Going Green with Andrea Dean

In this podcast I interview Tom Baldwin. Tom and his wife Shannon Casey own Uluwehi Farm, a permaculture farm in North Kohala on the Big Island. Tom talks about what permaculture is and how it helps farms and homesteads to be more productive. Tom just got back from a trip to Australia where he sat at the feet of the permaculture master- Bill Mollison, the founder of the permaculture system. Tom will be sharing that new knowledge and his permaculture farm experience in January when he is co-teaching a Permaculture Design Certification course with Craig Elevitch and Nik Bertulis, the course starts Jan 5th.


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Well the days are flying by. I finally got a new home page mocked up today. None of the info is correct, and there is still old stuff on the page, but let me know what you think of where I am going with the design.


We just installed Twitter Tools for WordPress and I am posting this blog post to test all of the cool functionality. Gotta go!

If you have ever played a sport, you know the importance of a good coach. A coach motivates everyone to do their personal best for themselves and the team and creates accountability (you do show up for practice!). Most people agree that you and the team would not achieve maximum results without a good coach.


A Business Coach works with you to develop and achieve personal and/or professional goals. A coach can work with the business owner, manager, project team, or the whole company.


What kinds of problems does a coach help me to solve?


In a coaching relationship the client always defines the agenda and the coach helps to drive towards the solution. Some business owners and managers use a coach to jump start their “big picture”, “dream project”, or “what I really want to be doing” projects. Other people find that they are overworked and that their work/recreation mix is out of balance. A coach has tools to help you manage your work/life flow and to develop strategies to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.


Coaches also help people and businesses to “walk the talk” by aligning actions with values. Both individuals and businesses have values or guiding principles. These values could be focused on environment, community, customers, ethics, communication, creativity, employees, spirituality, excellence, etc… There are many successful businesses today (Patagonia and Stonyfield Farm to name the brightest stars!) that are driven primarily by social and environmental values.


In working with teams, a coach can work with a project team to keep the communication clear and a project focused through completion. Many medium and large size companies have internal coaches who work full time with employees on leadership, communication, personal and professional development.


A coach is not a therapist or consultant (although some coaches are also consultants) and does not solve your problems for you. Rather, a good coach will help to elicit solutions from the world’s foremost expert on you – you!


What makes someone a coach?


Business and Life Coaches can obtain professional accreditation through the International Coach Federation (ICF) which administers a certification program for coaches. A coach with ICF certification has completed a rigorous professional training program, has demonstrated ability through practice, and adheres to the ethics and standards of the ICF. Some of the skills that a coach is trained in are: active listening, powerful questioning, designing actions, planning and goal setting, managing accountability, and ethics. In addition to the core coaching skills, a coach also brings the cumulative experience of their professional life to the table. Coaches come in all flavors with backgrounds in marketing, human resources, environment, non-profit, health, education and many other fields. They key is to find a coach that you feel resonant with. Most coaches offer a free introductory session so you can try the approach and relationship on for size.


According to an article in workforce.com entitled The Boom in Business Coaching, 52 percent of U.S. companies surveyed, said they had business coaching programs in place and another 37 percent said they would be implementing coaching programs in the future.


Many businesses are finding a worthwhile return on investment in coaching with greater employee retention, meeting of performance goals, better follow through, and management excellence.


Andrea Dean, MBA is a trained life and business coach with a focus on working with green-minded people – one-on-one and in classes.

Pictured at right: Kenneth Sheeks- Hawaii Skylights & Solar Fans, Michael Kramer- Natural Investments LLC & Kuleana Green Business Program founder, Andrea Dean.


On Wednesday night at the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce after hours, my company was recognized as a participant in the Kuleana Green Business Program.


The Kuleana Green Business Program recognizes businesses that promotes ethical and socially responsible business practices and environmental stewardship. Chamber businesses apply to the program and are evaluated based upon the following criteria:


• Product/Service Quality
-Unique products / services that deliver benefits to consumers, society and the environment.
• Community Relations & Benefits
-Activities that help the community to flourish socially, culturally, and economically.
• Customer Relations
-Strategies to provide outstanding service and attain customer loyalty.
• Employee Relations
-Policies for hiring and retaining employees, and for promoting accountability
• Environmental Stewardship
-Actions to minimize the business’ impact on the land, and efforts to conserve and regenerate resources.
(Source: Kuleana Green Business Program website)


Some of us think all businesses should integrate social and environmental strategies into their operations. Just the application process to Kuleana is a learning experience. Apply today! The committee has people to help you with your application.

On Saturday, October 18th, I attended a great workshop organized by agroforestry advocate, author and photographer Craig Elevitch. Craig’s latest endeavor is the Hawaii Homegrown Food Abundance project. Craig and a number of other people (myself included) will eat entirely from their own property for one year to demonstrate that we can provide an abundance of food to support ourselves on a typical family homestead.


The subject of food self-sufficiency is very much of interest to Big Island residents. Craig is the rock star of food self-sufficiency, at presentations island-wide about the Hawaii Homegrown Food Abundance project often 100+ people show up to hear him speak. Saturday’s event, entitled Hawaii Island Homegrown: Food Self Reliance Workshop was focused on very practical how-to information about growing an abundance of your own food. Presenters included Nancy Redfeather, owner of Kawanui Farms and Program Director of the Hawaii Island School Gardens Network, Tom Baldwin, Uluwehi Farm, Ben Discoe, Ahualoa Egg Farm, Bonnie Perata, organic farmer, Melani Bondera, Kanalani Ohana Farm, and Ken Love, Hawaii Fruit Growers Association.


Dirt First! was the theme of Nancy Redfeather’s presentation on increasing soil fertility. Tom Baldwin taught us about plants with “staying power” and Craig gave us some “Leaves to Live By,” in his presentation about perennial leaf vegetables. As a person who has been known to kill even the heartiest garden plants- I am all for perennial left vegetables and have edible hibiscus, chaya, manioc and Okinawan spinach growing in my yard. Although not enough, I learned at the workshop. In order to really eat from my yard, I need to plant a lot more of all of those things- like 75 more of each plant! While I am a bit plant challenged, I do have a good time with chickens.


Ben Discoe and Bonnie Perata both gave great presentations about chickens. Bonnie shared her hard won experience with chicken tractors and Ben focused on non-imported food sources for chickens. At lunch we broke into interest groups and I was very happy to have a seat at the chicken table. All of my chicken questions were answered by Ben & Deb Discoe and my fellow participants. And we couldn’t help sharing some funny chicken stories. I must admit I get more pleasure out of watching the chickens (because they make me feel really smart) than I do out of eating the eggs. As Nancy Redfeather says, “Grow what you love to eat first.” I love to watch chickens, not eat them, but close enough. Ken Love is known as the “tropical fruit guy” and presented on Fast and Furious Fruits. The variety of fruits that you can plant for home use or market in Hawaii is really astounding and Ken has done all the research for you! Melanie & Colehour Bondera are like a modern version of the American pioneers (only the hearty, survival qualities we admire!) They grow and make their own jams, meads, chocolate and organic Kona coffee. Growing food or buying local food is one thing, learning what to do with it is another. Melanie reviewed some food processing methodologies with us such as- canning, drying and freezing.

Craig Elevitch is currently in the fund raising phase for The Hawaii Homegrown Food Abundance project. The demonstration sites will serve to generate data for community education about food self-reliance. We all know that about 85% of our food is imported and there is only about a weeks worth on food inventory in our stores at any given time. While government can play a key role with incentives and legislation to reduce our dependence on imported food, we can also solve the problem at the individual and community level.


The goals of the Hawaii Homegrown Food Abundance project as stated on the website are to:

1. educate community and school groups about our food security, local agricultural production, diversifying farm and garden markets, and nutrition and what we can do to improve them;
2. research and demonstrate the feasibility of providing most of a family’s nutritional needs and partial or full income without reliance on imported fertilizer, chemicals, or other inputs; and
3. produce a manual for import-free homegrown food abundance for consumption and sale in Hawai’i.


I feel so fortunate to be a part of such a vibrant sustainability oriented community. My own community in North Kohala is also very pro-active, the Sustainable Kohala coalition keeps local self-reliance on everyone’s agenda.