AUGUST 31, 2016 - VOLUME 31, ISSUE 35
The
Molokai Dispatch T H E I S L A N D ’S N E W S S O U R C E S I N C E 198 5
Potty Training, Local Style
COASTAL CLEANUP
By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
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olokai High graduate Holly Braffet recently wrote and illustrated a children's board book called "All Pau with Diapers: A Potty Book for Hawaii Kids." In a Q and A with The Molokai Dispatch, she discusses growing up on Molokai, her career and her new book. Question: Talk about yourself and the time you spent on Molokai. Answer: My mother and I moved to Molokai from Oahu when I was 13. She was a teacher at Kilohana Elementary, and we lived on the east end for a few years before moving up to Kalae. After graduating from Molokai High in 1997, I flew off to earn my BFA at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, and then returned home to enroll in grad school at UH Manoa. I started illustrating children's books in collaboration with my mother, who had also earned her Master's in Library Science and shifted gears to become a school librarian on Oahu. It runs in the family; my grandmother was a librarian, as well. Nowadays, I live with my husband and three kids in Wahiawa, close to where I work as a children's librarian in Waialua. At home, I illustrate books and am completely overrun by cats and chickens. Q: You've illustrated some other books; is this the first one you've also written? What inspired it? A: "All Pau with Diapers" is my eighth book, but it's the first one that I've written as well as illustrated. My daughter was working on potty training this year, and I was having a hard time finding a book she could relate to. I wanted something with a simple rhyme to help her remember how to use the potty, using words she hears at home and at Aunty's house, featuring characters who aren't all white (the lack of diversity in mainland publications is a problem -- representation matters). So I wrote the book for her, and her little green potty is in the illustrations. Getting artistic reference for the public toilet was a bit trickier. I always prefer to take my own pictures rather than use stock images when I'm figuring out how to draw something, so I was lurking around in public bathrooms with my camera for a while there. My daughter doesn't understand about stealth, and would say
Book Continued pg. 2
Removes Tons of Trash A collective, multi-organization effort to removing marine debris from Molokai's north shore this summer resulted in removing 16 tons of litter from the island. Above, volunteers from Department of Land and Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service and Sustainable Coastlines work to collect rubbish. Pictured at left is DLNR's James Espaniola of Molokai. Photos courtesy of Hawaii DLNR. For more information, see page 2.
16 Molokai Vendors at Maui Product Fest By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor
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ixteen Molokai businesses will represent the island's finest products at this year's Made in Maui County Festival in Kahului in November. Now in its third year, the event aims to continue its momentum of showcasing hundreds of Maui, Molokai and Lanai products while helping to grow the islands’ small businesses, according to the County's Office of Economic Development (OED). Last year, record attendance of more than 10,000 attendees turned out to browse at the event. Fourteen Molokai vendors were featured, and this year's island representation includes some of the same as well as some new business. The 140-plus businesses selected to be showcased at the event represent the county’s best of food, crafts, fashion, gifts, jewelry and more. With their own market area pointing out Friendly Isle products, many Molokai business owners who attended last year said the festival offered them the opportunity to expand their customer base and venture into new markets. “The Made In Maui County Festival
opens a whole new realm of opportunities for our Molokai vendors,” said Jennifer Hawkins, small business specialist at the Kuha`o Business Center, after last year's Festival. “Not only do they meet wholesalers and other retailers, they learn how to market their products, make new business contacts, and learn to cross market products.” The event will be held Nov. 4-5 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului. It is presented by the OED and the Maui Chamber of Commerce. Since the Festival’s inception in 2014, participating vendors reported a cumulative total of over $716,000 in product sales, over 430 in new wholesale accounts and/or orders closed, and gained over 5,500 leads for future sales and/or wholesale accounts which they acquired during the Festival, according to a recent release. This year's event is anticipated to be even bigger. “Providing opportunities for our local businesses is the main reason why this Festival was created,” said Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa. “Today, this event is not only an annual tradition for shoppers,
THIS WEEK’S
Dispatch
First Molokai Health Aides Graduate
Molokai Student Honored with Innovation Award
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Why I fly with Makani Kai “It’s way faster,” says Gregory, who’s on his way back to Molokai today to visit with family and friends. “The time you spend in the terminal is less, and there’s less hassle.” Gregory, who does landscaping for Huiku, a company providing garden and landscape design and a host of other services, also enjoys the friendly people at Makani Kai, “Even the pilots.” And let’s not forget the stable airfare, “You don’t have to go online and search for the best rate…it’s always the same.”
From topside Molokai to Honolulu or Kahului
$50 online fare, every seat, every flight, every day. MakaniKaiAir.com | (808) 834-1111
The
Molokai Dispatch
P.O. Box 482219 Kaunakakai, HI 96748
Gregory Camara Molokai Born & Raised