LE PORTRAIT MAGAZINE MARCH-SEPTEMBER ISSUE | Page 34

We walked on the hardened lava that had destroyed what wasn’t left of
Kalapana, drank some kava, and enjoyed the high caliber of reggae only
beach towns can attract. Then we went to Jeff’s hobo camp, a small plot
of land he had recently purchased in a dense rainforest outside Pahoa, a
place described in theBig Island Revealed guidebook as “a town of
outlaws and wackjobs.”
Jeff had hacked his way to a space big enough for him to erect his
Burning Man shade structure over a sleeping pad, some plastic storage
bins, and a bucket he used for a toilet, creating a makeshift shelter he
planned to live in until he built his cabana.
Jeff only lived at the hobo camp part-time. He had been attending a
series of workshops at what he described as an “intentional communal
sustainable holistic living experiment.” The experiment was run by a
permaculturist and polyamory advocate named Pono, and the workshops
included free camping.
The next morning at the farmer’s market, we visited Pono’s booth. Pono
supported his intentional community by climbing untended coconut
trees, shaking down coconuts, and selling them at the famer’s market.
While Jeff and Pono discussed DIY sewage options, I perused Pono’s
personal collection of poetry, music, and mission statements, which
were on display next to the coconuts. These documents were neatly
organized in plastic sleeves in three-ring binders, and included such
titles as “I Party Naked,” and “Spirit Re-Quest.” I leafed through the
mission statements on tantric sexuality, instinctive eating, and mindful
co-parenting, but slammed the binder shut when I saw the words
“nonviolent communication.”
What was it about t