Category Archives: Travel

Culture, Environment, food, Lifestyle, maui, Travel

Growing Maui Vanilla Beans

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The harvest and drying season in Maui for vanilla beans has just ended, and pollinating season has just begun. Growing a single vanilla bean takes about one year: In May, vanilla orchid flowers bloom, during which time they must be pollinated by hand with a paintbrush. If that goes well, a single bean will erupt from each flower. Nine months later, the vanilla beans are ready for harvest. After three months of drying, the beans are ready to eat, and the annual process starts again.

This year was a bumper crop, according to one Maui grower, who pollinates about twenty thousand orchid plants by hand each year to produce the decadent Madagascar variety of vanilla beans. There are less than a handful of vanilla growers in Hawaii, and only two are working on such a large scale.

maui-hawaii-vanilla-beans

Vanilla beans in the process of drying

Growing vanilla beans does lend itself easily to commercial processes, which is why genuine vanilla flavor costs more than artificial. Vanilla orchids lack natural pollinators, so each plant must be pollinated by hand, using a tool like a small paintbrush. The window of time for pollinating stays open only as long as the flower blooms. The process is hectic, painstaking, and time-consuming. And there’s no guarantee the pollen will bear fruit.

But for growers and connoisseurs alike, there is no substitute for the rich, creamy flavor of real Madagascar vanilla. It’s the variety favored by pastry chefs around the world. The other variety, Tahitian vanilla, has a more floral aroma and lighter flavor. I like to grind up real vanilla beans and mix with Maui sugar or infuse them whole into a bottle of rum for baking.

Culture, Politics, Travel

Bed & Breakfast Law in Effect for Maui County

Mayor Charmaine Tavares signed a new ordinarce into law governing Bed & Breakfast (B&Bs) operations effective January 2009. B&Bs are now a permitted use in residential, business, hotel, rural and agricultural zones in Maui. But there is a cap on the number of permits that may be approved: only two dwellings per parcel may be rented short-term. The property owner MUST live full-time in one of the two dwellings. According to the County, this is to prevent off-island investors from running unsupervised vacation rental businesses. The Planning department is authorized to process most B&B applications, a process they say could take several months or more to complete.

Large sign in the front yard part of B&B permit process

The new Maui County ordinance requires that large “Notice” signs must be posted in front of properties prior to submitting an application for a permit to operate a B&B. Hence, we see them popping up all over the place on Maui.

Maui County began enforcing regulations the effectively shut down transient vacation rentals (TVRs, aka vacation rentals) beginning in 2007, including properties that fell within the B&B category. This sudden action enraged landowners running illegal vacation rentals and local business people alike. Both rely on tourists for livelihoods. The crack down unfortunately coincided with an already ailing tourism economy due to the global economic crisis, turning a bad situation worse.

Generally, B&B permit applications for the island of Maui will be reviewed by the Planning Department. Neighbors and agencies will be provided an opportunity to comment on any submitted application. However, if the B&B is on Ag land and if 30 percent of the neighbors objected, or if another B&B is located within 500 feet, the Maui Planning Commission will review the application. (The intent of the additional requirements is to preserve Ag lands).

It is no longer necessary to receive approval from the County Council. Permit applications for B&Bs on the islands of Moloka’i and Lana’i will go to that respective island’s Planning Commission for review.

For land zoned agricultural–all of Haiku and some Upcountry areas, for instance–there are additional requirements to operate a B&B. State laws require a Special Use Permit be approved for lands with State Ag land-use designations. For County Ag zoned lands, the new ordinance requires an annual farm income of $35,000 for the previous two years; OR if the parcel is less than five acres, a farm plan must be fully implemented.

With the new law, there are limits to how many B&B permits may be issued in each of these areas:
Hana: 48
Kihei-Makena: 100
Makawao-Pukalani: 40
Paia-Haiku: 88
Wailuku-Kahului: 36
West Maui: 88
Moloka’i and Lana’i: no established caps

Each application must be reviewed by their island’s Planning Commission.
Permits are given first for 3 years; then after that for a 5 year period. They are non-transferable, meaning a prospective B&B buyer will need to apply for and win a new permit.

See coverage by the Maui Weekly.

Travel

Cheap Interisland Travel Fares

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The bad economy and falling visitor counts to Hawaii are finally lowering interisland airfares.

Hawaiian Airlines announced today prices for interisland airfares not seen since the 90’s. They’re offering a guaranteed fare of $43 each way good for travel between March 3, 2009 and May 15, 2009.

The catch is that you have to be a member of the frequent flier club, which is free to join, and sign up for the deal in advance by March 11, 2009. They say that coupon you’ll receive in your email is good for up to 40 one-way interisland flights priced at $43 each.

Sign up for the deal

Become a Hawaiian FF member