up the Hilo Coast (Hamakua direction) for nearly 25 years. Traffic is nothing like Puna. The soil is good and bad. Be prepared to maintain your place. It rains a LOT more this way, especially mauka.

The real drawback is the price of gas. I commute by cycling in many days a week so that helps.

We grow and eat a lot of our food. We know all of our neighbors and get along but can't see any one from our house.

Country liven'.

EN

[hotzcatz]

I keep thinking we need rental herds of sheep to graze the grass. Save a lot of yard maintenance if a group of critters could come in and trim it and speed compost it on the spot.

Does your place have a catchment tank, ArchiDog? With more rain, maybe they can be smaller and less visible.

A lot of the areas on the Hamakua coast have County water, don't they? Not all, of course, but I think a lot if not most of the previous sugar camps have piped in water. Save the bother of keeping a water tank around.

Someone was telling me that if the County reservoirs go dry, they take water from the ditch, add chlorine and send it along as drinking water. I don't know if that is true or not, though.

Oh, and then there's that water tank along the highway that someone painted a big green face on. Maybe it's supposed to be the Green Man? It's a water tank for cattle, I think.

[andypandy14]

Originally Posted by Mattks

Thanka hotzcatz, would you say Puna gets "better" the closer you are to Volcano rather then say Pahoa or are both towns very similar? My uncle just bought some land between Pahoa and Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park I think. He loves it, but I feel it may be too hippy for me. Nothing against hippies personally, just not my lifestyle. I have a business partner who lives near Honokaa on the old highway, can't remember the name. But it's an absolutely beautiful area and the weather seems about as perfect as possible imo. That's where I was really looking at until I started comparing land prices.

completely different from the Puna I experienced two visits and a land purchase later. Last visit was about August 2014.

[andypandy14]

Originally Posted by Mattks

Thanks, that's good information to have. From what I have gathered hamakua is probably better for us, if it ends up being too expensive we will stay closer to Volcano.

This is a different Puna from what I experienced in my four visits, most recent was August 2014. We purchased after meeting our neighbors and connecting with community. We're off of Ala Kapena not far from Hi-11

[KaraBenNemsi]

Mattks, you said

"My wife and I are tea drinkers and have always thought it would be interesting to grow tea"

If this would be for your own personal usage you can do this in many different places on the Big Isle.

If you want to do this professionally, be forewarned: The existing Hawaiian tea farms have a hard time to compete with impostors who ship in foreign tea and just print Hawaiian names and phrases on the packages. Then selling it at premium prices in stores to unsuspecting tourists. Same problem Hawaiian coffee, orchids, macnut farmers and beekeepers encounter since decades. Laws against this are suffocated by lobbyists immediately. And the few existing ones are not enforced by the HI Dept of Agriculture.

Every year new farmers start their ventures, invest in equipment, land and labor only to realize the impossibility to make a profit or to even amortize their machinery because of the lack of protection for Hawaiian geographical origins. Not that I would discourage you from trying, but you have to be smart, careful, patient and belligerent when it comes to make your farming business feasible.

The other issue is that if GMO tea will be developed and field tested it will be most likely done by US companies in Hawaii (climate, isolation, US territory). If you have no problem with that, I rest my case. If you want to build a market to associate a superb, healthy agricultural product with an idealized, natural origin you could see your business destroyed with any GMO-tea & Hawaii association. That's what the islands coffee & kalo farmers realized and the county forbid the cultivation of GMO coffee and kalo/taro here.

You can read more about Hawaiian tea and the local tea growers issues here: Hawaii Tea Society

[Mattks]

Thanks for the reply Kara, we enjoy tea ourselves, but we also sell tea, by drink and packaged, at our restaurant. We have tried selling online, but that was unseccessful and I doubt we would try again. So it would mostly be for our own enjoyment, but we would sell it at our restaurant as well if it's any good... I wouldn't spend much on equipment or developing anything as it becoming a business is not the goal.

[Haunani M]

I happened to come across the thread on this discussion, and thought I'd add my opinion and experience. I'm native Hawaiian, born & raised in Hamakua, & I've also lived in Puna. The biggest reason for the price different is basically related to two things: 1. where it's located on a rating scale for risk of damage due to volcanic eruptions, and 2. fertility & infrastructure of the land. Now, keep in mind that the entire state is made up of a moving volcanic hot spot, and that the Big Island (Hawai'i island) is comprised of 5 volcanic mountains: the Kohala mountains (the only volcano which is least likely to erupt, where Hamakua is located), Mauna Kea (long dormant, also makes up part of Hamakua), Mauna Loa, Hualalai and Kilauea. The last three volcanoes make up the rest of the island, and where most of the volcanic activity occurs. Of course, Kilauea has remained active for over thirty years; Mauna Loa also erupted simultaneously with Kilauea at the beginning of this most recent phase. Hualalai last erupted in the 1800s, so that's not long ago, geologically speaking.

I would also like to briefly mention natural disasters and other geographic challenges. Hawai'i is subject to earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. It's one of the most geographically isolated places in the world. It can be affected by war (martial law) or threat of war (remember 9/11, when air traffic was halted?), labor strikes (air and shipping), and outbreak of disease. This is NOT a comprehensive list of the challenges faced by living in Hawai'i. There is also the cost of living, employment issues, and rich cultural diversity. Hawai'i is not all about sipping on mai tais under coconut trees while natives serenade you from the beach, with hula dancers in grass skirts. Most locals must work 2-3 jobs to survive, and face the same social ills sweeping other parts of the country.

The one thing that is necessary to survive in Hawai'i, which is critically important if you wish to make Hawai'i your home, no matter where you buy, is the ability to be open to the vast social and cultural adjustment necessary to thrive, and to incorporate it into your lives. Hawai'i has a rich cultural heritage comprised of native Hawaiians (still thriving) and other Polynesian cultures, Asians (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino), Micronesians, Hispanics, and Caucasians (Russians, Portuguese, Scandinavian, English, Irish, Scottish, etc). There is a variety of foods, and unique blends and types found only in Hawaii (ex: malasadas, cracked seed, cocoa puffs pastries, real Hawaiian food, plate lunch, musubi, patele, oh the list goes on!), and the music is amazing! Keep in mind, this is where Israel Kamakawiwoole came from, and Gabby Pahinui, Kealii Reichel, Genoa Keawe, and the Brothers Cazimero, to name a few greats. And of course, hula, as in the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. This is just a short list of the richness of Hawai'i life.

A more important requirement is the ability to develop relationships. As I mentioned earlier, there is a great diversity of cultures here. That also includes a rich diversity of socio-economic level, religious beliefs, ethnicities and nationalities. There is no separation according to these criteria; it's more than likely that you'll have neighbors who are Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Rastafarians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews. They'll be of mixed ethnicities, and of different socio-economic levels. Most are locals, who supplement their incomes by fishing, farming and hunting. Sometimes, you might find a trail through you're land; that's not from people, it's from the wild pigs that roam the forests of the Big Island. And, don't be surprised by hunters and hunting dogs; it's a hunting culture, not for sport, but to feed their families. A respect for our differences is necessary to thrive. If you feel like this environment is a cacophony beyond your level of comfort, it's not the place for you.

And do you know what happens when the islands are hit with a natural disaster, or feel the consequences of a political or economic clash? The whole community pulls together. Although I was fortunate not to have suffered any long-term consequences from Iselle when it hit Puna, I was one of thousands of people who, independently and totally unaffiliated with any agency, packed up ropes and electric saws and food and ice and water and blankets and headed to Puna to kokua (aid) people that we had absolutely no personal connection to, other than being citizens of this beautiful place, with absolutely no motive other than to dig them out, feed them, give them batteries and propane and carry messages to the outside world that they were okay. It took days, even weeks, for Puna to get out of the mess it was in, but people would have died without the intervention and support that everyone provided, from food and ice delivery, to coordinating emergency medical care, totally voluntary. I was living on the slopes of Mauna Kea (in Pa'auilo) when an 6.6 earthquake hit the Big Island. There were several areas isolated by landslides, downed telephone lines and collapsed bridges, including me. Our little community of 12 houses got together our food, water, fuel and lights, and stuck together until the outside world could get to us. The chances of this happening frequently is very high. The relationships we develop with each other is critical to living in Hawai'i. Without it, you will fail. Not because of racism, but because a weak link in a chain is detrimental to the whole structure.

So, in the spirit of aloha and true affection of this paradise I call home, I hope this is helpful. Locals love diversity, enjoy new cultures, and love to welcome those with open hearts and minds. If your game, this is the place for you.

[hotzcatz]

E como mai! Great post, Haunani!