Hawaiian Research Project - Overview

We've returned from our 3 month adventure in Hawaii, conducting the Hawaiian Reseach Project. It was an invaluable experience to educate ourselves...as well as to grow as people and adventurers.

While in Hawaii, Melinda and Dani became aware of their next step to evolve D.r.e.e.m. Reality - to attend the University of California - Berkeley for Conservation and Resources, and Energy and Resources (respectively). In order to accomplish this sudden and exciting goal, we have swiftly moved to Berkeley and are deep in the application process.

As we see D.r.e.e.m. Reality as the motivating factor to furthering our education in these areas, Dani has chosen to provide an evaluation of the Hawaiian Research Project as one of her entrance essays. The following is her submission, which provides a general overview of the findings. We definitely want to have a more in-depth evaluation at some point, but for now - here it is!

~Dani

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Hawaiian Research Project Review

On August 16th, 2010 at approximately 1pm Greenwich Mean Time, I cautiously climbed up to the raised bed, constructed completely of local guava tree wood, that would act as my open-aired room for three weeks. I pushed through the mosquito net that offered the only separation between myself and the surrounding tropical jungle, to plop down after my first day of work exchange at Hedonesia Eco-Hostel. Sun burnt and exhausted, I couldn't have been more satisfied with my decision to conduct this three month long research project throughout the Islands of Hawaii . I'd like to share the details of this project in order to demonstrate my affinity for hands-on research and education, which I am eager to proliferate through graduate studies with the Energy and Resource Group.

I've always had in interest in the creation and execution of research projects, and have been known to interview and evaluate friends, family, and co-workers for various reasons. The recent establishment of an educational non-profit, called D.r.e.e.m. Reality that I am co-founder and Vice President of, offers opportunities to apply my desire to administer significant research. The purpose of this organization is to empower people to make informed choices and actions toward sustainability. In order to provide such services, we must first ensure that we are properly informed ourselves by humbly becoming the student. The Hawaiian Research Project (HRP) was the first attempt of my organization to learn through true hands-on experience. In addition to creating this study, my role in the HRP was to be participant, observer, documenter and evaluator.

The objectives of the HRP were to:

1. Gain understanding of the environmental, social/cultural, and economic sustainable techniques of various communities and farms
2. Educate ourselves with hands on experience
3. Test and fine tune evaluative and observational techniques
4. Begin a vast network of new friends, family, and resources

The following methods were used to accomplish these objectives:

1. Immersion and Integration
2. Observation
3. Interview
4. Earth Charter Assessment.

During our time in Hawaii, we were able to spend two to three weeks at each location with some evaluative, resting, and adventuring time in between. In total, we participated in three different communities/farms – each varying in their size, structure, mission, and lessons. Notes were taken in dedicated folders as we lived and worked within the community. Additionally, a quantifiable evaluation of the community's sustainability was done with the “Earth Charter Assessment”, created by the well established educational non-profit organization called Earth Charter (www.EarthCharterUS.org). We find that this organization's mission is in line with many of our own “Universal Principals” and mission, therefore seeing it as a valuable tool in this research project.

The following is a brief profile of each community/farm that was studied:

1. Hedonisia Eco-Hostel. A 3 acre plot with community-like elements such as shared facilities and group work. Number of residents range from 4-8 at any time, with 2 permanent residents and the rest guests or staff. Study conducted for 3 weeks.
2. Pele Aina. A 10 acre farm with strong sense of community, sharing facilities, meals, traditions, and work. Number of residents range from 6-12 at any time, with semi-long term status. Study conducted for 2 weeks.
3. Pueokea and Apanalani. Two private residences (3 acre each), with established gardens and orchards. The family welcomes people to share in household chores, cooking, work load, etc, while integrating them into the family environment at either property. Study conducted for 3 weeks.

It is my desire to share an overview of the findings from the HRP, as they now are to be incorporated into the educational tool-box of D.r.e.e.m. Reality. Below I will discuss the important environmental, social, and economic techniques I discovered from observing both the communities' successes and areas of improvement. It should be noted that each community/farm has signed a release waiver and are aware of my intention to use the results for educational purposes.


Environmental Techniques
The following are effective techniques that could be utilized while establishing environmental sustainability:

• Food, agricultural, and human waste for composting and soil creation
• Passive solar heated and gravity fed water
• Rain catchment – effective in conserving water, but demanding to maintain
• Utilize local and recycled materials for building needs
• Tropical environment allows year-round farming

Social Techniques
The following are effective techniques to be explored while establishing social sustainability:

• Community meetings, shared meals, group motivation and creation
• Organization and leadership that clearly defines roles and responsibilities
• Established decision making and conflict resolution methods
• Individual living structures with shared facilities and common areas

Economic Techniques
The following are effective techniques to consider while building economic sustainability:

• Eco-Hostel – housing guests with options for work-trade to lower rates
• Woofing and work trade – providing living basics for workers, while having free or low cost labor
• Renting property or rooms
• Sales of goods and products produced in the community with its resources
• Independent financial responsibilities of residents – work outside the community
• Ensure proper zoning and permitting for community to avoid future costs and complication

Another enriching part of the research project was to ask for advice from the founders of the communities. Below are the responses to the question “What are 3-5 tips or pieces of advice you could share about building and maintaining a sustainable entity?”.

1. Hedonisia Eco-Hostel. Make a profit to ensure economic sustainability, have an effective leadership structure in order to make decisions, and be respectful and open with conflicts.
2. Pele Aina. Choose your residents and leaders carefully, it is important to trust them; allow for individual as well as community space; have a theme or purpose for your community.
3. Pueokea and Apanalani. Prioritize, keep goals reasonable, utilize good time management; be creative, barter, share, give. It's like eating an elephant so to speak, one bite at a time.

In conclusion, the experience of creating and administering The Hawaiian Research Project has provided a well of knowledge about sustainable techniques that will trickle down through D.r.e.e.m. Reality and into the community. It is this kind of first-hand education that solidifies the knowledge gained through books and within classrooms. I am eager to refine my research skills and evolve my topics of interests through the Energy and Resource Group studies at UC Berkeley, in order to create substantial change throughout the community and world.

Director Introduction - Kait!

Howdy, fellow D.R.E.E.M.ers!

Allow me to introduce myself… Kaitzilla here! I just want to start off by saying “Thanks for reading!” I can hardly express how grateful & blessed I feel to officially take part in this wonderful organization. There are many exciting endeavors & educational experiences to look forward to, & I delight in having opportunities to share them with the world! One of the first, but biggest, lessons I learned from being inducted has to do with what it takes to be a D.R.E.E.M.er. Originally, I thought it would take some sort of meditative ascension, or that I would have to suddenly & immediately become a flawless human [a complete contradiction]. However, I began to realize that qualities that simply made me me also made me a D.R.E.E.M.er! Passion, pluck, and perhaps even my perkiness all add keys to the instrument that is myself. Of course, many instruments must come together to make dynamic music. 

On Oct. 5, 2010, Ashley Munday and I [Kait Vettel] were awarded our certificates of induction, and we officially became directors of D.R.E.E.M. Reality! We felt especially thrilled because of the love and energy poured into our certificates. They were lovingly hand- crafted from recycled [and reused] brown paper bags and decorated with love & intention, plus lots of flowers! The certificates serve as beautiful visual reminders of the commitment we have made to ourselves, this organization, our community, as well as the whole environment!

Due to fortunate happenstance, Ashley and I were recently able to join D.R.E.E.M. Reality president and vice-president [Melinda & Danielle Phoenix, respectively] for a week during their Hawaiian Research Project. Hawaii is a stunning, majestic place to visit. Many people already know that. However, I had no idea what amazing examples of sustainability the Big Island has to offer. For starters, there is hardly any trash to throw out. Even public areas in the bigger cities offer recycling bins, compost receptacles, and sometimes even paper compost! Due to the limited space and fertile soil, Hawaii has to be extremely conscious of how often landfills/dumps get used. Imagine how much of a difference we could make here on the mainland if we simply adopted more of these simple waste reduction techniques! The notion is not as distant as it sounds. Even fast food companies where you live make efforts toward sustainability. Many fast food containers, such as cups, lids, and even the plastic nacho trays at your local Taco Bell are recyclable. The swirling triangle of arrows has become a widely recognizable symbol, and I urge everyone to take note of just how many products bear that symbol! This is our ever-important first step: Awareness. Next, let’s start encouraging these fast food places to provide customers with recycling bins in the stores! They have made the effort to use recycled materials, it’s up to us to complete the cycle. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if they made it easier on us!

On another sustainability note, the town of Hawi, where Ashley and I stayed during the majority of our Hawaii visit, gets its energy from wind power! The vast fields of massive windmills are majestic, and awe-inspiring. The city took responsibility for its residents. Which brings up a good point: what about individuals visiting or living in Hawaii? There are many amazing work-exchange programs in Hawaii for visitors. It is an incredible way to experience the heart of Hawaii, while simultaneously giving something back to the land. Aside from the eco-villages, farms, and intentional communities on the big island that tend land & farm their own food, average families living there also grow food. During our stay, we were lucky enough to share in many amazing dining experiences with many of the ingredients being picked just before preparation. Nothing short of inspiring; clearly gardening is no longer only for large-scale, mass production farmers! In our work-a-day world, it’s often easy to get caught up in convenience, as opposed to procuring our own food. I myself am often guilty of ignoring where my food comes from. I encourage everyone reading this to find out what foods grow easily in your climate, and get planting! You’ll be sold once you taste the food you pick fresh. Plus, getting your hands dirty and working directly with the earth & soil can be a powerfully spiritual and fulfilling experience. I felt elated, accomplished, & on top of the world after rescuing a mango tree from parasitic vines! I bet the mango tree felt pretty good, too! When you feel that good [and the earth does too!], nothing can get you down.

Though sometimes overlooked, the spiritual, emotional, and communal experiences we share as people are just as vital to sustainable living as environmental considerations. After all, if you do not feel emotionally or spiritually fulfilled, then you yourself do not share the ability to sustain healthy living! The earth is not the only thing that needs help. Our souls need to utilize tools of sustainability as well. For example, one of the most unique and fascinating experiences I had during our time on the island came from our fortunate involvement in what is known as a Dream-In. An exercise where each participant sets intention into one’s dreams before bed, so as to better absorb the messages within them after awakening. The next morning, the sense of spiritual community that we each search for made known that it exists already in our subconscious during the sharing of the dreams. Many people, whether they knew one another or not, shared similar dream symbols and emotions during the night. Also, about half the group awoke at the same time [before the chimes to wake up went off]. It made me realize that there may be nothing so powerfully universal, yet seemingly impossible to fully understand, as the act of dreaming. Whether one thinks of a dream as a seemingly random assortment of images perceived during sleep, or the waking desire that fuels our very existence, dreams power us all.

D.R.E.E.M. on!

<3 Kait

PS- An extra thanks to those of you who actually sat through this long-winded introduction! <3

Pele Aina Review

Our stay at the community called "Pele Aina" was very enriching. We had two weeks at this 10 acre farm, with 12 members. The land is owned by Jeffrey, who welcomes guest/volunteers to his land to work with him. Over the past 22 years he has built a few structures, with the main focus being on a large community room with the shared kitchen, appliances, bathroom, yoga silks, musical instruments, and lots of space to relax and share time together as a family and community. Jeffrey has also planted many fruit trees like bananas, avocado, passion fruit, citrus, rombutons, jackfruit, and more! We always had plenty of food from the Aina (or land).

With the intention of work trading, we took part in a few projects for improving the garden which was pretty impressive. There is plenty of kale, tomatoes, carrots, fennel, watermelon, aloe, lemon grass, wild celery, and more.

The feeling of community was very strong here, and every night we would gather with the Pele Aina family to share dinner together. Several people would cook a portion of the meal, usually with their own supplies or food harvested from the land. Each meal opened with an intentional circle where we shared our thoughts and gratitude, encouraged healthful activities, and planned future projects (such as building, gardening, and art work). Always ending with a fun syllable to OM and then an "inversion", putting our hearts over our head. That ceremony was particularly entertaining - seeing 12 people attempting a headstand, back bend, or any other variation!

Beyond the nuclear community meals, every Wednesday we hosted an "Activation Potluck" at Pele Aina. This was an inspiring event that was successful every week! Everyone is invited to come share with us and encouraged to bring a vegetarian meal to share. There was always an abundance of healthy food and an incredible variety. This event also had the intentional circle, syllable and inversion - and the rest of the night was a celebration with accoustical music, singing, dancing, stretching, massage, yoga, and other "activations".

Though the property was plugged into the county grid for electricity, a there was constant awareness to maintain low energy consumption. The water is collected in rain catchment and supplies all of the faucets (always boil rain catchment water before drinking). A passive solar system heats the water on sunny days, and works almost too well!

The work structure for the community is very loose, and it is encouraged to only do work that you want to do. Though this can lead to a lot of "hanging around", there never seemed to be a lack of available hands when a focused project was presented. There was no record for work hours, other than a small garden log - mostly to know what work had already been done.

Jeffrey has plans to sell this farm, in hopes to create a healing arts center set up on another plot of land he owns. (If anyone is interested in more information on purchasing this 10 acre farm in Kurtistown Hawaii, selling for $600,000 - contact us!). The other residents of the farm have individual businesses centered around art - for example:

• Saera is an incredible seamstress that makes clothing to order, with focused intention and love (feel free to explore some of her work at www.whymz.net)
• Jairus Dreaming and his band Peace Tribe is constantly evolving and playing beautiful music all over the island, and has just released their album for download (link coming soon).

~Dani

Hedonisia - Week 3 (Final Week)

Aloha!

This past week was our last at Hedonisia Eco-Hostel as work-exchange volunteers. The whole experience was absolutely incredible and packed full of education. Though the work we partook in was primarily more chopping, weeding, and cleaning - we are always observing and learning.

I'd say that we took in a lot of information about coming together on common goals, organizing projects and project leaders, and the benefits of a solid structure for guests and volunteers. Though the idea of having rules and structure can sometimes be a restrictive, we have learned that the proper amount of structure accompanied by fair rules leads to a much more effective living and working environment. This also allows for the boundaries of guests, volunteers, and residents to be respected - which is of utmost importance.

With the quick coming of our last days at Hedo, we had to pour on the steam to complete the Earth Charter Assessment (EC-Asses). Earth Charter is another educational non-profit that has been in operation since 1999, that offers free educational material to those interested in improving sustainability. Their EC-Asses is a subjective evaluation of any entity (individual, group, organization, company, government, etc) attempting to quantify their level of sustainability. The assessment evaluates on Social, Ecological, and Democratic levels and invites these entities to create a campaign for change.

It has been one of the goals of the Hawaiian Research Project to offer this assessment. It's intensive, but very enriching. So, during the last week at Hedo we completed the assessment and are eager to set up a later appointment to review the results as well as the other observations while there.

Our next move is to recollect ourselves at the house of a beautiful friend and former manager of Hedonisia for a few days. Then we plan to take on the next community!

~Dani

Hedonisia - Week 2

Aloha!

Our second week at Hedonisiaseems to have flown by! We've been dedicating most of our work time to working in the gardens and battling the jungle weeds. It is truly interesting that in the jungle we must reclaim our space as humans, it is not as simple as in the mainland and non-jungle climates where a simple mowing will do. Here we use machetes and pick axes to make room for our crops and housing. It's very exiting!

We have also become familiar with Hedonisia's effort to promote sustainability through thorough reducing, reusing, and recycling. It is quite impressive how effective this can be. Not only do we recycle the usual plastic, paper, and glass but most of the housing structures here are built from recycled and natural materials. Check out the detailed portfolio of Lee Doyle, the on-site Eco-Builder, who has created most of the structures on the land. This page offers an impressive breakdown of the recycled, natural, and new materials used on each low-impact structure.

Perhaps one of the more thrilling quirks of Hedonisia is the Bum-washing Bidet made of reclaimed parts. Though the toilet is a regular flushing toilet, connected to the Rainforest Generated County Supplied Tap and sewer system, they colorfully encourage us to use the Bidet in order to save paper:

"Toilet paper is one of the greatest paper disasters on the planet. Millions and millions of trees die every year so we can wipe our bottoms in a fashion that is not very hygienic. Toilet paper is of course provided but at Hedonisia we do encourage guests to use our build in bidet "bum washer" which allows you to use less toilet paper as well as to enjoy a "cleaner" feeling that comes from washing instead of wiping!"

I've heartily taken on using the Bidet for all my potty needs! I find it quite refreshing and feel much better about not using toilet paper at all.

We have also been enjoying the experience of community at all levels. Though this is not a traditional community with more residents than visitors at any time - it still operates as one. There are shared community facilities such as the toilet, shower, computer, laundry machines, living room, kitchen, refrigerator, and all the fruits and vegetables on the land is available to the community. There are also bikes and snorkel gear that we can all partake in!

Their unique economic structure of being a Youth Hostel is their main financial support system. With frequent visitors that stay from one night to several months, there seems to always be an appropriate amount of funding coming in...not to mention new people to meet and adventure with everyday!

There is still so much to learn, so keep posted!

~Dani

Hedonisia - Week 1

Aloha!

So far, our stay in Hawaii has been amazing and we are learning so much. Our first stop, Hedonisia is an eco-hostel with a very communal feel. We're making lots of observations about the organizational structure, level of sustainability, and work exchange program.

We've also been able to converse with the residents about the issues involving coding and building regulations. An interesting situation for such a tropical environment where the normally accepted buildings with walls and intgrated pluming aren't necessarily needed. Our sleep-place, the Guava Hut, for example is totally open aired with a roof, a raised mosquito-netted bed, and lots of fresh air. Perhaps not appropriate for the IBC (International Building Committee) but truly perfect for this climate. This conflict brings about another possible facet for D.r.e.e.m. Reality to explore - a consulting service that has the authority to approve alternative building methods according to the IBC.

Life here is very beautiful and simple, and Hawaii is truly like Paradise. There is a lot to be said about the ease for humans to live in this climate. With not much extra clothing needed, no true seasonal changes to prepare for, and plenty of food and medicinal plants that grow wildly.

Everyday we work for 3 hours to fulfill our work-exchange requirement. This mostly includes cleaning and gardening, which we are excited to contribute to and learn from!

There will definitely be more updates to come!

~Dani