Hawaii
This Wahiawā Shop Uses Invasive Albizia Wood for Everything, Even Surfboards – Hawaii Magazine
You’ve probably heard of the age-old question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? For the team at Bizia Surf, falling trees not only do make a sound, they also make an impact.
Founders and owners, Joey and Christine Valenti, opened a shop and café in Wahiawā on Oʻahu in 2023 with a mission to restore native forests while connecting the tradition of wave riding on Hawaiʻi-grown wood.
How?
By sourcing the invasive albizia tree.
Introduced to Hawaiʻi in 1904, the albizia tree has become one of the most notorious invasive trees in the Hawaiian forest.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
This species is found all across the state and is one of the fastest growing trees in the world. Not only does it compete with and displace native species and modify nitrogen levels in the soil, it’s notorious for damaging houses, roads and other public infrastructure. Through the certified regenerative lumber program of the the couple’s Albizia Project organization, Joey and Christine partner with local land stewards in tree removal and forest restoration projects, playing an integral role in Hawaiʻi’s albizia wood restorative supply chain.
“It feels a lot bigger than us,” Christine says. “It’s not necessarily our work. It’s just the work that we’re supposed to be putting out into the world.”
Bizia Surf’s owners Christine and Joey Valenti.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
The work is powerful and palpable when you walk through the doors of their shop. The albizia wood finishes showcase its beautiful and functional possibilities as the artwork and paintings on the walls amplify its charming ambiance. The café offers a variety of drinks and baked goods, serving as a satisfying pick-me-up while browsing through the adjacent showroom that also includes albizia wood home goods such as frames, lamps and charcuterie boards. The immediate attention grabber is the array of surfboards stacked side by side for surfing enthusiasts to lay their eyes on. Visitors and patrons alike have taken sight and are on board for the ride.
“When we opened the shop, the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” Christine says. “It’s so fun to get generations of Wahiawā families coming in and be excited about [this initiative].”
Surfboards made from albizia wood in the Bizia Surf café in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
That initiative began when Joey worked on his dissertation in his final year of the architecture program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Through researching albizia and the efficacy in building with it came what Joey calls his “lightbulb moment.” That bright idea led to the founding of the Albizia Project in 2017. Seven years and well over a thousand tree removals later, the company stands tall as a key player in tackling the albizia problem and restoring the richness of Hawaiʻi’s ecosystem.
Today, Bizia Surf is turning heads in the local surfing industry, evolving the early chambered board blueprints of Dick Brewer, a legend in surfboard development, from a handmade approach to digital fabrication that includes 3D modeling. For Bizia Surf, it’s about keeping sustainability at the forefront of modern technology while also honoring the past.
“The wood beneath your feet gives you that closeness to nature and to the early surfing days,” Joey says. “It’s the board you want to really feel connected to the waves, the water, and Hawaiian tradition.”
A surfer riding a longboard made from albizia wood.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
Through collaboration with renowned shapers, Bizia Surf offers six different surfboard designs wave riders everywhere can get their hands (and feet) on. The longboards, for example, have gotten praise for how they are sturdy enough to be great at holding noserides and walking the board, yet lightweight enough to make smooth turns and cutbacks. Singer-songwriter and Oʻahu native Jack Johnson calls his Bizia board “one of my best twin fins” as it goes fast down the line and holds all the way through the turns. Surfers can look forward to a new stringerless board in the future as the brand is currently prototyping and testing their latest innovation.
Inside the retail shop in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
The retail shop, located in the same industrial warehouse as its manufacturing facility, also proudly serves as a hub for community events and a friendly gathering spot for those in the Central Oʻahu area.
“This is where we started and where all the magic happens,” Joey says. “I feel like it’s a responsibility to share that with the community and love it back.”
Ecosystem restoration, import dependence reduction, landfill waste elimination—three things Bizia Surf stands firm on about what they deliver. For the husband-and-wife team, it’s a calling far greater than profit. It’s helping people direct their dollars to purposeful regeneration.
The company’s mantra outside the shop in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf
“It’s a promise that business is never going to come at the cost of our environment,” Christine says. “We offer easy ways for customers to engage with that promise so that the things they are consuming are contributing to a positive, greener, more eco-friendly future.”
So, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer is yes. It simply makes waves, in sound and in water.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – If you grew up in Hawaii, a visit to your local Crackseed shop is likely a core childhood memory.
Let’s go holoholo to one of the oldest shops in Honolulu, Kay’s Crackseed.
Any time Lanette Mahelona of Kaneohe is in Manoa, a stop at Kay’s Crackseed is a must!
“I stop by here, and I always grab two pounds of this seedless creamy ume because it’s hard to find on our end of the island, Kaneohe,” said Mahelona.
Kay’s Crackseed sits in a four-hundred-square-foot shop at Manoa Marketplace.
The original owner, Kay, opened the shop in 1978 and ran it for 18 years.
Mei Chang now runs the shop. Her family took it over in 1996. They’ve been selling an assortment of crack seed and products, which Mei says is a healthy snack in the eyes of the Chinese.
“Yeah, so like the ginger, the Chinese always say it’s Chinese medicine, so they help your motion sickness, the stomach, and even the kumquat,” said Chang. “It’s like honey lime ball, if you catch a cold, sore throat, they help a lot.”
Customers are encouraged to sample the different treats.
Now working in a crack seed shop isn’t anything new for Chang.
She said these kinds of shops are in common in Taiwan that her grandparents used to sell different kinds of li hing mui.
Chang lived right above her grandparents’ shop and was in the second grade when she started helping them with the business.
“Every day when I finish school first thing open a jar,” said Chang. “I really like the football seed, so every day I eat a football seed for my snack.”
And talk about a full circle moment, her daughter would also help around the Manoa shop.
Through Kay’s Crackseed, Chang hopes to carry on traditional recipes she learned from her grandparents.
“Crack seed for us is not only the snack, but it’s like childhood memory, yeah, the happiness, so we try to keep doing the tradition. So, all the juice we make here is from our grandpa and grandma’s recipe,” said Chang. “So, a special yeah, secret sauce, so we have some customers that live far away, the other side of the island, drive so far to come here to get the li hing one. The wet li hing mui, the rock salt palm, is really popular.”
“The li hing mui ones are not as sweet, sweet as other places, and it’s soft,” said Crystal Kaluna of Kauai.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Kolekole Pass is officially allowed to be used as an evacuation route in the event of an emergency on West Oahu.
U.S. military and civilian officials signed an updated official memorandum of understanding Wednesday, opening Kolekole Pass for emergency use.
The first document was signed just prior to July 29, 2025, when Hawaii faced a tsunami warning, and the pass was opened for West Oahu residents to evacuate.
Nearly 500 vehicles made their way through the pass that day as many evacuated the Leeward Coast, officials said.
Maj. Gen. James Batholomees, U.S. Army Commander, Hawaii, was joined by his counterparts from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the state Department of Transportation officers for Wednesday’s signing.
Batholomees said he took command the day before the tsunami warning.
“The next day, the first order that I had the blessing of giving was in conjunction with the Navy opening the pass during the tsunami,” he said.
Kupuna from the Leeward Coast also attended the signing, saying they were happy for a much-needed secondary route in the event that Farrington Highway is shut down.
Leeward Coast resident William Aila recalled when Farrington Highway was closed for 11 days due to Hurricane Iwa in 1982.
“We need an opportunity to bring in first aid, to bring in food, and to bring in other emergency supplies,” said Aila.
Officials say they are committed to conducting a mass evacuation rehearsal using Kolekole Pass every year.
Ed Sniffen, director of the state Department of Transportation, said it’s the key to a successful activation to use the route.
“The road is safe,” said Sniffen. “When we rode through this, and we did this twice with large operations, the road is safe.”
He added, “That being said, there are improvements that we still want to make.”
HDOT continues to work with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy on upgrading the roadway, which may total $20 million in improvements.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
U.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
All Aboard the 67, San Francisco’s Most Delayed Bus | KQED
We don’t know why Dallas elected Amber Givens for DA either
Firefight at NW Miami-Dade warehouse enters 2nd day: ‘It burned it all up’
Poor Clares’ monastery a case study in why Boston is short on housing – The Boston Globe
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
DOJ continues Biden autopen probe despite former president unlikely to face charges
Fact check: Did French border guards mock influencers returning from Dubai amid Iran war?
Iran’s fight for survival / The widening war / Trump’s nebulous goals : Sources & Methods
Map: 4.9-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Louisiana
Paxton vows he’s ‘staying in this race’ even if Trump backs Cornyn in Texas GOP clash
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon7 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling