The circus arrives on the North Shore of Oahu every November and begins to disperse come early January. If you are lucky enough to stay on the North Shore until mid-February, you will find yourself surrounded by a different type of circus, the Wanderlust festival. Wanderlust drops into Turtle Bay for a four-day yoga carnival bringing people together in their best eco-chic attire ready to blast on Instagram, #nofilter, of course. One of good vibes, kombucha, aerobatics, bare abs, slack lines, and yoga pants.
A few years back, Sean Hoess, CEO of Wanderlust, chose Hawaii as one of the next stops for the Wanderlust festival. He saw that Turtle Bay Resort, fresh off its rebranding as “Oahu’s Fabled North Shore,” could benefit from the exposure the Wanderlust festival would bring. The easier choice and much more logistically friendly would have been to host Wanderlust in Waikiki. Nonetheless, he wanted attendees to get an authentic experience and he knew the benefits of having the festival at Turtle Bay would stimulate the local economy. He also chose one of the most divisive and politically weathered resorts in the local community. Having worked in politics my entire life, the politics of the North Shore is more heavy than anywhere on K street in Washington DC. Getting inside the Oval Office is easier than finding yourself inside a barrel at Pipe. Who you are, where you are from, who you know – it all matters.
What some see as a ticking time bomb, Sean saw as an opportunity to bring in local cooks, yoga instructors, and surf instructors. They also saw an opportunity to bring in a local non-profit called Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii to help with waste diversion and education, and to provide a local hub for festival goers to volunteer. Doing this was in the best interest of their bottom lines, and it also enhanced the local character of the festival. With zero waste management experience, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii was tasked to educate festival goers, transport and sort the rubbish from the event. They took a chance with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii took a chance on them.
This was a pivotal moment for Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii. Even though this was all new to Kahi Pacarro, Executive Director of Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, he knew a good opportunity when he saw one. So Kahi did what any brand new Executive Director of a budding non-profit would do, he said, “F it. I’m in.” Let this be a lesson to everyone reading. If you have the drive and the Aloha, never say no to an opportunity.
The partnership is now in its fourth year. Where each of these three organizations were four years ago to where they are now is vastly different. Turtle Bay is now an hospitality industry leader in environmentally sustainable business practices. Wanderlust has evolved into the iconic international yoga festival it is today. Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii has started a waste diversion service that goes beyond education and beach clean ups. “It’s about the collective consciousness, it’s about a new type of currency that is not just monetary,” said Adam Luchs of Turtle Bay. Essentially, just be the opposite of Donald Trump and don’t be a dickhead to the planet.
At the end of the event, the three organizations weren’t talking about the amount of rooms booked, festival tickets sold, or volunteers enrolled. The focus of their conversation was how they can do better next year. How much waste was not recyclable and how else they can improve. It was not about the revenue, it was about a shared goal to impact the earth as little as possible.
Sustainable Coastlines’ Kahi explained, “My favorite aspect of what I get to do is empower people through education. For example, we spoke to Turtle Bay about some of their one time uses plastics, they went ahead decided to get biodegradable plastics. I never held a gun to their head, they just did it. That is my favorite part of my job, infecting change through education.” Through this partnership, each organization has matured — and so have their bottom lines. It is everyone’s best interest to grow and be better. It is in our interest as consumers to pay attention and to support sustainable, conscientious businesses by voting with our wallets.
