(Instrumental music) Kalaʻi Miller/Host   Aloha, I'm Kalaʻi Miller, and welcome to Home  is Here.

Today, we’re in Haleiwa on the island   of Oʻahu visiting Little Plumeria Farms, but  this farm is far from little.

It’s home to   more than a hundred unique hybrid plumeria  varieties.

It’s a labor of love that all   started from a single, pesky tree.

Clark Little/ Little Plumeria Farms  Our plumeria farm is definitely one  of the largest hybrid plumeria farms.

We have thousands of trees on this farm,  hundreds of varieties, over 100 of JL varieties,   which is Jim Little varieties that were  actually born and raised here in Haleiwa,   which is really cool.

And then he's collected over  100 different varieties from around the world.

So Little Plumeria Farms started a  long time ago.

Over 50 years, my dad   has been collecting plumeria.

My dad got a job  teaching at Punahou.

We had housing over there,   and there was a tree rubbing on our house, and it  was keeping us up at night, so my dad cut it down,   and there was a bunch of cuttings on the ground.

And the groundskeeper came by saying, “Hey,   you can plant those.” And so my dad did.

He  went and grabbed some tin cans, because that   was before plastic pots, and he put a dozen  in, and they all grew.

And my dad's all great,   but what am I going to do with this now?

So  my dad went down to GEMs, a department store,   and he said, “Hey, can you take these?”  And the guy said, “No, people in Hawaiʻi,   we just break them off and plant them and they'll  grow.

No way we're going to sell these.” My dad's,   “Oh.

Can you take it on consignment?” And the guy  said, “Okay, they're not going to sell, but I'll   do that.” My dad came back a week later, and he  was - they all sold.

And he was like, what?

Even   in Hawaiʻi.

So there's value in plumeria.

And that  was the beginning of how we actually got started.

Now I'm going to go over how we take our plumeria  cuttings.

Okay, so when we take a cutting, it's,   it's a clone getting a cutting is a clone of the  tree that you cut it from.

So if I take this off   Orange Crush, you're gonna get an Orange Crush  flower.

Whereas seeds, it's a whole ʻnother deal   that Dane is gonna go through after.

But anyway,  we try to get a clean cut right here.

It's gonna,   it's gonna sap out, and then right here we're  gonna take off, if there's leaves, we take off the   leaf nodes, and we actually let it sit for five to  seven days in a dry area, out of the sun.

And what   will happen is the leaf nodes will drop off, and  this will, it's called callusing off.

This will   harden and it'll be ready to root.

Dane Little / Little Plumeria Farms  Seeds are a lot different than  cuttings.

Like my dad said earlier,   a cutting is the clone of the tree you take  it off of.

So if I was to take a cutting off   the tree and back of you with the orange,  with an orange flower, it grow up to be that   same orange flower.

If I took seeds off of that  tree, they can come out completely different.

Every seed in this pod can be a different  color.

Here's a seed.

So kind of looks   like a nerf football, I like to think of  it as.

So what naturally happens is the   wind will blow it off the tree.

It'll spiral  down, stick in the ground.

Hopefully grow.

And it takes about two to five years to see that  new bloom, and you have no idea how that bloom's   gonna come out.

Clark Little  It’s a long, long process, but  darn, is it worth the wait.

Carrie Yoshimura This first flower we're   going to share with you is called celadine,  or traditional Hawaiian yellow lei flower.

Clark Little So this is actually   the flower when you go to the airport in Hawaii  and smell so it is the true Hawaiian lei flower   used in Hawaiʻi, as well as around the world,  for making leis, I would say number one.

Carrie Yoshimura This next one   is Pupukea Crepe.

The petals are JL Pupukea Crepe.

The petals look like crepe paper, and they're just   kind of delicate and different looking.

Clark Little  And this next one actually is called  JL Starlight, and it can get up to   six inches.

We have some flowers that are a little  bit smaller, but still, you can see and it does   have a nice fragrance too.

Carrie Yoshimura  This one is JL ruffles, because  the petals have a ruffled edge,   and it looks nice in a lay too.

When it stacks  up, it almost looks like a carnation lei.

Clark Little We have this next one is actually   was released last year, and it's called JL Juicy  Fruit because it has a sweet gum fragrance,   which is kind of unusual.

Carrie Yoshimura  This last one we're gonna share with you is  called JL Metallica, and it's probably one of   the only plumerias that has this lavender, purple  color to it.

So when the blossom matures, it holds   this sterling silver color.

And then the younger  blossoms are darker lavender, darker purple.

And   depending on time of year, this one can smell like  grape Kool Aid or like just sweet candy scent.

Clark Little Everybody in the plumeria   world knows JL Metallica just because of that  silver purple color.

Yeah, it's very unusual.

Dane Little I wasn't sure I was gonna be into plumeria   when I came back from college, I was like, I don't  know if I like flowers that much.

It doesn't like,   you know, that doesn't sound that fun to me.

And then I started coming up here.

My dad took   me up here more, and he started getting to know  the flowers.

And I was like, so interested in   seeing new ones too, especially seeing, like, how  the new ones come out.

And it's really exciting,   because you never know how they are going to  come out from seeds, new colors, how the smells.

And there's so many of them, it's like, “Oh, wow.

This is really cool”, you know.

So I, I really got   attached to the flowers.

Clark Little  Weʻve just like, touched the beginning.

I think,  you know, for us, even propagating.

We have   thousands of new seedlings that are going to be  able to release and name one day.

And maybe we'll   have CLs, JLs, DLs, you know what I mean?

I mean,  it's, it's kind of fun that we can do that now.

We can add on new things, you know, because three  generations, family business is pretty awesome,   you know.

And we all love plumeria, and now we get  to share that passion with all the guests on our   tours.

It's pretty special to see their reactions  and stuff.

I mean, I love it.

It.

I don't have to   get my son out of bed to come to work.

Let me put  it that way, like this morning, he's texting me,   Dad, I'm gonna be down there already, you  know, picking flowers because it's fun.

Dane & Clark Little: It's 90% of the time fun until...   Clark Little: 95   Dane Little: Until I'm working, and my dad will say it tell me   something.

And then my grandpa, he'll drive around  on his quad, and he'll say the same exact thing   to me twice, and I'm like, I already heard it.

I  got it, and then nah.

But most of the time it's,   it's we awesome.

We get along.

Clark Little:  We get along.

Thank goodness, otherwise it would  be rough one.

So, yeah, it's nice.

My dad always,   yeah, he comes around and gives a couple  orders, but, and then I order this guy around,   but I want him to do it right?

It's just, you  know, yeah, you're you definitely make sure   I do.

And my wife works in the gift shop, so and  my daughter's here for she came back from school,   so she's actually helping out.

I mean,  we have literally, our whole family here,   and it is nice, though.

It is nice at the end of  the day, we all enjoy working with each other.

Clark Little The hopes for the future is just to carry on my   dad's legacy.

You know, he's been doing this for  50 years, so I'm back involved.

Dane’s able to,   you know, help carry on the tradition of  plant collecting and hybridizing, making   a bunch of new varieties that that people will  be very excited and hopefully blow their minds.

Dane Little: We want you to be happier after you come to the   Little Plumeria Farms.

We want you to enjoy it so  much you go home with a smile on your face and a   fresh bunch of flowers to smell.

It’s awesome.

Kalaʻi Miller/Host  In West Oʻahu, a small, yet mighty  gym is working to train what could   be the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s  top boxers.

But this is about more   than landing punches and dodging jabs,  for the coaches behind this operation,   it’s about teaching life skills.

Michael Talalotu / Westside   Striking Owner & Head Coach: My coaching method is, is just hardcore.

We just train, train, train, hard.

That's the only way I know how to coach.

Right here.

Longer right hand.

Snap ʻum.

Student:  Boom, boom, boom.

Michael Talalotu:  My name is Michael Talalotu, and I'm the  owner and head coach of Westside Striking.

We are a boxing and kickboxing  gym that we provide for the   community here in the west side, and it's free.

I started this because I used to fight when I was   young.

I started when I was, like 10 years old.

I had a short career in amateur boxing,   and had a short career in kickboxing.

I guess I  did alright.

Won a couple titles in kickboxing.

My coach was Fred Pereira - Pops, and he taught  me everything I know about boxing, so trying   to pass that on to the kids that come here.

Paul Brewer /Westside Striking Assistant Coach:  I'm coach Paul, the assistant  coach here at Westside Striking.

Coach Mike and I. We're, yeah, we're on the same  page, but he's a Ying.

I'm the Yang.

He's the   tough guy.

I'm like, the teddy bear, yeah.

And  we work together as a team.

It's just different   styles, but we work together.

Michael Talalotu:  This guy was in Breakin’ Hawaii  when it first came out.

Popcorn!

Paul Brewer: Here at Westside striking,   we like to keep that environment like  a positive environment that they can   come no matter what they're  going through in their life.

We have a lot of kids, the parents are not  necessarily here.

They kind of, you know, working,   because the cost of living here in Hawaiʻi is  super hard, and so they're kind of left alone.

And so being here in this environment, we can  teach them structure, teach them foundation.

Being able to stand firm and stay focused  and being an asset to the home, versus just,   you know, sitting around, not doing anything.

They'll know what is hard work, they'll know   how to stay focused on the job, and they  know what it takes, because we help build   that foundation here.

Michael Talalotu:  There's a lot of people that feel like,  from the West, you got to learn how to fight   because our our reputation and stuff like that.

We all teach them life skills here.

It's not only   about fighting what they learn here.

You gotta  work hard everything you want.

You gotta work hard   for it.

You know, nothing's gonna be given to you.

You gotta work for it, and you gotta earn it.

Nissi Teulilo/Student My name is Nissi.

I've been boxing for four years.

Currently, I’m ranked number one at 106 in USA   boxing, and I'm a three time national champion.

As a girl boxer, it doesn't make me feel   different, because I know that I have the skills  as any other boy, possibly better.

(Laughs)   For me, practice is like, I don't know how to  explain it.

It's like, where I'm in my own zone.

It's just me versus me in my head and my training  and me thinking of where I want to be in life.

When I'm training, there's like, sometimes I  feel like tired and I don't want to do it at all,   but my coaches always remind me that I have to  push myself in order to be where I want to be in   life, and it helps me in my everyday life, because  if I don't push myself, then I'm not gonna be able   to win and achieve things and become successful.

Outside, I want to go to college because I want   to be able to be an ultrasound technician.

But to  keep my mind off things I box and to stay off the   street and out of the drama.

Michael Talalotu  With the stereotyping from the west side, I  think, yeah, there's a lot of that going around.

I grew up here in Waianae from, stayed all my  life here.

So it was like a, I guess to me,   it was like normal, like every, to me, every,  every neighborhood is like this neighborhood,   I don't know this come to find out  where the we had a bad reputation.

We're trying to change that.

So we do  the community service.

I tell the kids,   you guys, you got to be good people in  the community.

You represent the gym,   you represent your family and stuff like that.

So, yeah, we trying to change all of that.

We're just fortunate that the community supports  us in what we're doing, so that the kids,   so the kids can travel.

Weʻve been all over this,   all over the United States.

We've been  to New Mexico, we've been to Louisiana,   we've been to Florida, we've been to California  a couple of times.

We've been to Texas couple of   times.

We've been to Kansas City.

We've been  to even went to overseas.

We went to Bosnia   for the WAKO world championships, and went  to Cancun for Pan Am Games took these kids   all over the world, pretty much all over.

A lot of kids, they really don't get to   leave Hawaiʻi until they come here.

You know, fortunately, fortunately,   we're we can do that for them.

But, yeah, I like to get these   kids out there and give back too.

My first goal is, they gotta be, I want them to be   a good person in the community, yeah.

Second goal  is, if they're, if they come to be a champion,   that's, that's just a cherry on top, you know, I  just like to see them grow.

See what kind of how   they change.

You know, a lot of kids, they come in  there, they're very, very timid, they're very shy,   they don't talk too much.

And then after a  while, you see how they grow and they change,   you know, and I see what kind of person they  are.

That's, that's what I enjoy the most.

And then if I can get some world  champions or some Olympic champions   out here, would be good too, you know.

We working to it.

And I think we can get   it.

We can accomplish that.

Kalaʻi Miller/Host  Most of us have been affected by cancer in some  way, even if you’ve never been diagnosed with   the disease.

While cancer impacts patients’  physical health, it can also take a toll on   their emotional well-being.

That’s where the  Healing Through Art program at the Queen’s   Medical Center aims to help.

(Instrumental music)   Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing Through  Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor:  A lot of patients that come in in the  beginning are newly diagnosed cancer patients,   and they have a lot of anxiety.

They don't know  what to expect.

They don't know if they're going   to be alive a year from now, five years from  now.

So they're going through a very tough time   emotionally.

And this program really helps them  to focus, you know, be in the moment and just do   something.

And it really gives your mind a rest.

My name is Jocelyn Cheng and I am a professional   artist, but I'm also a retired  oncology nurse from Queen's,   and I'm also a cancer survivor of thyroid cancer.

In 2012 I was asked to be the artist in residence   for the Queen's Medical Center.

They had received  a grant using art as like alternative therapy   with their patients.

But it also includes  not only the patients, but caregivers,   family members and hospital staff can join in.

Fely Ebner / Retired School Psychologist:  My name is Fely Ebner.

I'm a recently  retired school psychologist.

I received a phone call from my doctor  saying that I had stage three breast cancer,   and it was pretty aggressive.

So the treatments that I received,   they were chemotherapy, lumpectomy and radiation.

When I finally went back to work, it was about   seven months later as a school psychologist.

And  funny thing, people would say, “Oh, you have chemo   brain, you know, you're forgetful” and things  like that.

So I just wrote things off as just   it being chemo brain, being forgetful.

But what  was different was I was tripping, I had seizures,   and little did I know that those seizures  contributed to me having three lumps in my brain,   so I was now stage four with brain cancer.

Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor:  I'm Felicia Marquez Wong.

I'm a cancer  survivor, also a retired social worker.

It was 2016 I went for my mammogram, and  they discovered a lump on my breast.

And   the first big lesson for me that day was  never skip your appointments because I had   missed a mammogram appointment a year before, and  I just said I was busy.

But you realize later is,   you know, in order for you to take better care  of yourself, you have to, you know, attend to   your medical appointments and things like that.

I picked the mastectomy and had a few rounds of   chemotherapy, and those were very rough times.

And so that's when I was introduced to healing   through art.

And from the get go, I felt like I  was already receiving lots of emotional support   from all of the other participants.

Dr.

Willa Shimomura / The Queen’s   Cancer Center Director of Oncology: I am Willa Shimomura, Director of Oncology here   at the Queen's Medical Center Cancer Center.

The program addresses the emotional   and psychological aspects of cancer care,  complementing the medical treatments and promoting   a more holistic approach to patient care.

We welcome anyone who is interested in any   kind of creative outlet, and doing it through  art is very powerful and meaningful.

It can be   expressed in the way that you draw or paint, or  any kind of mixed media that we are able to use.

There's a sense of camaraderie and building  that relationship, that is what our   intention was with this program.

Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing   Through Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor: The socialization aspect when we when we're in   person, as well as when we were virtual.

You know,  people have created friendships.

They just are   curious, supportive.

You know, when people are  going through a tough time.

Sometimes they'll   sit on the side and talk, you know.

We don't  formally, you know, like in a support group,   you know, go through everyone talking.

It's like  just doing art, supporting each other, having fun,   and everybody's encouraging and actually  positive with seeing other people.

It's like,   “Wow, how did you do that?” You know, it's  kind of that kind of kind of support through   art.

And it is, it is very healing.

Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor:  I remember this one time where we were making  jewelry.

And of course, I wanted to make these   really big, big earrings because I didn't have any  hair.

And then I realized that I had neuropathy in   my hands as well as my feet, and so I couldn't  hold things.

And so, my goodness, you know,   these ladies came up and they helped me  crimp up things, and Mary especially,   and so I was able to wear these really big, gaudy  earrings to my chemotherapy.

And that was I felt   like I had the support of, you know, all the  ladies from the group while I was having the   treatment, and it made me more courageous.

Fely Ebner / Retired School Psychologist:  I really am glad that I found this class.

I love  painting.

If I had a choice of major when I was   in high school, I would have chosen to be an  artist, but, you know, with Asian parents,   you know that didn't fly, so they wanted me to  get a career.

And so anyway, when I saw that this   was free, it was related to cancer patients.

I thought this is perfect for me right now.

It didn't feel like it was a  class.

It was just you having fun.

Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing Through  Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor:  A lot of people think that they should be  good at art before they join the program,   art type of program, but you really  don't need to have talent, because it's   about discovering your own creativity, and  people don't know what's actually in them,   and that's my job, is to kind of pull  it out of them, teach them simple,   simple techniques in watercolor, acrylic or  collage and and then they're like, oh my god,   I made that.

They're like, really surprised.

Dr.

Willa Shimomura / The Queen’s Cancer   Center Director of Oncology: It is amazing what they can come   up with.

They they may sit there, it's like, “Ah,  you know, I really know, don't know what to do.

I'm not really talented.” And then next thing  we know, it's, like, the most beautiful piece,   you know, it's unique.

You know.

In a sense,  because it's something that they created with   their heart and their minds.

Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing   Through Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor: Eh good idea Mary.

You got texture with   that paint on there.

Isn’t it kinda fun?

Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor:  Jocelyn is an amazing art teacher, and she just  very kind and very compassionate.

And I think it   has to do with the diagnosis that she had with and  her experience with cancer, and she has a way of   allowing you to just really be creative as well.

She, she never tells you, “Oh, do it this way.”   You know, do it the way you want to do.

So, it  felt like we were all in some creative mode.

And   I think when you do that, you forget about your  own experience, your own cancer struggles there.

Fely Ebner / Retired School Psychologist: I kind of joke around to my family about this,   that I'm a school psychologist, and my whole  life, I've been putting recommendations in   my reports that they should practice self care,  and sure enough, exactly what I've been writing,   that's what I'm prescribing myself too.

Doing something that you enjoy.

So this, for me, would be painting and really  seeing the results, putting it on the board,   sending people cards, things like that.

Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing Through   Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor: The art show is a highlight,   and it really is, because they create the art.

I teach them how to matte the artwork.

We use   standard frames and try and keep it economical.

But also, you know, how to put it in the frame,   how to, you know, put the wires on and, you know,  put it on the wall.

And when they see it framed,   they're like, “Oh my god”, you know, they're  like, pretty blown away with what they've done.

Usually when you have an art show,  people want to know about you know,   who's the artist, what motivates them to do  what they're doing.

So I asked them.

I said,   you know, you can say whatever you want to say  in the bio, share whatever you want to share,   and a lot of it was a lot of gratitude and how  the art helped them, or the program helped them,   and the friendships helped them.

That’s  the part that makes it worth doing.

It's   made a difference.

Let's just say that, made a  difference in a lot of people's lives.

A good,   good kind of difference you know.

Dr.

Willa Shimomura / The Queen’s   Cancer Center Director of Oncology: The community support of the program   demonstrated through the public exhibitions of  the patient's work has raised awareness about   the challenges they face as a cancer patient.

It  helped reduce the stigma associated with cancer.

Fely Ebner / Retired School Psychologist: 2022 when we first had our assignment, we had,   we were told you can paint whatever you want.

And  so I just did this.

My hair fell out right because   of chemotherapy.

So I drew my face, no eyes and  everything, because I wanted to highlight my hair.

They were all falling off until my daughter-in-law  helped me shave it off.

And so it was really   hard.

It was really hard, but when I did this, I  wanted to represent, how you know, how they say,   God knows, every single numbered hair in your in  your head, well, when I lost my hair, each hair   that grew back was a person, people that helped  me.

So I have family, friends, healthcare team,   and I listed all these people's names.

Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor:  I do have a favorite, and it's this one.

I titled  it Bloom.

And it's a collage.

And actually,   underneath all this, I had written  a lot of words that was just for me,   and then I was able to just cover it.

But I wanted to showcase this part, that   cancer doesn't wait, neither should you.

So, you  know, get that testing done, and because you're,   you know, when you when you're doing self care  activities, this is one of them that you should be   doing, is trying to determine what's going on with  your body, and if it's something that you need to   discuss with your doctor, you should do that,  but a lot of fun creating this.

And I think any   anytime we're doing art classes, you  just discover more about ourselves.

Fely Ebner / Retired School Psychologist: I feel very supported by the   people here.

They actually know me.

It's nice to be known, to be recognized.

And   you could actually say this is like my second  family.

Because where in the world would you   find friends with chemo, with radiation?

Thank goodness that I found this avenue.

I have not been approached by anyone  else to attend any kind of services   such as this one, so I'm really grateful.

Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor:  What do I get out of the class?

I think  it's the for me.

It's also the ability to   grow from the art experience.

It's also  just being just establishing friendships   with the people who come to the program, and  I think just being part of an art community   allows you to just grow to a better person.

I  appreciate all that has been presented to me,   and I try to incorporate that in my daily life.

Jocelyn Cheng / Queen’s Healing Through   Art Instructor & Cancer Survivor What I hope that the patients get   out of this program is they find something within  them that they didn't know they had and making art   and feeling joyful.

You know, it's about it's  like living life, you know, finding something   you can be happy about or proud of.

It's very  meaningful.

So to me, that's the success.

For me,   being a teacher is helping them find that joy,  and they found it.

I've seen it so many times.

Kalaʻi Miller/Host Mahalo for joining us.

It’s because of you we are able to share stories  of accomplishment, resilience and compassion.

If   you would like to support our mission to advance  learning and discovery through storytelling,   go to PBS Hawaii dot org and click on  the donate now button.

For Home is Here,   I’m Kalaʻi Miller.

A hui hou.

Clark Little:  It would be nice if Instagram or Facebook  had a smelly thingamajiggy like a technology   because everyone's, like, looks  at it and goes, oh my goodness,   I can't imagine what that smells like.

You  know, scratch the screen and sniff.

That   would be awesome.

Michael Talalotu:  “You get to know them personally.

You get  to know their parents, their family.

They   come like family to you.

So that's how  I feel that they're just like my kids.”   Felicia Marquez-Wong / Cancer Survivor: What if you can't draw what if this well,   you know, I think when you come into that kind  of situation, you really need to ask your inner   critic to just step away, go back to the room or  closet or whatever, and just enjoy the process.