Phil's Koa Root

Ancestor Root of Koa - P. J. Haysmer

Photo by Kim Kornbacher (kimkornbacherphotography.com)

Part of fun of the art process Phil and I share is seeing the before and after -- for this one I really regret not having a "before" photo to show how Phil brought out the beauty of this gnarled koa tree root.  The Koa tree here on the Big Island is held in high esteem culturally.  


In the Hawaiian language (one of the two "official languages of Hawai'i) KOA has many meanings, but the first is brave, bold, fearless, valiant with the second meaning of soldier, warrior, and the third meaning being the largest of native forest trees...formerly used for canoes, surfboards and calabashes.

Ke Mole o Koa

A familiar story: Trees in Trouble -- For 22 years we lived in Humboldt County, the land of the giant Redwood trees that helped built major cities all along the West Coast.  Decades of clear-cut logging created a significant decline in the number of ancient giants with lives spanning 2,000 years and more. Here in Hawai'i 10% of the original Koa forest ecosystem is still intact.




The ancient Hawaiian delicate ecosystems evolved without any grazing mammals. Therefore, the native plants developed no natural system to resist the development of grazing lands for cattle in the 1800's. Since Koa is a legume and is a nitrogen fixing species, it is highly desirable to non-native grazing animals such as pigs, cattle, goats and sheep.  Deforested cattle grazing areas also impacted many bird species whose ground nest building was negatively impacted as well.

There is a Hawaiian proverb that says:  I ulu no ka lala i ke kumu which translated says, "The branches grow because of the trunk."  It is part of the consciousness we have found here in Hawai'i that honors heritage, lineage, and the malama o ka 'aina. the care of the land.

(Phil's piece is for sale:  $800)