Our Family Story




Hi my name is Sofee, I'm just a typical teenage kid, and 

this is my mom, Ruth and dad, PB!  This is the story of my

family's journey over the last decade to living organically,

building green during our projects and striving for a

sustainable lifestyle and homestead that would keep my

parents retirement overhead costs down when they get too

old to work.  We're still in the process of becoming

sustainable, and now we will be having workshops & filming

our projects so we can share them with you!     

 

Over the last 10 years i watched my parents go through some crazy challenges,

so not only will this website be about the cool organic solutions and green chic

projects my Mom will be sharing with you, but it will also be about my

perspective as a kid and all the things i saw my family going through.



Basically, this website and blog is about green and organic solutions for living

"Pono" aka "E Ola Pono"!    "Pono" in the Hawaiian language is about correctness

and righteousness; we apply our definition of E Ola Pono to living sustainably

while in harmony with nature. 


Like most people, when my parents thought about moving back to Hawaii,  they

envisioned moving to a laid back lifestyle that was in harmony with nature;

you know, year round growing seasons where our meals could be plucked from

the branches of trees or were steps outside our door in our thriving gardens.  


It was their vision of Heaven on Earth!


In 2000 my family move back to my gramp's farm in Hawaii; this was the

beginning of an incredible roller coaster ride that neither my Mom or

Dad ever saw coming.  My Mom and Dad work very hard dedicating

their lives to creating a piece of Heaven on Earth!  They did this first by

converting my Gramp's farm to an organic farm and then made sure all the  

daily choices we made; like buying organic food at a higher price even though

the non- organic food might be on sale, was our way of telling the growers,

manufacturers and retailers what we wanted to see on the store shelves;

another words my Mom used our $$$$as our voice in the marketplace! 


My mom would tell me that besides this wonderful food making us strong

and healthy, by buying from other organic farmers we were supporting their

efforts to healing the aina (land) so our money could do more healing work even

when we were not doing the work ourselves; she called

that "leveraging our healing dollars"!  She explained that we can do our small

part by having our organic farm, but, there was a whole lot of aina (land) that

still needed to be healed, so we had to support others that were doing the

same when we could. 


At the time my Mom was explaining all this to me i didn't know what she was

talking about, but now that i am older i am starting to understand that if

enough people do not like something and refuse to buy it, that the

manufacturer will stop producing it, because they only make things that make

them money!  So if we all decided to not buy (boycott) products that are

harming our environment/ aina, eventually the manufacturer will stop making it,

or at very least, stop bringing it to our State.  I guess if we worked together

boycotting the stuff that is getting us and our aina sick, this could be very

powerful way to get the rubbish stuff out and get our prestine aina

(land/island) and moana (oceans) back to the way it once was.  Unfortunately,

most people aren't even aware of all the rubbish that is getting us and our aina

sick because manufacturers mislead us into believing their products are safe! 



We hope after spending some time with us, you'll begin to learn about some of

these things and gain the tools to help you know when you are being mislead. 

Whatever you do, don't be hard on yourself, my Mom still gets fooled and

mislead even with all that she's already learned, she just keeps reading and

learning so she can protect our family and malama (take care/ nurture) back

our aina. 


My family's education and adventure to creating "heaven on earth", didn't stop

at learning how to healing the soil and growing food organically; unfortunately 

our family got to learn first hand about the dangers of chemical drift,

otherwise known as chemical trespass, when a neighbor sprayed a 

popular herbicide and it drifted into our house through our windows and screen

doors and got our whole family sick, with my Mom becoming the sickest.


Another unfortunate lesson my Mom learned was how chemicals in hotter

tropical weather can transform into even more dangerous toxic forms, called,

"Oxons", when they are exposed to temperatures over 76 degrees, you know,

just like here in Hawaii.  When this happens the oxons become more toxic and

harmful to our health then the original chemical!


In my Mom's blog she will share with you information about different

chemicals (some that you may not even be aware of in everyday products you

may be using) and how she is managing and rebuilding her health, after now

having permanent damage to some of her organs, her brain, nervous system and

endocrine system so you can learn how to protect your family from chemicals

whenever possible.


Needless to say, my Mom got very sick from these chemicals that drifted onto

our lot and into our home and since Western Medicine made things worse for

her with more chemical reactions, she had to find other ways to heal herself;  

that's how she found out about bio- energetic medicine, homeopathy, working

with Naturopathic Doctors, and Medical Doctors who specialize in

Environmental Medicine and used Complimentary Medicine or take a more

natural approach using nutritions over pharmaceudicals. 


Interestingly enough my Mom found her best remedies came from using high

quality organically grown foods and preparing them in such a way that they also

became our medicine.  She learned that different proteins, herbs, veggies and

fruits were created with nutrients that aided the healing and detoxification of

specific organs, & ailments.  It then occured to my Mom that if she could learn

to use her food as her medicine and make each meal an opportunity to rebuild

her body and regain her strength, then she may have a chance to be more

functional then the chemicals rendered her.  Even though my Mom has become

highly sensitive to multiple chemicals and her brain function is not what 

it used to be when we left Los Angeles (she used to have a photographic

memory), she is getting stronger and stronger over time. 


Now when my Mom talks about organic food, she is not talking about organic

foods found in a box like organic processed cookies that imitate Oreos or mac

and cheese; No, no, no.... my mom calls that kind of stuff "organic air!" (and

stuff i sneak sometimes).  The food she learned to use as medicine was grown

in nutrient rich soil, and came right out of the garden or from a farmer she

knew, and was eaten within minutes or at the most hours of its harvest so that

we could capture all the healing nutritients these foods had to offer.


After my mom got a little better she wanted to know what got us all sick, so

she tried to get us help through the agencies that are suppose to help citizens

find the source of their illnesses when they get sick over and over again, but

she soon learned that the politics of a State and/or Nation to protect certain

industries trumped any one citizen's rights despite what the laws on the books

might dictate, and that was even the case in a court of law.


It was a big awakening for my Mom who became very discouraged for a while,

but soon realized, the universe has never given her a challenges or hard lessons

for nothing, so she figured if she survived these health challenge when others

with similar diagnosis hadn't, then maybe there was some delicous lemonade
 
waiting to be made out of these lemons we were being dealt!


So my Mom began to think maybe she was suppose to be sharing what she's

learned with others who could benefit from it!  I mean lets think about this,

how many adventures have you ever heard of that didn't have twist and turns

in the plot before it turned out with a happy ending; why can't our story be the

same?
 


So what started out as an adventure to create a bit of Heaven on Earth in our

own backyard, has evolved into a life's mission for my Mom to share what she

has learned so maybe we can all become healers of the earth, learn how to use

and choose foods that will provide us optimum health, which can offer us many

more choices that can lead to a beautiful quality of life. 


My my mom feels if anyone can be encouraged, inspired, & gain a bit of

knowledge that helps their family improve their quality of life through green,

organic and sustainable living (E Ola Pono) choices, then she has found the

silver lining in the past decade of challenges our family has endured, because

then the difficulties would have been for a meaningful purpose: that being to

help her fellow man, woman and child who essentially are the stewarts and

healers of the earth, fulfill their part in the greater scheme for all of

humanity!


Despite the number of years that past, we continue our adventure in learning

how to use food to heal our bodies and how to malama (take care of) our Aina

(land/island) which also nourishes our body & souls! 


So this is our invitiation to you to build your own little sustainable heaven on

earth!




Mom's Blog:

In my Mom's blog she shares how she uses medicinally grown

organic food to heal our family; she'll share the results of her little

experiments to see which growing techniques gives food the greatest growing  

and healing potential; she'll share her favorite seasonal recipes, and  how she

handles weed and insect control in addition to all kinds of projects she does

around our house and farm.  She'll share with you the best non-toxic cleaning

solutions and recipes.  She'll also teaches us how to look at labels on food

products so you can "use your money as your voices in the market place" by

buying products that are healing the earth and to all of us.


Sofee's Blog:

And of course there's me, Sofee, the  typical teenage kid who has to give my

two cents about how things look from my point of view as i watch adults tell us

kids one thing, then do another.  For instance we are told to "do onto others as

we want others to do onto us"; but to me, it looks like

there are exception to the rule when you become an adult in

the working world; that exception is "do onto others as you want

others to do on to you, except when it comes to making money- then

do what you need to do to win and get as much of the marketplace

as possible, at all cost and even at the risk of your fellow man! 


And then what's even more puzzling is to hear my parents talk about

how this questionable behavior is rewarded in the stock market

until the stock market hears someone is going to jail, then

they'll stop rewarding them, in fact that is the only time they will

slaughter them.  To me this just encourages the wrong doers to keep

doing wrong; don't you think? 




OMG! this is so confusing to me, maybe i have it all wrong and maybe

this sounds harsh, but believe it or not there are actually some of us kids who

are questioning what we see, and for the most part adults get me confused, and

i hope that kids my age, will grow up and do better for the world, because right

now it looks kinda scary and it looks like my generation will have a lot of clean

up ahead of us. 


Fortunately i do know a lot of adults going way out of their way to do what is

right and live pono for their families, communities and for all of humanity. 

Unfortunately, even though their numbers may be greater, the ones

making the questionable decisions that hurt the earth and its citizens seem to

have the government backing them up and protecting them sometimes even

with our military despite the outcries of the average citizen.  It makes me

question a lot of things i am learning about our government; like, who are these

government guys representing if they are not listening to what the citizens

want?  Hey look at the GMO labeling fight that is going on in most States; as

my Mom says, "it's shameful how our elected officials blatently, disregard

what the people want as if no one is looking!".  Of course there is always two

sides to every story!   I sure hope I'm wrong.


Empowerment starts with education.  E ola Pono begins with each and everyone

of our daily choices.   I invite you to join us as we explore Living Pono; Green,

Sustainable and in Harmony with Nature!      




Malama Pono! (Take care of yourself righteously!)


Sofee


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What you'll find on our website and blog:


Today on the news, tv shows, in magazines and newspapers, even in everyday

conversations, i hear adults talking about being sustainable, living green and

eating organic, but when my Mom talks to them about these topics she

realizes, that most people really don't know what true "organically grown"

foods are, what "green" truly is and what "sustainability" means in its

entirety.  So one of my mom's goals is to help people learn the depth of

these subjects so they won't just be common buzz words in our

vocabulary and the chic new trend that only cool people embrace.


Then when people buy organic, go green or live sustainably it's because

they truly embrace and value the principals and will have the knowledge to

ask educated questions that will help them choose products and services that

are coming from people and companies who are dedicating their lives to heal

our earth (Papa Honua) and support living a lifestyle that is pono and in

harmony with nature, rather than buying from companies who are just using it

as another opportunity to make a dollar, and will mislead the public to cover up

the fact that they are just borderline organic or loosely "green"..



My Mom's goal is to share with you what she knows about the subject in a way

that will inspire your family to learn to build a sustainable homestead for

yourself to the fullest extent possible.  Through our projects and our

conversations we hope to help you gain a deeper understanding of what "Green,

Organic, Sustainable living" mean in its originally intended definition, rather

than the very loose definitions found in the market place to sell products

that aren't always a real representation of the spirit of the definition.


Like the Kanaka Maoli's (Hawaiians), my Mom wants to inspire you to not just

lived sustainably, but become a sustainable artisans, where everything has a

use until there is nothing left-there should never be any waste. This is

what my mom is trying to get back to, combining the wisdom of the old, while

taking advantage of appropriate and responsible modern technologies available

to us now.


My Mom keeps noticing that there are so many people who are getting sick with

diabetes, heart disease, cancers, alzheimers, parkinsons disease, fibermyalga,

lupus, environmental sensitivities and allergies, endocrine disorders, ADD,

autism, asthma to name a few of the horrific diseases out there today.  From

her research it appears that these diseases are running rampant today, but

were barely detectable during the 50's before industrialize agricultural

chemicals were used on our food crops and more and more chemicals began

showing up in our processed foods production, house cleaners, personal care

products, yard and garden products and the list goes on. 


My mom believes the greatest gift anyone can give themselves and their

families is a secure financial future by building a self sustainable homestead, in

addition to being in control of our health and food supply; with this we should

be able to have more control of our quality of life; after all this is our

responsibility to do for ourselves, not our government's. 


This can start as simply as making educated choices at the super market or

planting your first seed in a pot, or building a small garden for you and your

family to work together in and harvest your food daily.


However you choose to get started, we would love to

be a part of your journey to a green and sustainable lifestyle, by

sharing with you the many tools we acquired along the way.



Green Chic on a Budget!


The one gift my mom hasn't lost is her sense of style; not only can she

make things look nice, she can also do it while keeping it green and

organic!   People think we spend or have a lot of money because my mom

knows how to make our house look nice, but that of course is part of what

she used to do for a living before we moved back to Hawaii.



In our house, style and creating a healthy environment that is in harmony with

nature is not an option or exclusive, it's one and the same! Dumpster diving,

hand me downs, crystals and flowers along with a can of Paint is all my mom

needs to make something " thrown away" into an heirloom.  Under this topic my

mom will do projects to show you how to do the same by recycling, reusing,

repurposing and renewing!




Can Food your best Medicine?


When mom is feeling well, we grow some of our food so we can have all the

healing benefits of top quality organic foods coming right from our

backyard, not to mention the benefit of cost savings on our grocery bills and

doctor bills (when we eat well, we can stablize our health and don't have to go

to the doctors as much).


Our experience with our health over the past decade has made our family

more committed to healing the earth and our bodies by primarily making food

our primary medicine.   My mom is convinced that if everyone learned to

detoxify their bodies and ate only locally grown organic foods, then we could

all live in harmony with each other and nature in the most righteous,

compassionate and correct (pono) way.


For this reason my Mom shares some of her recipes and shares information on

how she uses food as our medicine.  We'll do that with some tasty recipes even

your kids will like, and will want to learn to cook.


She'll also share links to detoxification programs she has used successfully so

you can check with your doctor about using them yourself.





Grow a Garden or Support your Local Organic Farmer!



When we are sick or live in an apartment we cannot grow our own food,  but we

can always support organic farmers who can do the growing for us, by doing so,

we can pro-actively participate in healing the earth and our bodies with our

buying choices.  For this reason my mom will list all the local farmers markets

on Oahu, and the Certified Organic Farmers throughout the islands.  If you 

know of farmer markets in your area, you can send us the information and we'll

be glad to post it for all to see.



When you're ready to get your hands in the dirt, we will share some of

our best growing secrets and even have the seed collections we use in

da Online Store found under "Organic Solutions" at E Ola Pono General Store.



GreenTalkss is our blog about what's going on in the Environment

and it's also the place to learn more about our GreenTalksS

Workshops:

We'll share environmental news stories and events that can help you

understand what is going on, on a local and global level that may affect you

directly or indirectly, now and in the future.  There are many horrific things

going-on on a governmental & legislative level and in our environment, and

hearing about them all can make you feel quite powerless and that your small

efforts cannot amount to anything; So our promise to you is this; for

every problem we discuss, we will leave you with an Organic Solution, that will

help empower you, so even if you cannot grow your own food, or make your own

shampoos and soaps, you can still use your money in a way that gives you the

power to voice what you want to see and have in the market place; your dollar

will become your weapon to whip these criminal companies into shape or kick

them out of the market place"", as my Mom would say! 


Last but not least, Mom and my Aunties offers their favorite

green and organic solutions for everyday household cleaning

product and personal care products.



GreenTalksS WorkshopS are our hands on opportunities to get in the

dirt and learn how to build an organic edible garden and later learn how to

prepare the produce you harvest in healthy meals.



Living Pono Style is our subscription programs and memberships that have

helpful tools which include more extensive plans and information for our

garden projects, greening your home projects, and the meals that heal seasonal

recipes that correspond to the seasonal seed collections we offer in our E Ola

Pono General Store.


For the truly committed we offer subscriptions  and green memberships

(Food Fans, Pono Partners, Sustainable Sponsorships) that provide you with

expand details on our show/ project topics (Pono Partners), monthly healing

recipe plans (Food Fans) that corresponds with our seasonal seed collections

and planting plans found in da Online Store found under "Organic Solutions" at

"E Ola Pono General Store". 


For those unable to grow their own food and live on Oahu, we will soon be

offering a weekly "Farm Fresh Home Delivered Organic Soup and Salad

bag" for your hectic week days and  a "Brok da Mout Weekend Family

Breakfast Bag". 


More Healing Opportunities: Once our "120 day to rebuild the quality of

your blood" documentary is complete in 2013 we will have a weekly menu plan

each season available to those who'd like to follow our 120 day plan.  



"Organic Solutions at E Ola Pono General Store" (aka da online

store), Here we'll offer our subscription to our "seasonal seed collections"

that correspond with our monthly menu plans for healing, and in 2013 the "120

day to the New You" menu plans, in addition to growing tips and suggested

organic amendments that we found to bring the highest nutrients and best

flavors out of your soil and into your produce.


Mom's Tea Time with Friends 

Another Special treat mom shares is her special tea mixes she makes from

ingredients she finds on her travels and also from herbs grown on our farm.

My mom says that all busy mom's need a "Special Mom Time with

Girl-Friends". 


When we still lived in Los Angeles, my mom would always

have her once a month tea with her girlfriends.  She and

her girlfriend began doing this long before they were married.  My

Mom said, at their once a month tea they'd fantasize about their

futures, plan their weekend randevouz with their man of their dreams,

design rooms in their houses, and share their dreams and passions in

life. 


Once my Mom and her girlfriends began getting married and having

children, tea time became less often; once we moved to Hawaii, it was

only on vacation visits that my Mom and girlfriends would have tea.


Over the last decade during her most difficult years she relied on her

girlfriends words of encouragement to have the strength to get well

and thrive once again.  My Mom thinks its time to rekindle these

special teas with her girlfriends, so she's begun mixing her teas and

will be sending out tea to the girls every month so that they can have

their once a month visits on SKYPE. 


My mom is offering her teas for you to have your special time with your

friends, whether they are near you or afar (she's going to include how to set

up a skype account in the tea orders so you too can have a monthly SKYPE Tea

visit if you want to).  "Let distance not detour you from your friends when an

internet connection is available", said my determined Mom!



So this is what my mom and I are sharing; all the tools and products that are helping us get well and succeed in our quest to creating a little piece of heaven on earth and a life we love Pono Style!

I hope my family's experiences will help you and your family make the best choices to creating a life you love.  Join us on our journey to rediscovering living on our own terms, in harmony with nature and for all the right reasons!

Here in Hawaii we call that E Ola Pono!