Contact: Dawn Sakamoto (808) 534-7170 or dawn@bookshawaii.net
The Maui Book of Lavender: A Fresh New Guide to the Fragrant Herb
Besides its distinctive aroma, lavender boasts time-proven health, beauty and culinary value; its use has been well documented for some 2,500 years. The Maui Book of Lavender, a new lavender-scented release from Watermark Publishing, traces the herb’s historic uses in Hawai‘i and abroad, as it unveils the unique agribusiness story of Maui’s Ali‘i Kula Lavender.
A scenic farm with a diverse crop and product line, Ali‘i Kula Lavender perches high on the slopes of Haleakalā, where lavender plants stretch across the hillside in a sea of purple, green and silver. A dry, sunny region on the volcano’s leeward flank, Kula is an ideal place for growing lavender—a drought-resistant plant that requires rich soil, full sun and well-drained southwest-facing slopes.
Stunning photography and useful information on lavender crafts and home uses, as well as 40 recipes incorporating lavender, make this hardcover book a treasure for gardeners, home crafters, cooks and anyone else who appreciates a little lavender in their life.
Co-authors Alii Chang and Lani Medina Weigert are the visionaries behind Ali‘i Kula Lavender, where they embrace the aloha spirit and partner—rather than compete with—other Maui businesses to offer more than 75 different lavender-based products. Chang and Weigert take their kuleana—their responsibility—to heart: to connect with the land and enrich the community. Jill Engledow, their collaborator on the lavish new book, wrote for The Maui News for 18 years and now writes about the culture and history of Maui and Hawai‘i.
The Maui Book of Lavender (ISBN 978-0-9790647-7-7) will be available in January 2009 priced at $22.95 at bookstores and other retail outlets, from online booksellers, or direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net. Copies are also available at the Ali‘i Kula Lavender farm or at their Web site, www.aliikulalavender.com. Contact Watermark Publishing, 1088 Bishop St., Suite 310, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone (808) 587-7766; toll-free (866) 900-BOOK; fax (808) 521-3461; e-mail sales@bookshawaii.net.
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