My response to an unhappy mainlander

Q: I was thinking about you guys again, as my life becomes so unpleasant here, as I contemplate whether I could ever actually live a simple sustainable life, as you all do.

A: Firstly, I’m sorry you are unhappy with your life. I, too, spent over ten years feeling sad, scared, hopeless, and disconnected with my mainland life. At times I felt (and indeed feel) like I was standing helpless on the sidelines just waiting for my civilization to collapse.

Q: I have young children, and that is the biggest reason I question whether I could live your lifestyle.  My main concerns would be providing a good education, health care, and access to friends for them to play with.  I perceive your area as being quite remote, perhaps without access to these types of things.  How is it going for you in these areas with your kids?

A: In terms of your concerns regarding children, the availability of friends and school varies quite a bit by specific location. Despite being 2 miles down a bumpy dirt road, we happen to be next door to a charter school with about 30 kids K through 6. This area (Puna) feels like country, but the actual population density is much higher than many mainland rural areas. With a bit of practice, town is within a reasonable bike ride.

When you are considering your children as a barrier to changing your lifestyle, think about your role as a model for them. Do you want to teach them by example that living miserable and hopeless is what grown-ups do? They will imitate you. Ideally, you would model inspiration, in whatever form this takes. Perhaps, for example, you want your children to grow up surrounded by nature, and watching their parents joyously working out on the farm. If you think that your children’s needs are better met in your current environment, then it might make sense to stay where you are. Please examine this belief and discover who you are before you make a big decision. I live this way because I feel that it is a health giving wholesome lifestyle.

Q: Did the price of land ever come down over there?  You know there has been a big real estate decline the past year or two, but I have no feel for how Hawaiian land may have been impacted.

A: We live about 8 miles from Pahoa town. Many of the lots around here are 3-10 acres. I am not keeping up with local land prices, though I know they are coming back down. We bought our 22 acres in ’99 for 90k, and it would probably still sell for around 300k. I believe 3 acre parcels sell for 75k, but I the news of the lower prices travels slower than the news of higher prices. I am guessing there might be opportunities for finding ‘emergency sales’ of unoccupied investment properties in the coming months.

Q: If I ever wanted to purchase some acreage, over there, does it take a matter of years to plant and grow the right kind of trees to harvest mangoes and things like that for example?  In other words, might it be a good idea to buy some land early on, and maybe go over and plant some trees, and then plan on coming back and living there a few years (or many years) later when the trees have matured?  Or maybe even lease the land to someone who could help grow the trees?  I’m so far removed from that type of lifestyle, here in my typical suburban community that I really have no clue on these matters, which is why I ask.  It sounds like real jungle over there – like it must take a lot of work to avoid having the land overgrown with unwanted vegetation – is that right?

A: It is wise to plant the woody perennials as soon as possible, since many do take 5 or 10 years to mature. The unique soil and climate here is very conducive to a multi story agroforestry (tree crops). In this area, traditional farming with plants in rows and plowing is a waste of resources. We have been developing our land for almost ten years, and less than half of the trees are bearing fruit. Of course, we didn’t plant all the trees in the first year; It has taken us years to prep the land, acquire the planting material, and get the plantable little fellas into the ground. In some cases, we purchased seeds or cuttings, and spent years propagating them until we had hundreds, then planted out a large area. Some plants were put in the ground in ’99, matured, fruited, made seeds, and we decided we liked them enough to plant those seeds. It has ben an ongoing process of learning and farming, researching, asking questions, visiting other farms, until now we have over one thousand perennial plants (including trees, bamboos, bananas, palms) each of them bringing their own usefulness to the farm, in terms of food, fodder, medicine, building materials, windbreak, shade, and so on.

Many people manage their orchards by preparing the land with bulldozers, and then maintaining by mowing. We have done some of this, but we are trying to suppress weeds by planting various understory plants and groundcovers under the canopy trees. It is a reasonable proposition to develop and plant the land with your orchards, and then hire someone to keep the vegetation down. Many mainlanders come for 2 or 3 months at a time to do just that. In the tropics, the trees grow and mature much faster than temperate trees, but it still feels like a long wait. Many palms, bamboos, and food bearing trees at our farm are over 60 feet tall in only 9 years, but much of the land is still far from mature.

Q: I dream about living your lifestyle.  I certainly admire what you’re doing – you guys are inspirational and frankly good role models from what I can glean from your web site.

Every day when I toss a yogurt container or some plastic thing in the trash a half dozen times a day or drive my car 50 miles round trip to work, I realize that I am just as much a part of the problem as anyone else in terms of destroying our planet.  It’s such an awful socioeconomic system in terms of feeling like it’s impossible to extricate myself and family from this system – it’s like once you’re in it, there’s no escape.

How did you escape the system?  Did you just one day buy the property, go live on it, and that was it, or was the transition more gradual somehow?

A: After 9 years, I am harvesting about 90% of my food.  This includes hunting wild pig on and around the land. I eat pig almost every dinner. The rest of the day I eat mostly fruit. My monthly food bill is about $40(cheese, olive oil, salt). My wife and daughter harvest about 20-30% of their food,(mostly squash, greens, and some fruit) and buy the rest at the health food store.

After some experimentation and months of careful record keeping, my wife and I have discovered that we can be comfortable on $300 per month per person. This includes everything from land taxes, car insurance, and clothing etc. We could get by on $200 each if we got rid of the truck and focused more on our food budget. Over the past two years, we have almost entirely divested ourselves of money wealth, and invested in useful objects (tools, farm supplies, spare parts, household items, fruit trees) which could satisfy our basic needs. We have invested in our farm as a business which will support us, instead of investing in the businesses of other faceless people in the form of stocks, funds, and other sorts of money accounts.

It is possible to jump into this situation suddenly and begin living on the cheap ASAP. I actually began living on this land much more primitively at first, and “luxuries” such as pressurized water, telephone, and electricity came later. Living sustainably can mean many different things. A friend of mine spent a year living on the coast with nothing but a machete and his clothes, eating coconuts, seaweed and shellfish. I still drive at least once per month these days, and on the drive home, the truck is usually filled with some sort of modern day artifacts, like a mattress, plumbing fittings, printer cartridges, or chainsaw fuel, to name but a few. I would argue with the term ‘sustainable’. I could accept that word with a conditioner attached, such as ‘moving towards’, ‘practicing’, ‘baby steps’, or ‘devising alternatives’. Despite the urgency of our global situation, I support a gentle approach, because my personal psyche will always be an influential part of the ecology of my home place, and I support a healthy ecology.

Q: One other question – I’ve heard that native Hawaiians discriminate against caucasians – they feel that Hawaii is for native Hawaiians and they don’t want caucasians coming there.  I’ve only been to Maui, and have not seen that, but I’ve heard about it all my life, so I imagine there must be some truth to it.  I have no idea if you all or caucasian, Hawaiian or whatever, but just wondering your thoughts on this question.

A: There are Hawaiians who feel rage at the current american settlers. Just a bit over 100 years ago, the US conquered Hawaii by military force. I imagine I would not find this easy to forget, or even to accept. Being conquered, occupied, and disenfranchised is no small matter. That said, I am surprised at the level of acceptance I feel from local people. On top of that, locals recognize that I am relearning how to live the old ways, with simplicity and reverence.

It is a deep trap to get stuck in your habit and remain disconnected from your inspiration. Steven Covey says, ‘the good is the enemy of the great’. You could remain stuck in your current living situation for the rest of your days, or you could leave tomorrow. Try reading ‘Culture of Make Believe’ by Derrick Jensen ‘, ‘Ishmael’ by Daniel Quinn, and ‘The end of America’ by Naomi Wolf. Then, once you connect with this worldview, read “Your Money or Your Life”. If you read these books with an open heart and mind, you will be able to discover whether this lifestyle is right for you. There are many right ways to live. I recommend you find yours by moving towards the beautiful, rather than fleeing or fighting what is ugly.

I hope these answers get you pointed in your right direction.

Scott