05-19-2009, 02:35 AM
Aloha from Tim and Dave......
We spent a couple of weeks in Fern Forest at the end of April, through the first part of May building a 12x12 outbuilding on the property we purchased last year.
We hope to move there and build a modest "open" houme in a couple of years. While working on the place, we heard a couple of cars (at different times) slow down and stop in front of the path we had made to get into the property. They both waited until we came out and talked with them! That was cool. That kind of thing would most likely not happen on the mainland and we really appreciated it. Both couples talked with us for a while and they welcomed us. Everyone we met (the two couples in their car, and Hana/Hannah? (across the street) really wanted to clue us in to saving the forest. We appreciated that and I hope I'm not sounding arrogant or whatever but.... we are mostly there already and hope spending time on the island will get us there even more so.
We respect (and love) the island, it's culture, it's variety, everything about it. We don't want to change it. If anything, I want it to change me. I have no love of the mainland. Over the years I've come to the hard realization that I have nothing in common with what most mainlanders consider their American Dream.... Bigger, More, Fancier, Consume, Consume some more, Waste. Doesn't do anything for my happiness.
We macheted a path from the road to where we created a clearing for our little project. Everything in that building was hand carried from the rental truck on the road, through our winding path and onto the building site. It's only a 12x12 building but it's the most work I've done in a two week stretch than I think I've ever done before. But it was fun at the same time.
One day we'll want to build some kind of driveway and one of the guys (Mikeo?) we met said he does that kind of work. We'll take him up on it when we are ready in the next couple of years. We have his card. We want to do very minimal damage to the existing environment. Seeing some of the places that were bulldozed what looks like several years ago, it looks like the ecosystem is more fragile than maybe an older more established jungle environment. It's sad to see it trashed and the only thing that grows back is some kind of native grass. No Ohia's, no tree ferns. I'm thinking it would take many years for that to re-establish. Other than a driveway and a small clearing around whatever we build, we want to keep the place as natural as possible. Just clearing out some of the dead (I call them weed) ferns opens up something that is beautiful just as it is. Through all this, I guess what I'm trying to say is that "We mean no harm".
One of the first days working there someone shouted from a truck "Go back to the mainland!!!". I hope you will accept us. We want to live Hawaiian Style, local style. And I am all for trying to educate anyone that comes here (including myself) to save the forest and respect the island and it's ways. It's inevitable that more people will come. I understand it would be hard for locals to see that. But we really want to fit in and cause no harm.
The way mainlanders can be, if we weren't one of them coming in now, an alternative resident could be much worse. Too many of them want to bulldoze the whole thing immediately so they can show off their big fancy house and huge, manicured and useless lawn. Believe me, that's not our values. So..... if you took the time to read this, mahalo. We look forward to spending a lot more time enjoying Fern Forest and the Big Island. We might even get brave enough to venture out to the community center one evening
We'd like to get to know more of you.
Mahalo nui loa.... Tim
We spent a couple of weeks in Fern Forest at the end of April, through the first part of May building a 12x12 outbuilding on the property we purchased last year.
We hope to move there and build a modest "open" houme in a couple of years. While working on the place, we heard a couple of cars (at different times) slow down and stop in front of the path we had made to get into the property. They both waited until we came out and talked with them! That was cool. That kind of thing would most likely not happen on the mainland and we really appreciated it. Both couples talked with us for a while and they welcomed us. Everyone we met (the two couples in their car, and Hana/Hannah? (across the street) really wanted to clue us in to saving the forest. We appreciated that and I hope I'm not sounding arrogant or whatever but.... we are mostly there already and hope spending time on the island will get us there even more so.
We respect (and love) the island, it's culture, it's variety, everything about it. We don't want to change it. If anything, I want it to change me. I have no love of the mainland. Over the years I've come to the hard realization that I have nothing in common with what most mainlanders consider their American Dream.... Bigger, More, Fancier, Consume, Consume some more, Waste. Doesn't do anything for my happiness.
We macheted a path from the road to where we created a clearing for our little project. Everything in that building was hand carried from the rental truck on the road, through our winding path and onto the building site. It's only a 12x12 building but it's the most work I've done in a two week stretch than I think I've ever done before. But it was fun at the same time.
One day we'll want to build some kind of driveway and one of the guys (Mikeo?) we met said he does that kind of work. We'll take him up on it when we are ready in the next couple of years. We have his card. We want to do very minimal damage to the existing environment. Seeing some of the places that were bulldozed what looks like several years ago, it looks like the ecosystem is more fragile than maybe an older more established jungle environment. It's sad to see it trashed and the only thing that grows back is some kind of native grass. No Ohia's, no tree ferns. I'm thinking it would take many years for that to re-establish. Other than a driveway and a small clearing around whatever we build, we want to keep the place as natural as possible. Just clearing out some of the dead (I call them weed) ferns opens up something that is beautiful just as it is. Through all this, I guess what I'm trying to say is that "We mean no harm".
One of the first days working there someone shouted from a truck "Go back to the mainland!!!". I hope you will accept us. We want to live Hawaiian Style, local style. And I am all for trying to educate anyone that comes here (including myself) to save the forest and respect the island and it's ways. It's inevitable that more people will come. I understand it would be hard for locals to see that. But we really want to fit in and cause no harm.
The way mainlanders can be, if we weren't one of them coming in now, an alternative resident could be much worse. Too many of them want to bulldoze the whole thing immediately so they can show off their big fancy house and huge, manicured and useless lawn. Believe me, that's not our values. So..... if you took the time to read this, mahalo. We look forward to spending a lot more time enjoying Fern Forest and the Big Island. We might even get brave enough to venture out to the community center one evening
We'd like to get to know more of you. Mahalo nui loa.... Tim
