Big Island (Pahala, Naalehu, Ocean View, Kona, Waimea)
Multi tasking, client acquisition, project management, scheduling: all part of being an independent handyman who loves to use his hands as much as his mind. From building walls of a home, to constructing websites online,
I've spent most of my adult life learning to bootstrap and DIY anything worth pursuing.
After leaving my last position managing an After-School program, I found new ways to work and stay productive as a pandemic gripped the globe.
Renovation: (2020) My first project was the renovation of an old 1950's plantation style home in Naalehu, working with one other gentleman to restore rotten floors, replace drywall, refurbish windows, installing lighting fixtures, and of course: painting! If you drive from Kona into Naalehu, look to your right to find the only candy-cane-colored (red and white striped) house around!
(Customers want what they want..)
Supervisor: Manuel Marques
(starting pay: $15/hour -
ending pay: $25/hour )
Design & Construction: (2020) After diving into home renovation and making many observations, I decided I want to build my own small home. The process began as I self-taught myself 3D design and produced my first "digital blueprint" for an Ohana Home that was designed to be among the most affordable off-grid homes in Hawaii (mountain spring water source, solar system energy, and naturally composting waste). I am passionate about solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro generators as we move into a future that requires a careful collection of the abundant natural resources we have access to, when and where we have access to them.
Farm Labor: (2020-2022) Since I moved to Big Island in 2017, I've been volunteering on a 20 acre coffee & macadamia nut farm in Kau, learning the ins and outs of the coffee industry and food production in general. I've developed a green thumb and enjoy growing a personal vegetable garden thanks to my hands-on farming experience. This volunteer work also led to paid work picking coffee on other farms; for a short time I managed a picking team for a small farm, weighing their bags and paying out pickers their earnings and delivering the picked coffee to a mill for processing. I learned a lot about modern and traditional farming practices. I am proud to have worked on farms dedicated to producing food and coffee without the use of dangerous poisons and pesticides.
Supervisors: Poco Compehos, Manuel Marques
(pay rate: $25 /hour)
DoorDash & Instacart Delivery Services: (2022 - 2023) Nothing too extraordinary to say here, other than the job requires attention to detail, quality customer service, a good sense of directions and map reading, and the ability to make the right decision when things don't go as planned or as expected. This is not the most fulfilling work I've done, but the flexibility to work whenever I want to is invaluable, and the extra income is sufficient for paying necessary bills as we all must do to keep up with inflation and the high cost of living in beautiful Hawaii.
(pay range: $25 - 50 /hour)