Hale Akua is a production farm, an education center, and a resort built around permaculture principles. We stayed here for our last week, and my weary bones definitely appreciated having a bed to lay on. We didn’t get to do much, as far as hands-on activities went, because it rained pretty much the whole time we were there. I didn’t actually mind this, because everyone was feeling the grind to get our design projects completed.
My group had chosen to complete a design for The Pacific Science Institute; partly because one of my group member’s partner owns it, and partly because we thought designing an old pineapple field would be pretty easy. It was not! The serious lack of infrastructure had to be dealt with first, before any other designs could start to take place. We were lucky in obtaining a topography map of the property so easily, as our client had it ready to go at the client interview.
By observing the topographical lines, we were able to determine that the property had a defined ridge line going through the middle of the property. This was ideal for a permaculture design, because it provided for a strong road and ample opportunity to slow, sink, and store water. I had to use plenty of positive confrontation techniques to convince my group to put the road on the ridge, but I’m happy that I was able to convince them in the end. I compromised a tremendous amount throughout the design, and the road was the only element that I felt we got completely right on the design.
The design project presented many areas for growth. We were assigned teams, rather than being able to pick our own, and I feel that this led to an environment in which most people in the class were less willing to compromise on their individual design ideas. I may have compromised just to keep things progressing, but in the end we produced a high quality result and the client was happy. My group also experienced the challenge of letting the “client” sit in on the design process. Hana, or our client’s partner, was in our PDC class and also in my design group. She was an excellent group partner, but sometimes she would move things around on our design map without talking to the rest of the group. I feel this happened because she was too attached to the project. In a normal design process, I feel the client should be included but not while active design mapping is taking place. The client should be presented a design proposal, and at that time be able to make suggestions or ask for edits.
I’m really glad to have taken this PDC course on Maui, and will be recommending it to other students at TESC. It was very challenging at times, but the whole process has changed how I perceive landscapes. I’m able to look deeper, as I have been provided a toolbox of principles and vocabulary to better understand and construct sites. Oh, and Hale Akua does not have a waterfall, wink wink.