 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(March 2023) |
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| Formation | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Richard Koob, Ernest Morgan |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | Retreat center |
| Location | |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Kalani Honua |
Kalani Oceanside Retreat, also known as Kalani Honua or Kalani, is a non-profit retreat center located on the Big Island of Hawai'i. It was established in 1975 and utilized for holistic lifestyle, yoga, and spiritual retreats.
Kalani Oceanside Retreat is a non-profit retreat center occupying a 120-acre compound located in the Puna District of the Big Island of Hawai'i. Kalani hosts residential workshops, sponsors community arts programs, special events programs, and provides lodging and meals for guests. The retreat center oversees volunteer, sabbatical, and visiting artist educational programs. It also houses a sustainable community of residents in an eco-village. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
In 1975, two professional dancers, Richard Koob, and Earnest Morgan [6] purchased the original 19-acre property, which they named Kalani Honua, which translates to "harmony of Heaven on Earth.”
Workshops and classes were conducted including Hawaiian culture, yoga, dance, painting, music, and creative writing. Workshop and course offerings increased as Kalani gained more recognition. Extensive volunteer, sabbatical, and visiting artist education programs were developed.
The Kalani campus was expanded to its current 120 acres, with the purchase of the adjacent 94-acre Kalani Kai ("Heavenly Sea") parcel, and the 6-acre Kalani Mauka ("Heavenly Uplands") parcel, land specifically dedicated to building a sustainable agricultural community. [2] [3] [4] [5]
Kalani operates as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charity through Kalani Honua, Inc., with a focus on nature, culture, and wellness. [7] [8]
Kalani's residential retreats offer workshops on art and human development, holistic health, Hawaiian culture, and include yoga, dance, and bodywork. [3] [9]
Kalani sponsors the Puna Community Arts Program, which consists of daily scheduled public offerings such as yoga, meditation, qigong, dance, alternative healing and a weekly ecstatic dance program. [10] [11] Special events consist of lectures, performances, symposia, festivals, dances, and other activities open to the general public, including the Puna Music Festival, Puna Culinary Festival, Illuminato, and the Hawai'i Yoga Festival. [12]
Kalani oversees a residential volunteer education program, with more than 100 volunteers on-site at a time. Volunteers are expected to contribute to the community through work in the kitchen, housekeeping, grounds, maintenance, or administrative office, and are encouraged to participate in daily life in the community, as well as workshops, classes, and Arts Program activities. Sabbatical and Visiting Artist programs are also offered. [13]
The Hawai'i Massage School at Kalani offers full-time and part-time bodywork training, as well as an apprenticeship program approved by the Hawai'i State Massage Board to satisfy course requirements and prepare for the state certification examination. [14]
As of 2013, Kalani's annual economic impact was estimated at nearly $10 million. The majority of Kalani's expenditures stay in the state, and contribute to the local economy of the Puna District, the poorest district in Hawai'i. All proceeds from guest stays go into Kalani’s community programming and services. According to Kalani founder Richard Koob, "[Kalani buys] as much produce as we can from local farmers, with many farmers growing specifically to supply Kalani’s needs." [2] [12]
Kalani's facilities include guest lodging, a large community dining area (dining lānai), numerous buildings and rooms dedicated to workshops and classes, resident housing and camping areas, and a clothing optional pool and spa area. Grounds include gardens, open space, recreational areas, permaculture plantings, and natural areas. [3] [4]
Kalani's Wellness Department offers land and aquatic bodywork, including traditional Hawaiian lomilomi, Thai massages, and Watsu. [1] : 233 [15]
Meals are served buffet-style in a roofed patio known in Hawai‘i as a "lānai". The dining lānai is considered to play a central role in the community, described as a gathering place where one "can experience the daily rhythms of assembly and departure reminiscent of ancient village life." A guide to Kalani's cuisine describes the food as "a Pacific fusion of local, Thai, Indian, Italian, and many other cuisines". [16]
For 38 years, Richard Koob served as the Director of Kalani. In 2012, Lester John ("LJ") Bates III was appointed as Kalani’s Executive Director. LJ quickly gained a reputation as a controlling tyrant who only saw value in his own opinions. He effectively fired half of the managers living in the community within the first 6 months of his tenure, with only 24 hours notice to leave, many of whom had lived and worked in the community for over a decade. LJ was eventually fired for illegally placing almost all new board members, gaining majority voting power, that he personally selected, which was against the non-profit organizations by-laws. Richard Koob retired in July 2013, continuing as a Kalani Board Member and Director Emeritus. In April 2016, a new Executive Director, Joel Tan, was appointed. [17]
The facility operates with a small paid staff and a large volunteer workforce. Institutional structure comprises a sustainable living educational focus in all departments: Programs, Cultural Heritage, Culinary/Kitchen, Ho'okipa/Housekeeping, Maintenance, New Construction, Permaculture/Horticulture, Information Management, Student/Faculty Services, Wellness/Massage, and Administration. [2] [7]
There is an "eco-village" of resident "stewards" who live onsite and contribute to the community in a variety of ways. Resident housing is primarily in clusters of eco-cottages, with an emphasis on sustainable living. [3] [8]
The retreat is located on the Red Road (Highway 137 or Kalapana-Kapoho Road), named because it used to be paved with red cinder from the Kapoho eruption of 1960. The road winds along cliffs overlooking the ocean, through tropical rainforest, recent lava flows, and tunnel-like canopies of kamani ( Calophyllum inophyllum ), milo ( Thespesia populnea ), and hala ( Pandanus tectorius ) trees.
Nearby natural areas include Isaac Hale Beach Park, a protected section of coastline popular for swimming, surfing, and boating. MacKenzie State Recreation Area is a secluded park featuring groves of ironwood trees and lava tubes that open to the ocean. Aʻakepa offers an expanse of lava flats and tide pools with tidal channels and small lagoons. Lastly, there's Kehena Beach, a natural black sand beach. [1]
The Kapoho Tide Pools (officially named the Wai Opae Tide Pools Marine Life Conservation District), a protected coral reef ecosystem, and Ahalanui Beach Park, a volcanically heated hot pond, were destroyed during the 2018 lower Puna eruption.
Three heritage sites at Kalani are registered with the Hawai’i State Department of Land and Natural Resources: [5] [18] [19]
Kalani has received awards on TripAdvisor: [20]
Members of Kalani's community have received awards for various contributions and activities:
In May 2018, due to the 2018 lower Puna eruption, Kalani shutdown its operations, stating "Kalani is currently closed. They are not accepting registrations or volunteer applications at this time. Recent earthquake activity on Kilauea’s south flank and lava eruptions in the Leilani Estates Subdivision are affecting air quality." [24] Follow-up announcements in June 2018 stated that all operations had been indefinitely suspended. [25] [26]
In early 2019, Kalani was offered for sale. [27] [28]
On July 19, 2019, the organization announced a "rebirth" of Kalani, with a new board of directors. [29] [30] The announcement stated, "Kalani intends to relaunch with a new vision, supported by community crowd funding, to begin generating revenue, making necessary improvements and, ultimately, supporting healing and restoration to lower Puna." [29] [30] As of July 23, 2019, Kalani has re-launched, with a new board of directors, and local employment in lieu of volunteer staff, and is gradually restoring its operations. [31]
Pāhoa is a census-designated place (CDP) in the District of Puna in Hawai‘i County, Hawai‘i, United States. The population was 924 at the 2020 census. The population dropped by 1.8% from 945 in the 2010 census.
In Hawaiian religion, Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and fire and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Often referred to as "Madame Pele" or "Tūtū Pele" as a sign of respect, she is a well-known deity within Hawaiian mythology and is notable for her contemporary presence and cultural influence as an enduring figure from ancient Hawaii. Epithets of the goddess include Pele-honua-mea and Ka wahine ʻai honua.
Kīlauea is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii Island. The volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Since the islands were settled, it has been the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island and among the most active volcanoes on Earth. The most recent eruption began on September 15, 2024, along fissures that opened on the volcano's east rift zone.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a national park of the United States located in Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. The park encompasses two active volcanoes: Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's largest shield volcano. The park provides scientists with insight into the development of the Hawaiian Islands and access for studies of volcanism. For visitors, the park offers dramatic volcanic landscapes, glimpses of rare flora and fauna, and a view into the traditional Hawaiian culture connected to these landscapes.
Kaimū was a small town in the Puna District on Island of Hawaiʻi that was completely destroyed by an eruptive flow of lava from the Kūpaʻianahā vent of the Kīlauea volcano in 1990. In Hawaiian, kai mū means "gathering [at the] sea" as to watch surfing. The lava flow that destroyed Kaimū and nearby Kalapana erupted from the southeast rift zone of Kīlauea.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Hawaii:
Lava Tree State Monument is a public park located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southeast of Pāhoa in the Puna District on the island of Hawaii. It preserves lava molds of the tree trunks that were formed when a lava flow swept through a forested area in 1790.
Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is located on the windward side of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaʻū district in the west. With a size of just under 320,000 acres (1,300 km2) or 500 sq. miles, Puna is slightly smaller than the island of Kauaʻi.
Kapoho, Hawaii, is a now-uninhabited unincorporated area in Puna district, Hawaii County, Hawaii, US, located near the eastern tip of the island of Hawaii, in the easternmost subaerial end of the graben overlying Kīlauea's east rift zone. Originally destroyed by an eruption of Kīlauea in 1960, it was rebuilt as a community of private homes and vacation rentals. The town was again destroyed by lava during the 2018 lower Puna eruption, this time with the bay largely buried by lava as well.
Chain of Craters Road is a 19-mile (31 km) long winding paved road through the East Rift and coastal area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii, in the state of Hawaii, United States. The original road, built in 1928, connected Crater Rim Drive to Makaopuhi Crater. The road was lengthened to reach the tiny town of Kalapana in 1959. As of 2018, the road has had parts covered by lava in 41 of the past 53 years, due to eruptions of Kīlauea volcano.
Isaac Hale Beach Park is an oceanfront park on Pohoiki Bay in the Puna district of the Big Island of Hawaii, United States. Known for its strong currents and large waves, the bay was part of a fishing village for centuries. It was one of a few places on the southeastern shore of Hawaii for ocean access. The park used to be known for good snorkeling, the 2018 lower Puna eruption covered most of the coral and safer swimming area. The park was expanded and modernized in 2006.
Wao Kele O Puna is Hawaiʻi's largest remaining lowland wet forest, about 15 mi (24 km) south of the city of Hilo, along the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The name means the upland rainforest of Puna. Puna is one of 9 districts on the island. Lava from Kīlauea continues to flow onto forest land.
Richard Koob is an American artist, best known as the founder of Kalani Oceanside Retreat, a non-profit retreat center on the Big Island of Hawai'i, and for his contribution to self-development and education.
The 2018 lower Puna eruption was a volcanic event on the island of Hawaiʻi, on Kīlauea volcano's East Rift Zone that began on May 3, 2018. It is related to the larger eruption of Kīlauea that began on January 3, 1983, though some volcanologists and USGS scientists have discussed whether to classify it as a new eruption. Outbreaks of lava fountains up to 300 feet (90 m) high, lava flows, and volcanic gas in the Leilani Estates subdivision were preceded by earthquakes and ground deformation that created cracks in the roads.
Route 137 is a state highway in Hawaii County, Hawaii. The highway, known as the Kapoho-Kalapana Road, the Beach Road, or the Red Road, travels along the eastern coast of the island of Hawaii between Kalapana and Kapoho. It passes near Kīlauea and its lava fields, as well as Isaac Hale Beach Park and other protected areas.
The MacKenzie State Recreation Area is a park in southern Puna, on Hawaiʻi Island in the US state of Hawaii.
The Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) is a geothermal energy power plant on the island of Hawaii, the largest island in the state of Hawaii. The plant was shut down shortly after the start of the May 2018 lower Puna eruption, and resumed power generation in November 2020. The eruption had caused lava to flow over a PGV power substation, a warehouse and at least three geothermal wells that had been preventatively quenched and capped when lava fountains erupted nearby, eventually also cutting off road access.
Green Lake was a freshwater crater lake in Puʻu Kapoho crater on the island of Hawaiʻi. With a surface area of 0.8 hectares and a maximum depth of 61 metres (200 ft), it was the largest natural freshwater lake in the Hawaiian Islands, and, along with Lake Waiau, was one of two freshwater lakes on Hawaiʻi Island.
Arthur Johnsen was an American artist. Born and raised on Oahu and living most of his post-university life on the Big Island of Hawaii, he is known for his impressionistic paintings and murals of Hawaiiana.
The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa was an episode of eruptive volcanic activity at Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, located on Hawaiʻi island, Hawaiʻi. Mauna Loa began to erupt shortly before midnight HST on November 27, 2022, when lava flows emerged from fissure vents in Moku‘āweoweo. It marked the first eruption at the volcano in 38 years. The eruption ended on December 13, 2022, after more than two weeks.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Kalani Publications, accessed 12-April-201.