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Hi'iaka's Healing Herb Garden : Newsletter index : 2003 News : Winter 03
Coming Soon...
Vol 4 no 2; winter 2002-2003
WE ARE ON THE MAP!
On January 9, two couples from Ohio visited the Garden, and when I asked how they had heard about us, they replied that "you are on the map." Incredulous, I looked at their brand-new copy of the official University of Hawaii press map of the Big Island, and sure enough, there we are, in red ink right there on the ocean off Kaloli Point! I was so curious as to how such a fortuitous event had happened that I called UH Press in Honolulu and eventually e-mailed with the cartographer, who said that he is able to include commercial ventures as he sees fit, and had stopped by and liked the place. Voila! Hope you can see it in the scanned picture below. Magic happens!
Winter Interns and Special Guest Graced the Garden in December and February
During December, I hosted Nicole Tenenbaum of San Francisco. We built a bed for and planted an `Alula, a rare Hawaiian succulent. I addition to being an attorney, Nicole is a delightful person who brainstormed many business ideas with me.
My very special guest in early February was my niece Jennifer Shepherd, also from San Francisco. It was a definite joy to get to know her much better and share the many wonders of my island with her.
We will miss our WWOOF and other interns in 2003 as we open the Ohana cottage to many more vacation renters and retreat participants.
Read All About it in the Hawai`i Island Journal
Thanks to my webmaster Jerry Warren, you can now read all of the columns I have written for our great local newspaper, the Hawai`i Island Journal, on my web site, beginning with the March 2002 issue and continuing through the present.
Here's an excerpt from my next column:
The sugar cane industry in Hawai`i is gone. So is the pineapple business. On the land left vacant by these agricultural endeavors, many people are beginning to plant Noni, `awa (kava kava), and other crops that have healing properties. But that's only a small beginning. I have updated my Top Ten list of the medicinal plants that can and should be grown commercially in Hawai`i, as delivered in a talk I gave at the 2001 Healing Arts Expo. Here we go!
10. The mints (Mentha sp., peppermint, spearmint, etc.): used by companies such as Celestial seasonings in many of their tea blends.
9. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita and Chamaemelum nobile): calming herb used in tea blends such as "Sleepytime."
8. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): delicious lemony herb used in tea blends. It's mildly sedative, good for stomachaches, and helpful when you have a cold.
7. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana): a natural sweetener, which is quickly increasing in popularity as health-conscious consumers discover this delicious substitute for sugar and calorie-laden honey.
6. Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris): used in Chinese medicine for nervous conditions and the lung. This is the exact species used in moxibustion.
5. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis): a sedative, the root is prized as medicine.
4. Fo-ti (Polygonium multiflorum): Known as He shou wu in Chinese medicine, the root of this attractive, spreading plant is a "rejuvenating tonic that will restore energy, increase fertility and maintain strength and vigor," according to Michael Tierra in his book, "The Way of Herbs."
3. Soy beans (Glycine soja): The demand for soy-based products and the market for them are growing rapidly, as I mentioned earlier.
2. Siberian motherwort (Leonurus Sibericus): used in Chinese medicine. It's an excellent heart tonic and is helpful for women's health concerns such as pre-menstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms. It's also used in moxibustion.
And the number one medicinal plant that can and should be grown commercially in Hawai`i is:
1. Green tea (Camellia sinensis): sales continue to increase, partly due to its anti-cancer properties. It's delicious and refreshing and is a staple of life in Asian countries. It should become a staple of life in the United States as well.
I'm Rapidly Becoming an Author
More of my energies are going into writing lately, as I've begun offering my small research booklet "Hawaiian Plants in Hi`iaka's Healing Herb Garden" for sale to visitors. At this stage, it's simply a list of the plants' names, histories and uses, but I have spoken with a local publisher and we agree that it should become a "real" book with illustrations and more information. If you'd like a copy, you can order one through our gift shop.
I have also developed an outline for another book to be entitled Hawaiian Gardens for the New Era, which will chronicle a dozen special gardens. In order to qualify, a garden must have a "higher purpose," such as conservation of endangered plants, education, ethnobotany, etc. The most interesting project I've come across is the re-foresting of the island Kaho`olawe, off Maui. This poor little island was used as a bomb test site by the US military for many years, and is now being restored with native plants.
Get Your Noni Conference Proceedings
Now you can order a copy of the Proceedings of the first Hawai`i Noni Conference, at which I spoke, in October of 2002. Of special interest are the findings of this remarkable fruit's anti-cancer activity against tumors in mice in a recent laboratory study conducted by Dr. Elichi Furusawa.
It's only $3.00 and can be ordered through the CTAHR Publications and Information Office, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore Hall 110, Honolulu, HI 96822, or write to them at: ctahrpubs@hawaii.edu.
Please Join Me...
In two things: as I write, the conflict in Iraq has just begun. It's hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Without getting too political, simply join me in my prayer for a swift and just end to the atrocity happening in this faraway land.
And you can join me by becoming a Friend of Hi`iaka's Garden. The more nonsense I see happening in this world, the more I trust living things and the sanctity of all life. So much of that life continues to be abused and threatened. I find this unacceptable and am attempting in my small way to conserve and teach about just a few plants that once thrived in Hawai`i and were used by the indigenous people as food and medicine. I'll be happy to send you my business plan and other documents if you request them by returning the card in this newsletter. Or visit our "Join Us" page on the web site. Join me and our eight other charter Friends and know that you're doing something concrete to help keep something "real" alive.
We're Officially a Farm Now
Thanks to garden manager Theresa, whose vision prompted me to embark on a new venture, and Rick Haveland, we are now growing culinary herbs for local markets. Rick helped construct our "Hale Basil" (Basil house) to protect young basil plants and other herbs from the damaging effects of too much moisture on their leaves.
Vol 4 no 2; winter 2002-2003
WE ARE ON THE MAP!
On January 9, two couples from Ohio visited the Garden, and when I asked how they had heard about us, they replied that "you are on the map." Incredulous, I looked at their brand-new copy of the official University of Hawaii press map of the Big Island, and sure enough, there we are, in red ink right there on the ocean off Kaloli Point! I was so curious as to how such a fortuitous event had happened that I called UH Press in Honolulu and eventually e-mailed with the cartographer, who said that he is able to include commercial ventures as he sees fit, and had stopped by and liked the place. Voila! Hope you can see it in the scanned picture below. Magic happens!
Winter Interns and Special Guest Graced the Garden in December and February
During December, I hosted Nicole Tenenbaum of San Francisco. We built a bed for and planted an `Alula, a rare Hawaiian succulent. I addition to being an attorney, Nicole is a delightful person who brainstormed many business ideas with me.
My very special guest in early February was my niece Jennifer Shepherd, also from San Francisco. It was a definite joy to get to know her much better and share the many wonders of my island with her.
We will miss our WWOOF and other interns in 2003 as we open the Ohana cottage to many more vacation renters and retreat participants.
Read All About it in the Hawai`i Island Journal
Thanks to my webmaster Jerry Warren, you can now read all of the columns I have written for our great local newspaper, the Hawai`i Island Journal, on my web site, beginning with the March 2002 issue and continuing through the present.
Here's an excerpt from my next column:
The sugar cane industry in Hawai`i is gone. So is the pineapple business. On the land left vacant by these agricultural endeavors, many people are beginning to plant Noni, `awa (kava kava), and other crops that have healing properties. But that's only a small beginning. I have updated my Top Ten list of the medicinal plants that can and should be grown commercially in Hawai`i, as delivered in a talk I gave at the 2001 Healing Arts Expo. Here we go!
10. The mints (Mentha sp., peppermint, spearmint, etc.): used by companies such as Celestial seasonings in many of their tea blends.
9. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita and Chamaemelum nobile): calming herb used in tea blends such as "Sleepytime."
8. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): delicious lemony herb used in tea blends. It's mildly sedative, good for stomachaches, and helpful when you have a cold.
7. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana): a natural sweetener, which is quickly increasing in popularity as health-conscious consumers discover this delicious substitute for sugar and calorie-laden honey.
6. Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris): used in Chinese medicine for nervous conditions and the lung. This is the exact species used in moxibustion.
5. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis): a sedative, the root is prized as medicine.
4. Fo-ti (Polygonium multiflorum): Known as He shou wu in Chinese medicine, the root of this attractive, spreading plant is a "rejuvenating tonic that will restore energy, increase fertility and maintain strength and vigor," according to Michael Tierra in his book, "The Way of Herbs."
3. Soy beans (Glycine soja): The demand for soy-based products and the market for them are growing rapidly, as I mentioned earlier.
2. Siberian motherwort (Leonurus Sibericus): used in Chinese medicine. It's an excellent heart tonic and is helpful for women's health concerns such as pre-menstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms. It's also used in moxibustion.
And the number one medicinal plant that can and should be grown commercially in Hawai`i is:
1. Green tea (Camellia sinensis): sales continue to increase, partly due to its anti-cancer properties. It's delicious and refreshing and is a staple of life in Asian countries. It should become a staple of life in the United States as well.
I'm Rapidly Becoming an Author
More of my energies are going into writing lately, as I've begun offering my small research booklet "Hawaiian Plants in Hi`iaka's Healing Herb Garden" for sale to visitors. At this stage, it's simply a list of the plants' names, histories and uses, but I have spoken with a local publisher and we agree that it should become a "real" book with illustrations and more information. If you'd like a copy, you can order one through our gift shop.
I have also developed an outline for another book to be entitled Hawaiian Gardens for the New Era, which will chronicle a dozen special gardens. In order to qualify, a garden must have a "higher purpose," such as conservation of endangered plants, education, ethnobotany, etc. The most interesting project I've come across is the re-foresting of the island Kaho`olawe, off Maui. This poor little island was used as a bomb test site by the US military for many years, and is now being restored with native plants.
Get Your Noni Conference Proceedings
Now you can order a copy of the Proceedings of the first Hawai`i Noni Conference, at which I spoke, in October of 2002. Of special interest are the findings of this remarkable fruit's anti-cancer activity against tumors in mice in a recent laboratory study conducted by Dr. Elichi Furusawa.
It's only $3.00 and can be ordered through the CTAHR Publications and Information Office, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore Hall 110, Honolulu, HI 96822, or write to them at: ctahrpubs@hawaii.edu.
Please Join Me...
In two things: as I write, the conflict in Iraq has just begun. It's hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Without getting too political, simply join me in my prayer for a swift and just end to the atrocity happening in this faraway land.
And you can join me by becoming a Friend of Hi`iaka's Garden. The more nonsense I see happening in this world, the more I trust living things and the sanctity of all life. So much of that life continues to be abused and threatened. I find this unacceptable and am attempting in my small way to conserve and teach about just a few plants that once thrived in Hawai`i and were used by the indigenous people as food and medicine. I'll be happy to send you my business plan and other documents if you request them by returning the card in this newsletter. Or visit our "Join Us" page on the web site. Join me and our eight other charter Friends and know that you're doing something concrete to help keep something "real" alive.
We're Officially a Farm Now
Thanks to garden manager Theresa, whose vision prompted me to embark on a new venture, and Rick Haveland, we are now growing culinary herbs for local markets. Rick helped construct our "Hale Basil" (Basil house) to protect young basil plants and other herbs from the damaging effects of too much moisture on their leaves.
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