NEWS:

The Market

Koloa Sunset made with Koloa Dark Rum. Daniel Lane photo

The Market at Common Ground in Kilauea has made some changes. Everything in The Market is eco-friendly and with that goes education. “Our goal is to share why we choose these amazing eco companies,” says market manager Stephanie Montanez. “We share what is different about each company’s products and what sets them apart from conventional products. Everything in our Market enhances life, preserves the Earth, supports local (97 percent of our vendors are local), and changes the paradigm of how people relate to shopping. Ultimately, we want to expand the awareness of why it is important to shop from this new perspective.”

2013 tours and workshops include chef Rodman teaching children in a school setting about eating healthy. “We are expanding our offering of knowledge by becoming a community hub and a resource for information, classes, workshops, tours,” says Montanez. “All to be centered around conscious eating, healthy lifestyles, agricultural knowledge, and Hawaiian herbal medicine.

Montanez owns the skin care company Palaau – The Healing Touch of Plants. Palaau has acquired land at Common Ground, as well as manufacturing space. “My goal with my land will be to create a endemic, indigenous (as well as other botanicals) native hawaiian herb garden that supplies botanicals for Palaau,” says Montanez.  “My dream is to preserve this lost art and the profound wisdom and ways of Laau lapaau (healing with Hawaiian medicinal herbs), the mana o, the seeds, and the experience of the intangible.” Continue Reading →