Gathering touts cultural, environmental awareness

Green is not only Holly Algood’s favorite color, it’s her way of life. She and her business and life partner, Eila Algood, live off the grid in rural Hawi on Hawaii island, creating their own energy with wind and solar. Many of the furnishings in their house are recycled purchases from thrift stores, lawn sales, Craigslist, eBay and the ReStore in Honolulu, which sells gently used home improvement products at discount prices.

The women drive hybrid Priuses; recycle paper, glass and plastic; and buy energy-efficient fixtures and appliances. They’re growing produce and herbs in organic gardens and an aquaponics system, and use their food scraps in worm compost and as feed for their chickens.

"We’re also converting 10 of our 34 acres from cattle pasture to a food and hardwood forest by planting 2,500 trees, including banana, fig, coconut, olive, kou, kamani and milo," Holly Algood said.

She is also Hawaii distributor for American Clay, which manufactures green building products, and is chairwoman of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce’s SustAINAbility Committee, which promotes environmentally responsible business practices. She and Vivian Landrum, the chamber’s president and CEO, are spearheading the Earth & Ocean Festival, now in its ninth year.

The chamber’s mission is akin to that of similar organizations nationwide: to provide leadership and advocacy for businesses. Recognizing that Hawaii is a special place, however, it is also guided by its vision statement: "The result of our work is a community of choice as reflected in our quality of life, business and individual opportunity, and manifest respect for our culture and our natural resources."

"I don’t think there are many other chambers of commerce that champion that philosophy," Landrum said. "We believe that a strong local economy includes respect for our Hawaiian culture and awareness of environmental issues and conservation practices. It’s a balancing act when we’re also promoting a successful business climate, but we’re confident there’s a place for both."

Chamber members planned and presented the Earth Day Fair in 2005 to educate attendees about climate change, land conservation, renewable energy sources and other environmental concerns. Partnered with the University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant Coral Reef Awareness Program, they expanded the scope the following year to include ocean stewardship and renamed the event the Earth & Ocean Festival.

The festival has been held annually except for last year when the closure of its longtime venue, the Keau­hou Beach Resort, necessitated a search for a replacement site. Its new seaside location at the Old Kona Airport Park provides ample space for entertainment and hands-on learning stations; film, slide and "talk story" presentations; and demonstrations of traditional Hawaiian cultural practices such as poi pounding, lei making, bamboo stamp printing, and lau hala and coconut weaving.

There will also be a composting workshop, educational tours, compass-reading lessons and more than 60 information booths sponsored by schools, businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Many booths will offer interactive activities; for example, Recycle Hawaii volunteers will show attendees how to make toy animals with newspaper, bottle caps and twist-ties.

"Families can share a wonderful day together at the Earth & Ocean Festival and take home ideas on how they can incorporate sustainable practices into their daily lives," Landrum said. "Kids will often remind their parents of the lessons learned long after the event is over. And we know that our keiki are the keys to our sustainable future."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.