Excerpt from Kava Grower's Notes *permission to use excerpt given by John Fowler/ Rebecca Kirson of Kava Grower’s notesHawaii ain't paradise but it's heavenly. The mosquitoes are a bitch and the geckos shit on us all night long while the rain and humidity make the house a fecund environment for fungus, but the reality of such minor inconveniences balances the dreamlike qualities that make Hawaii a place that we've come to love.

In any case, for an obsessed kava grower this is definitely the place to be, deep in the heart of traditional Hawaii kava-growing country and surrounded on all sides by the stonework of the ancient Hawaiians. Where else could we live? Living with awa, it helps to be obsessed and I guess that's what I've become. It began in the 1960s when for 8 1/2 years I lived in Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, a French and British condominium (or pandemonium as we expats like to call it). It was at that time still a rather wild and inaccessable place. Many "bush" New Hebridean natives still followed the old custom ways in remote villages on the larger islands while in the tiny capitol of Port Vila, British and French officials squabbled over relative jurisdiction and the "right" way of running the government. Neither side being able to compromise, the islands were blessed with the duplication of services, a manifestation of French and British rivalry at its fiercest.

*Permission to use given by Duane Weed—A Better Way website

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Kava

Kava is a psychoactive beverage that has been used ceremonially for thousands of years by Pacific Islanders to induce a state of relaxation and tranquillity. It comes from the rhizome (root) of the pepper plant, Piper methysticum, which is found in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. Today Kava is used across the Pacific in both traditional ceremonies and informal social events. It has recently become available in Western nations where it is used primarily to promote relaxation.