The co-owner of a Native Hawaiian nursery in Kāneʻohe has been promoting native alternatives to celebrate the holidays.
Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola has been promoting native trees for 15 years to reduce the influx of Christmas trees from the continental U.S.
The state imports thousands of noble and Douglas firs every year. These trees often bring pests and are thrown away after the holidays.
Barboza has used alahe‘e for his household because it's shaped like a traditional Christmas tree. But he said any alternative in Hawai‘i would be better suited for the holidays — including cutting down invasive trees.
"The idea behind it is it doesn't have to be alahe‘e. It doesn't have to be anything native," he said. "It just needs to be something that isn't a pine tree that we cut down from a forest someplace else and bring here the idea behind it is backwards, like we have things here that can be used."
Barboza hopes that people will buy locally to cut out shipping and reduce the carbon footprint.
