Community Invited To ‘Touch Lives’ Via Mala’ai School Garden’s eBay Auction of Rare Treasures
From Rare Kapa to Elegant Catering…From Mauna Kea Star Gazing To Adopting Laying Hens; eBay Giving Works Online Auction Lets ‘Each Of Us Make A Difference For All Of Us’
With the giving season in full swing, it’s a perfect time to shop for gifts that “make a difference” and “touch lives”…while also remembering loved ones. Consider these unusual treasures and pleasures that are being offered in a first-ever online auction to support Mala’ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School:
• A rare pair of authentic pieces of Hawaiian kapa — hand-pounded and hand-painted by native Hawaiian artist Roen Hufford — pieces that any indigenous arts museum or collector in the world would covet.
• An elegant privately catered dinner for eight by classically trained Chef Dan Bobo and his lovely wife, Clare, whose catering business – Island Thyme Gourmet – is known for custom menus with a unique island flare tailored to the client’s tastes.
• A private escorted stargazing tour for up to six to the top of Mauna Kea – a sacred Hawaiian mountain that’s also considered the premier ground-based astronomical observing site in the Northern Hemisphere!
• A fascinating portrait by one of Hawai’i’s foremost artists, Calley O’Neil, and a raised garden bed made of recycled wooden pallets by Waimea’s jack-of-all-trades-farmer John Romoa.
• Five laying hens, three fruit trees and several wheelbarrows to be decorated by student artists – gifts not to send but to contribute in the name of a loved one to touch student lives by helping to sustain one of the lead school gardens in the Western U.S.
These are just a sampling of gifts offered in a first-ever online auction on eBays Giving Works site to help fund a school garden that – from its very beginning – has been deeply rooted in a community commitment to touch lives. Now almost seven years old, Mala’ai started out as a dream in a Waimea field of kikuyu grass at the back door of Hawai’i’s first public conversion charter school on Hawai’i Island. Today, Mala’ai is a beautiful, productive ¾-acre organic garden classroom that reflects the generosity of many community donors coupled with the handiwork of over 1,500 pairs of student hands.
Mala’ai’s mission is clear: to cultivate the relationship between students and the land through growing and sharing nourishing food in our outdoor living classroom. Our work reaches beyond the boundaries of our garden connecting land stewardship, culture, health and pleasure with lifelong learning.
Taking a page out of eBay Giving Works’ philosophy – that “Each of us can make a difference for all of us,” and that “we have the power to touch many lives by the choices we make,” Mala’ai’s cadre of volunteers invites friends of the garden and those who simply believe in the power of self reliance and innovative experiential learning to check out the online auction.
All items will be available December 1-10, 2011 on Ebay’s Giving Works; just search for Mala`ai. For more information about the Mala’ai school garden, go to www.malaai.org. For questions about the auction or otherwise getting involved in supporting the school garden program, contact Executive Director Alethea Lai, alethea@malaai.org or call 808-989-7861.
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