Before my social media consulting practice, I had a photography business in Maui. One of my first clients in that business was Ali‘i Kula Lavender. A good friend of mine sent some email to co-founder Lani Weigert asking permission to take some casual photographs of the farm. Lani agreed, and asked if she knew anyone who might be interested in shooting professional photographs for their marketing campaign. My friend recommended me, I met with Lani and a collaboration was born.

I’ve been to the farm dozens of times over the years, as a professional and otherwise, and to this day, there’s a feeling that envelopes me when I get out of the car and look around. Not being an overly spiritual person, it takes a lot to awaken that part of me. You don’t get to be a successful photographer if you can’t tap that part of yourself, and I’d learned to do it over time, but it takes effort. This place makes it easy. Some of my best work came from here, even though it was commercial photography for the most part. All it took was listening to what the place had to say.

It wasn’t until later, after I’d been working with the company for a while, that I found out about its spiritual beginnings. I had the honor of having some of my photographs included among others in a book they released called The Maui Book of Lavender. Reading the last chapter in my signed copy, I learned that the original partners, Ali‘i Chang, Lani Weigert and Mars Simpson, founded the business on four basic principles.

Make The Most of What You Have
Water is scarce in Kula, and farming traditional crops is a struggle from year to year. Ali‘i chose a drought-resistant crop; something that could be irrigated by the mists forming over the slopes of Haleakalā for the most part, and that was one of the keys to success.

Collaborate and Everybody Wins
Growing a business without money or expertise to create lavender products was a huge challenge. By collaborating with home-based businesses around them, the owners were able to create the assets they needed for success, and everyone ended up getting more business than they could have imagined.

Market to the Local Community
The events of September 11, 2001 brought tourism to a standstill, and times were tough in Hawai‘i. They began inviting members of the local senior community for tours, gaining their trust and enthusiasm over time. In a culture where the younger generations are taught to obey their elders, word spread, and a groundswell following brought more than 3000 visitors by the next year. Today, even though they have a considerable amount of tourist traffic, a large percentage of their business comes from a loyal local community.

Operate with Aloha
When sightseeing companies wanted to bring their big tour buses to the farm, they refused, even though this would have brought in a lot more business. In the quiet, rural community of Kula, large tour buses would have been disruptive to their neighbors.

Even at the cost of the extra business, they wouldn’t stray from a value system based around the Hawaiian word Kuleana—being responsible and honest.

They are the sponsors of a grassroots movement called Sustainable Aloha that advocates socially responsible practices such as buying locally grown food and products from locally owned businesses, and being less reliant on imports from other parts of the world for the sustenance of the local communities.

In a former life, I was a part of several large businesses in the corporate world. Many would have benefited from the principles that Ali‘i Kula Lavender were founded upon. They continue to flourish not only as a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, but as a company whose culinary, bath and body, and aromatherapy products embody a lifestyle of luxury and comfort, made possible by people who care about their community, and a small, unassuming, drought-resistant purple flower.

Read more about Ali‘i Kula Lavender:
The Lavender Story
Grown On Maui Bus Tour

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