By Yiming Fu, Report for America corps member
Koli Hafoka sells coconuts on the side of the highway. His table is lined with cut pineapple and mango in Ziploc bags and he has a trunk of coconuts, two large knives and a bundle of straws. People pull over on the side of the road to buy from Hafoka, and others honk and roll down their windows to shout their support. The Maui native’s home was destroyed in the blaze last August.
“Somehow I lost everything, so I come to sell coconuts,” Hafoka said. “I’m trying to survive.”
Hafoka started selling coconuts about three months ago. He works from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day, trying to get “every drop” he can. Hafoka’s house is worth $980,000, insurance gave him $300,000, and he’s selling coconuts to close that gap. He makes $600 to $800 a week.
“It’s not enough for me,” Hafoka said. “It’s really really bad.”
Hafoka used to be a contractor. But he lost his tools in the fire so he can’t return to his normal work. He applied for a loan from the Small Business Administration, but he was rejected because of bad credit.
Unsure of what to do, coconuts became his new plan. Hafoka loves coconuts, and he has fond memories of them growing up. He said he’s the only one selling coconuts on the west side of Maui, and he feels proud that he can serve tourists who come from different countries like India and Mexico.
For Hafoka, coconuts evoke his culture and his home.
“People come here looking for Hawaii, and I give them a little bit of Hawaii,” Hafoka says. “And that really makes me proud.”
During the fire, Hafoka fled home with his wife, his daughter and his daughter’s husband. A month after the fires, Hafoka’s dad passed away. After the fires, his family was first sent to Royal Lahaina and then to Wailuku. He doesn’t have a permanent place to stay.
Hafoka said debris removal was just completed on his property, but he doesn’t know when he will be allowed to rebuild.
While his daughter and two sons have moved to Utah, Hafoka wants to stay in Lahaina with his wife.
“I love it here. I grew up here. I cannot find a place like Maui, slow and relaxed.”
Either way, Hafoka said he thinks it will be different. He estimates 40-50% of the people he grew up with have moved out, and he feels less comfortable living around strangers.
His dream is to buy a house for his kids in Lahaina. He said he’s a low-maintenance person, and there doesn’t need to be much. Just a couple of bedrooms for his family and a roof over his head. What gives him hope is his kids. To see them survive and be successful in what they do.
“When I die, if I know they can stand on their feet I’ll be happy. Other than that I don’t really need anything else. Just a house.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. All donations are tax deductible and can be made here.
