Hi’ilani

Sunday, May 24, on the day of the New Moon, we held a Groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the Hi`ilani House. The five of us who will be residing in the house – Sherry, Dave, Teri, me (Jim,) and my mother Irene – were there, of course, and we were joined by 12 close friends and neighbors. Robert, our architect and friend, was also there.

The weather was slightly overcast, and just before our ceremony we felt a few raindrops. Rain in Hawaii is considered a blessing, and we were grateful for this small blessing. (We were also content that it was not a larger blessing at that particular time.) We have been having quite a bit of haze in the area in recent days which has a tendency to obscure the horizon. Yesterday afternoon, however, the haze cleared just before the ceremony, and the ocean’s horizon was clear.

It was a beautiful, perfect day – the ocean stretching away to the North – the lush, green beauty of the land around us – the loving camaraderie of our friends and family. It was easy to feel the power of the `āina (the land) on which we have the privilege to live.

Dave started the ceremony by acknowledging those present and talking about the steps taken to arrive at this next phase of the process. We have very much enjoyed the journey so far.

Following Dave’s introduction, Lanakila, a young man who has grown up here on the Hāmakua Coast of the Big Island, gave a powerful blessing. In doing this project, it is very important to us that we do it in a way that acknowledges and honors the spirits of those who have lived on this land before us, as well as those who will follow us. We also honor the spirits of our own ancestors (and our descendents.) Lanakila’s blessing was a powerful evocation of this intention. He reminded us that the word ‘Hāmakua’ is a composition of the word ‘Hā,’ which means ‘breath,’ and ‘makua,’ or ‘parent.’ The breath and the spiritual power of the ancestors who have gone before us is very powerfully felt on this land, and this presence will guide us as we go forward.

Robert spoke briefly about some of the design aspects of the house, and noted that the hexagonal basis for the shape of the house has come from the fact that the critical natural elements at the site – the rising and setting sun, the ocean, the trade winds – intersect at 120 degree angles. The hexagon is a fundamentally strong structure often found in nature.

We timed the actual groundbreaking to occur at 4:20 PM. This time was selected as a time when the planets align in such a way that will enhance the coming efforts. Fred, who lives with us here on this land and is part of our Ohana, and who is known for his astrological insight, spoke a few words about the significance of the time.

And then, with Fred as our timekeeper, precisely at 4:20 PM HST we dug the first shovelfulls of dirt from the ground. This moment has been long in coming, but as I said earlier, it has been a wonderful journey so far. We anticipate the next phase will be equally fun and enlightening.

We continued to celebrate with our Ohana and our friends for several more hours. All felt a deep sense of connection with the land, and with each other.

It was a perfect day in every way: a fitting transition to the next phase of this of this project.

Finally – after three years in the planning stages – we have a building permit! What a process!

We decided at the beginning of this (back in 2005!) that we really wanted to remember to truly enjoy every step of this journey, and so far, we really have. It certainly helps that all of the people working with us on the project and wonderfully creative and fun to work with!

So what’s next?

Well we are now in the process of gathering bids and partners for the actual construction phase, and we hope to have that completed soon. Hopefully, we will have groundbreaking within the next month or so.

As we get into this phase, we really want to ramp up the information flow through this web site. One of our goals for the web site is to share our practical experience with others who may want to incorporate some of the elements of our design in other projects. We hope that this will serve to encourage and enable others to design and build carbon neutral projects.

As we encounter the inevitable challenges that arise during our construction, we will report on them and describe our responses and progress.

We will also be posting more pictures and video as well. Our goal is to be a useful resource based on our practical experiences.

It’s been an incredible ride so far, and promises to get even more interesting at a rapidly accelerating rate.

Aloha!

This blog will be a journal of the Hi’ilani eco house project, accompanying the more direct information on the accompanying site (www.HiilaniEcoHouse.com.) There is also an associated blog (www.hoolea.com) in which the future occupants of the house share some more details of our other activities, including the personal journey that led us to this project.

The house has been in an extended design phase since we met Robert Mechielsen, our architect and friend, in September, 2005. We met through a mutual friend, and at the time, we thought we were just starting to interview architects for the possibility of maybe someday building a house on this site. During the meeting, we came to know Robert as someone who was very much aligned with our commitment that whatever we do must be done with environmental and social sustainability as a foundation.

This meeting opened the door to an entire new range of possibilities.

We entered a design concept phase with Robert and Studio RMA. He came to visit the site in October 2005, and the Hi’ilani house began to take form, deeply influenced by the magic of the land on which it will be built.

The subsequent journey has been long as the design has evolved and the required engineering work has been carried out. This was not unexpected, and we decided from the start that this entire process was one to be fully enjoyed, celebrating each step of the journey.

This house will rely on the sun, the rain and the trade winds for its life breath. It will also be infused with the sincere gratefulness that we feel for the journey we are on.

We move forward on this project with the deepest of respect for the land, the people that came before us, and the people that will follow.

Thank You God …

Me Ke Aloha,

Jim