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Aloha Mai Kakou,
We are new to Punaweb, and looking for any information anyone can give us regarding buying land in Hawaiian Acres / Fern Forest area. We are from Waimanalo on Oahu, and are tired of the whole island turning into a concrete jungle. My wife and I have been wanting to live a different way for a long time. We would like to have land to be more self sustainable. Raise our own livestock, grow our own food and live with the Aina. Our problem is that we have lived our whole lives in Waimanalo where we are currently renting. Land here is now in the 1 million per acre range since the wealthy have discovered how beautiful Waimanalo is. If we worked till we where 200 we might be able to afford 1/4 acre. That being said, I have been looking in the Puna area for something in the 3 acre range which led me to Hawaiian Acres area. I have seen a huge variance in price from $15,000 to 50,000 for 3 acres. I am looking for the inside scoop on the difference in prices, as well as what I need to look for with respect to the different areas in Hawaiian Acres. We are drawn to this area because of the close proximity to Hilo, where my wife can transfer, but still have country living. Any info (realtor, different areas, inside info, red flags, whatever you know, Etc.) you can share with me is greatly appreciated. We really want to learn from those who have already "been there, done that" so to say. Mahalo for any help you can give us.
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There is a swath through the Acres that can and will flood, you don't want to buy there. At one point I found the HA flood zone maps on the internet, so they are out there in cyberspace if you dig around. Some of the roads are really rough, you would need a PU truck or something with good clearance, but not 4 wheel drive. I drove through the Acres to work in Kurtistown every day for 2 years and really like the area, I also know people who live there who love it, but it is living rural and the subdivision is big enough to have varied micro climates and neighborhoods. That side of the highway has very little soil, although people do luck out and hit kipukas of soil in the Acres but the whole mauka side of the Highway is older Mauna loa flows and there is often more soil on that side if you are serious about farming or raising a significant amount of your food.
Good luck, I would rent first and explore the area, Puna is a big district with a a lot of really different landscapes, and the daily drive home from Hilo can really be bad sometimes.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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i live in the acres and we love it. that said, there is good and bad as any subdivision has. drive through at night and/or weekends. some roads are very bad, some ok. you can go to the website hawaiianacres.org for the clubhouse news and road news. joining is only 30 yearly for clubhouse, 60 yearly for road maintance.
there are many here who came for the same reasons you state, and have small farms, and are living quiet, self sufficient lives. also check out the yahoo group BISS (big island self sufficiency) lots of those are puna folks from the acres ... good luck to your dreams, make them happen..
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The flood path is visible on satellite imagery. Look for the darker green swath running from the top (S Kulani) towards the community center (roads 8/C).
Price variance is mostly "distance from pavement", however there are still some parts without grid power.
Note that the lots on road-1-mauka are 1.87 acres; some lots on road-9-makai are 5.6 acres, and the ones on the paved section of 9 are substantially older, enough big trees to build a house or two.
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Mahalo everyone for all your help. Are there certain areas within Hawaiian Acres that are known for having better soil ?
Bananahead did you have to bring in soil or is there lots with good soil?
Why such a huge variance in prices just for paved roads, or is it just people trying to make more of a profit?
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Consult the state IAL maps (which usually indicate "soil"). There is a tiny section in the middle of HA, but the "really good" lands are further mauka (and often not part of a subdivision, because these were created on "worthless" lands).
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most lots have a small amount of soil that has developed from plant composting. but the lava itself is extremely high in nutrients.. it is just a learning curve on farming in cinder vs. soil. i have had to bring in small amounts of dirt, plus the free mulch from the transfer station. it is amazing that the fruit trees have done so well just by finding a crack in the lava. having lived in very deep soil for years, i was leary of the new place in HA and have been pleasantly surprized that things are doing as well, just learning new ways.
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In places, the lava is just a thin layer over soil, in others all you find is layer upon layer of lava, but there is no way to tell which you are dealing with until you try busting the lava up to see what is there. The native plants and trees have adapted to the lava environment in ways that plants brought from other places just haven't, including the ability of Ohia trees to grow with exposed roots in lava tubes. The native Hawaiians did not have D9s or tractors, so I would learn as much as you can about how they worked with the land, instead of trying to drastically change the landscape to suit them. The Polynesians came here with nothing they couldn't bring on the voyaging canoes, and had no metal tools, yet eventually these Islands supported a large population, without having food shipped in on barges and airplanes. The diet may have been limited, but they prospered and were very healthy until the importation of diseases they had no resistance to.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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I have spent years dreaming of how I will grow stuff on my land in Eden Roc. I guess that shows how little I have accomplished. Anyway during that time I have read everything I could find about what people in this area are able to grow. I constantly read where people are going to plant all kinds of stuff but I see very little about what people actually do grow. It is pretty tough to grow stuff here. Anyway I also have read that most of the ancient Hawaiian population lived along the coast. They also fought a lot. I presume that part of what they fought over was real estate. Now if I am correct not many people lived here in what is now Eden Roc. Why? Was it worth fighting to live somewhere else? Considering the crappy conditions some people live in today, just how bad could it have been here for ancient Hawaiians to not have lived here in large numbers? I'm pretty sure they were here long enough that they were at the carrying capacity of the land, so to say that most people lived along the coast means they couldn't live elsewhere.
Prior to arrival of the first humans there wasn't much to eat that would have sustained them. They brought the canoe plants that were so critical to their survival. Today we still theoretically have those canoe plants plus a lot more. We also have greenhouses. I know I have read on these pages where someone (living in Eden Roc) lamented the time they had wasted trying to grow stuff without a green house. Apparently it makes a big difference.
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Greenhouses best contribution would be protecting from bugs. After that i'd say protecting from torrential downpour.
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