Ali’i Kula Lavender: A Journey Through Relaxation

By Jennifer S. Meyers

Photography by J. Anthony Martinez

Surrounded by the intoxicating sent of 45 varieties of lavender and an engulfment of 55,000 different plants, on the mountain of Haleakala on the island of Maui, Ali‘i Kula Lavender enhances the lives of those who want to live a “Lavender Lifestyle.”

Ali‘i Chang is the father of this lavender farm when he first started farming as a young boy with his grandmother, Christina Lamson.  It was growing up on his grandmother’s 20 acre farm where Chang gained most of his passion for farming.

“I had this passion with her on the farm.  Harvesting, grading, pruning, fertilizing, making compost, propagating and marketing,” Chang said.  “As the years gone by, I had wonderful mentors.”

Starting the farm in June 2002, Chang and his business partner Lani Medina Weigert turned a simple herb into an experience for everyone to enjoy.  With Chang’s 40 years in farming and Weigert’s 28 years in tourism, they came together creating this 13.5 acre farm with mixes of lavender, olive trees, beehives, roses, hydrangeas, bromeliads and much more natural beauties.

But Chang, at first, said that he knows nothing about lavender when he first learned about the herb.

“I had no clue what lavender was,” Chang said.

Chang decided to purchase the farm of Kula which was formally owned by Dr. Phillip Parvin from the University of Hawaii in the 1970s.  Parvin planted the Protea plant, which originated from South Africa because it was a drought tolerant plant.  The Kula farm has very little rain, averaging at about an annual rainfall of less than 25 inches.

After purchasing his first 5.5 acres in January 1990, Chang needed to find a drought tolerant plant that will flourish in these chronic conditions.  That’s when he researched Lavendula, a website that specializes in lavender, and opened his insight to the beautiful herb.

“It was like I opened the bible,” Chang said.   “Lavender is a natural antiseptic which keeps away all bugs.  Deers, cows, rabbits hate it.  Lavender became the herb of the year in 1999 and now it’s a global love affair.”

After dividing the farm into parcels, Chang obtained lavender starts from a propagator in Oregon and got to work.

He first named his farm Nanea a‘o Kula which means “Relaxed in Kula.”  But after partnering up with Weigert, the farm became Ali‘i Kula Lavender which references the farm’s founder, and to the royal connections of the purple-flowered plant.

Weigert came to Chang at first to pick up lavender for a friend.  But after seeing what Chang has done with the 13.5 acres of land, Weigert offered to do marketing and tourism for him to bring in people to experience the beauty of the land.

“My biggest achievement is working with my business partner Lani Weigert.  It was her idea in collaborating with all our 25 partners who all have their own business, we do the branding and marketing,” Chang said.  “It has been a win win for all.”

Lani Medina Weigert and Ali'i Chang with their book The Maui Book of Lavender

The farm has blossomed and is a home to many different plants including the exotic signature plan of Kula, the protea, geraniums, orchids, bromeliads, nasturtiums, hydrangeas, roses and is decorated by antique statues of Chinese lions, cranes, angels and stone Buddhas.  The farm also has a vegetable and herb garden with a Native Hawaiian plant garden to provide more cultural education for its visitors.

“We created a very unique Ag Tourism product that we thought would be very enjoyable for the public to experience,” Weigert said.  “We wanted to raise the awareness for agriculture on Maui.”

Weigert and Chang wanted to merge tourism with agriculture while achieving sustainability to the islands and in result, receives about 12,000 guests per month.

Ali‘i Kula Lavender not only attracted visitors to the farm, but also established 25 partnerships with local business on Maui.

Their gift shop sells over 75 different products which contains merchandise from local businesses such as Tedeschi Vineyards which is a Maui winery, Maui Tropical Apiary who created lavender-infused honey, and also partnerships with larger companies such as Big Island Candies to distribute lavender chocolate brownies and Hawaiian Chip Co. in Honolulu to make their sweet potato chips.

While visiting Ali‘i Kula Lavender, visitors will be able to reserve a cart tour often lead by Chang himself while he educates you on the history and different varieties of lavender.  After the tour, visitors are welcomed to engorge themselves with delicious scones from the farms baker Jeanne Pelekai and lavender strawberry syrup from Jan Yokoyama of Maui Upcountry Jams and Jellies.  Lavender lemonade and iced tea is also available for purchase, as well as lavender chocolate gelato made by Ono Gelato, and lavender vanilla ice cream made by Dave’s Ice Cream on O’ahu.

Chang not only encourages people to learn about the varieties of lavender, but also the different uses of lavender such as using them as ingredients for food, creating a potpourri, lavender as a healing aid, and a tussie-mussie, the famous Victorian bouquet.

“The experiences working with lavender has been full of excitement and learning new things,” Chang said.  “This farm is like a huge learning center.  It keeps my passion going.”

The farm keeps on growing with plans to bring in more plants and products.  After obtaining 100 Tuscany olive trees four years ago, working with Yokoyama, Chang plans to press olive oil in November to make a bath and body line.  Lavender is much more than just this simple purple herb, but a learning experience for cultural beliefs and the island’s sustainability.

“We want to be good stewards of the land and educating others about agriculture by offering hands on experiences that promote togetherness,” Weigert said.

The farm is opened seven days a week and even though lavender blooms mainly around spring and summer, the unique conditions of Kula farm allows the herb to bloom year round.

“Our business model is grounded in the value of Aloha, which means love, honesty, friendship, responsibility and stewardship to us,” Weigert said.  “Aloha is the moral compass and gauge in which we set the quality of our relationships with the land, our families, our guests and our vendors.”

Chang and Weigert welcomes everybody to indulge in an experience that will not be soon forgotten.

“I hope to see everyone on Maui at the lavender farm,” Chang said.  “We would love to share a piece of heaven with you.”