We moved to the Big Island over 4 decades ago. Our first official day was January 1st 1983. Three days later on January 3, Kilauea Volcano erupted and sent us all into a state of wonder and amazement. We have since learned that it ranks as the longest and most voluminous known outpouring of lava from Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in more than 500 years. 

 

We weren't too sure about all of it and waited anxiously to see if we should stay and start our life here. After Kilauea erupted Mauna Loa did as well. It was incredible to watch both flows from our living room window in Hawaiian Beaches. We could actually see the lava shoot straight up into the air about 1200 feet. It was amazing! By June 1983, the eruption became focused at a single vent, and over the next 3 years, a series of 44 lava fountains built a cinder cone later named Pu‘u‘ō‘ō.

 

      Next, a fire ravaged our subdivision and with everyone on our street at work, my husband helped to fight the blaze and I handed out water to the volunteers. Soon after that I discovered that I was pregnant with our first baby and 8-1/2 months later and two hospital stays for pre-term labor, our first son was born. Many circumstances arose that we were challenged by and we have always said that the first couple of years we were initiated.

 

      Our desire to farm quality herb came from us having some pain and sleep issues and wanting to discover alternative approaches. This led us in many positive directions. With our Medical Cannabis license in hand, we learned the best way to guarantee light, fertilize, eradicate bugs and mold, harvest, and curing techniques to making canna butter for yummy cookies that aid in our well-being and sleep, we ended up growing in more ways than one. We have also experienced more hardship, challenges, and joy than we ever could have dreamed.​

 

      Our journey of herbal discovery led to many creative projects that filled the soul and further led to our realization that there is so much more to this ancient plant than we ever imagined. Puna Paka Pharm was founded and projects included documenting the growing process with our custom journals, and photographing the highlights. Putting together different combos of photos was fun and led to creating many greeting cards for special occasions. Year by year the card inventory grew and eventually it was realized that we had a line of specialty cards.

 

      Designing a greeting card line that people could relate to, enjoy, and share with loved ones was our goal.​ Eventually, we welcomed a few friends to participate in the Master Grower's series of greeting cards which salutes the efforts of those often time unsung heroes, the growers, who every day tend to their gardens with hopes of pulling off the best harvest on record.  Often times this doesn't happen because of elements beyond our control, but through it all Puna growers remain one happy bunch. 

 

      We decided on a name to encompass all we wanted to offer and Hawaii Paper Co. was born. From there we gained momentum and developed the Out and About series of greeting cards which focuses on everyday life on the Big Island and beyond. We have many more ideas percolating and look forward to sharing those with you as well.​

 

      We encourage you to peruse our site and if you have any questions or comments, or if you just want to reach out directly, please do, we encourage it as meeting new people and developing meaningful healthy relationships is what we are all about.

Aloha!