“The best time to plant
a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.”


– Chinese Proverb

 

The invasive Albizia, a profound purpose and opportunity for the building industry

The Albizia and other invasive tree species here on Kauai hold a profound and revolutionary piece to the sustainability of our island. The abundance of quality material is seemingly endless, and by utilizing what is here we can make room to restore Kauai’s natural habitat.

The term “invasive species” refers to plant specimens that reproduce quickly and outplace native species, thus threatening our environment, economy, agriculture, human health, and overall quality of life. As government agencies are doing what they can to control the spread of these plants, each of us has the opportunity to help. SOL Projex is driven by creating dynamic solutions for supposed problems. Remove the invasives, give them another chance at life, and transform them into usable materials to build local, non-toxic healing homes for the residents of Kauai. The Albizia has been studied by the University of Hawaii to be structurally sound building material. We are replacing imported and genetically modified Douglas Fir with Albizia, creating an environmentally responsive model that can be replicated.

 
 
 
 

Jungle Restoration, harvesting with reverence.

A main component of our project is the restoration of Kauai’s natural habitat. As trees are cut down to be milled, others will be planted. Hardwood fruit trees and fruit forestry will bring more balance and abundance to the land for now and future generations to come.

Our plan is to remove 175 trees, mulch 1/3 of these trees, and return the material back into the ground, where the carbon will be stored in the soil as soil organic matter (SOM). We will then be replanting 250 trees and 1000 plants and shrubs. A natural and organic food forest with an abundance of biodiversity has been studied to store significantly more carbon in the soil.

 
 
 
 
 

We will be utilizing the small fallen tree limbs and offcuts from milling to produce material that will be transformed into biochar. We estimate our biochar kilns production to produce 30 tons of material annually, that will capture 650 tons of stable Co2. This form of stable carbon is then sequestered into the soil playing a long-term beneficial role to soil performance as it improves the retention and diffusion of water and nutrients.