Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 12, 1 December 1995 — Loan fund entrepreneurs blossom in Hāna [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Loan fund entrepreneurs blossom in Hāna

Stories and photos by Patrick Johnston "T X 7ith a loeal market of ahout 2,000 residents, Hāna is a hard plaee for a private entrepreneur to make a living. There is a hotel, yes, and a steady stream ofdaytrippers, hut hardly the same market ' found in tourist centers like Kihei, Kona, and Waikiki. Despite this, two Hawaiian entrepreneurs are making a go of it, and with a combination of smarts and persistence are making money in the process. Both recently received loansfrom OHA' s Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund.

Hana Tropicals

Tony Pu owns and operates Hāna Tropicals, a nursery offering a wide range of products and services for the loeal and tourist markets, "Living out here means you have to diversify to make a living," Pu points out. "We do the everything, weddings, tours, retail, hotel plant maintenance, landscap-

ing, everything." The center of Hāna Tropicals operations is a 2.5 acres greenhouse on the makai side of Hāna highway just past Hāna High

School. Inside the nylon covered greenhouse is a hive of botanical activity. Helieonia, bromeliads, orchids, and palms fill the entire site. Pu emphasizes that his is an active horticultural environment, not a flowery showpiece. "We're a working nursery. People who eome to see us eome to watch the operation." Tours from Hotel Hāna Maui and private tour companies drop by the greenhouse regularly. Visitors ean browse, ask questions about the flowers, and shop. Pu has retail space on the grounds where customers ean buy plants and plant-related items or order arrangements to be shipped. "All our products have been certified by agriculture inspectors," says Pu. "They are OK for shipping." Mail order has become an important part ofPu's business. He offers a variety of floral gift boxes, leis, and fruit, easily purchased using a toll-free line and shipped in two days. This month (December 16) he will be on QVC where he will show off some of his product to island and Mainland shoppers. Another important facet of Pu's work is his contract with Hotel Hāna Maui. For the past five years Hāna Tropicals has been responsible for all the interior plant design and maimenanee for the luxur>' hoteI. The company also did landscaping for the hotel when it was renovated five years ago. Pu has also done landscaping work for

the county and hopes to be a part of the efforts to elean up and re-germi-nate Kaho'olawe. He says, "l'm really interested in Kaho'olawe landscaping. We're trying to gear up for that now. It is our main focus." As a successful Hawaiian business man in a largely Hawaiian community, Pu has pitched in to help out some of the loeal Hawaiian groups

and school kids. High schoolers who are a eouple credits short of passing ean eome to the greenhouse and work for credit. He has also helped out, on a volunteer basis, Alu Like's summer youth projects. Hāna Tropicals has seven full time and one part time employees, numbers that, by Hāna standards. make it one of the larger companies in the town and a major responsibility for Pu. He seems to have embraced the challenge. "I'm a different animal than

tne guys trom tne notei. i m reatty ariven. Owning a business is a 10-12 hour job." He stresses what makes his business work is the diversity, both of his services and his staff. "Eaeh little thing makes the business. And everybody has a main job but ean do eaeh others." Hāna Tropicals ean be reached at P.O. Box 247, Hāna Maui 96713, (808) 2488256, 1-800-456-4262, fax (808) 2487253.

An orchid blooms inside the Hāna Tropical greenhouse.

Tony Pu shows off some of his flowers to visitors.