Encore Recycled Bags

As FEATURED ON UGLY BETTY!

Another exclusive product at Red Ginger Cafe - Manoa

We have been carrying an exclusive product for about 3 months now, bags made of recycled juice pouches. They are super cute and stylish at an affordable cost. For those of you who've been by you know that we have an ec0-friendly gift shop. When researching for my business plan I realized that there are no gift shops in Hawaii dedicated solely to eco-friendliness, as far as I now we are the only one. Let me know if you know of any others...
Anyway, I digress...These bags support a co-op in the Phillipines which allow women to earn a living and support their families while ensuring that their children are safe throughout the day. Kelly, Cherie and Rica are the 3 sisters that import the bags were born in the Phillipines, when they visited a few years back they found this co-op and wanted to support it because they saw how they could help the families, particularly the children. So they've been importing them for awhile now, some of you may have seen them at their kiosk in Waikele or Ala Moana. They've since closed their retail outlets and are doing the craft fair circuit. We're so lucky to have met these ladies, their commitment to helping others is inspiring and we are so happy to a part of it!
We try to carry styles for all types of women from handbags to lunchboxes so come down and have a look! They're on sale till the end of this week at 20% off!

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

(The 14th Dalai Lama)

Coldfyre Cookie Cremes

Part of our mission is to support other local companies. We were lucky enough to get hooked up with Gerry Nakashima, the owner-creator of Coldfyre Cookie Cremes. Gerry makes these unbelievably unreal (in a good way) gourmet ice cream sandwiches. He bakes his own cookies and ice cream which is technically considered a frozen custard because of the eggs that he uses in lieu of preservatives and additives. He makes small batches so they're always fresh and let me tell you he is a ice cream master! Gerry also shares our goal to support local farms and uses Keopu Farms organic coffee for his Mocha Latte Kudasai which is coffee ice cream smashed between 2 crispy chocolate chip cookies. He uses fresh Kahuku apple bananas for his Banana Ballistic, banana ice cream sandwiched between yummy macadamia nut cookies. All Natural fresh ice cream with homemade cookies, does life get any better?

As of last week we also have mint chocolate chip, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream sandwiches ~ but they sell fast so get yours quick!

Another Exclusive product found only at Red Ginger Cafe and Gift Shop in Manoa Marketplace!

It's Not Easy Being Green! That's Why We love Kermit!

Been doing some research about styrofoam and the danger it poses to our health.  

1. Restaurants are notoriously "un-environmentally" friendly (yes that's a word from "Mel's Dictionary) and Hawaii in particular uses the highest amount of take out containers in the nation.  No kidding! We're plate lunch capitol! That means our tiny little islands use a lot of styrofoam...what is the waste doing to our ecosystem?

2. Polystyrene is the official name of the chemical we know as styrofoam is made with petroleum a nonsustainable and heavily polluting chemical.

3. When discarded styrofoam is often mistaken by animals for food, after ingesting their digestive systems become clogged and animals often die a slow painful death.

4. Toxic chemicals come out of styrofoam and into our food (especially when microwaved) which we ingest directly.

5. Officially styrofoam is CFC free but they are still manufactured with a chemical called HCFC-22 which is not as harmful as CFC's but it is still a greenhouse gas and harmful to the ozone layer.

 

Do your own research.  Knowledge is power.  Be a proactive consumer.  Patronize businesses that care about your health, well being and Hawai`i.

Aloha,

Red Ginger Cafe Manoa

 

Red Ginger Cafe - Kanu Hawaii

Red Ginger is an active member of KanuHawaii, an organization that supports environmental sustainability and economic resilience.  If you log on you can see different commitments that we are making as a business that are in line with environmental sustainability and economic resilience.  Some of our commitments include being a positive role model for children, teaching employees about sustainability and encouraging them to incorporate it into their daily lives and decreasing waste in all areas of our business.  We feel that these commitments are important to our business because if we don't surround ourselves with positive influences and behavior then we fail you, our supporters.  There are a lot of family and friends out there supporting us and by being positive influences on our community we will succeed even if we never "break even" financially.  If we make you proud we will consider ourselves successful.

"You are never asked to do more than you are able without being given the strength and ability to do it"  

Valentines Gifts at Red Ginger Gift Shop - Manoa

It's almost Valentine's Day! For anyone wanting to get their sweetie something unique and "green" Red Ginger is the place to come! We've got beautiful Blooming Tea sets, Cute and Stylish bags made of recycled materials and CANDY! For those of you in the know, candy is the way to a woman's heart and we've got the best kind...organic!

We've been getting a lot of questions lately about whether our entire menu is organic. Well the answer is no, while we strive to use organic and/or local ingredients whenever possible, we are not an "organic" themed restaurant.  The idea behind the menu is to offer a fresh, healthy alternative for lunchers while incorporating sustainability whenever possible.  More important than organic though is supporting local businesses.  This is a way to keep our economy in Hawaii strong and not rely so much on imports.  I would much rather support a local farmer here in Hawaii than an organic farmer from elsewhere.  We will make every effort to maintain relationships with our farmers/distributors to make sure their food is grown safely.  The costs of getting certified organic are extremely high but many farmers are able to incorporate and adhere to many standards but cannot afford the complete certification process, these are the farmers we want to support and promote.  

On that note, back to the Gift Shop.  We will be putting our entire Gift Shop on sale for 2 weeks (sale ends 1/31/09).  The entire shop will be 20% off.  We've got our eye on a lot of new products and need to make some room in the shop.  Pick up your Valentines or Mother's Day present early this year!

Malama Pono,

Red Ginger

Ma`o Farms

Mahalo to Maenette Benham ~ Dean of Hawaiinuiakea Hawaiian Studies at UH Manoa for allowing us to cater her meeting yesterday! We were able to touch bases with some very influential executives in the Hawaiian Community including Kukui Maunakea-Forth the Executive Director of Ma`o Organic Farms in Wai`anae.  

A little about the farm...Ma`o is a non profit organization focusing on empowering the community to become self reliant and encouraging a more sustainable Hawaii.  Their produce is featured in restaurants such as Alan Wongs and Town.  Ma`o farm is a 5 acre area which produces about 25 different varieties of organic fruits and vegetables.  The farm's mission includes educating Hawaiian youth, fighting hunger, improving health and nutrition and increasing the organic agriculture industry. 

Red Ginger Cafe and Gift Shop will ALWAYS strive to support and work with organizations such as Ma`o to foster a sustainable Hawaii.  This organization in particular is especially dear to my heart because of its focus on helping the Hawaiian community.  Right now the organization is not accepting any new customers; they are in high demand~however we are hoping to showcase their produce in the near future.

Aloha

We've been busy little bees this month! We're surprised at how quickly everyone rebounded from the holidays! It's so nice to see all you regulars again.  We're gearing up for tax time...ugh! Can you believe we opened 4 months ago? Time sure flies.

We've been approached on several occassions by people wanting to use the cafe at night for special events.  We recently allowed a friend to have a bridal shower and was surprised at how beautiful it came out.  The cafe is really intimate at night, no street noise at all just beautiful Manoa in all its sunset glory.  Yvette the wedding coordinator used candles and lace tableclothes to decorate and it was awesome! 

For anyone looking for a venue for something small and intimate give us a call, we can accomodate up to 20 people for any occassion.  There is no rental charge for the space and you may bring you own liquor.  Give me a call and we can work out a menu!

Mel Kawai

Trust your Na`au 

2009 Honuguide Hawaii's Sustainable Living Guide

Aloha!
The first-ever edition of the Honuguide is out and we're carrying it! It's $20, $5 of which Red Ginger cafe will be donating to KanuHawaii.

This book is great! I thought it would be like the Entertainment Book that you can buy from fundraisers (The creators are actually looking to offer non-profits a chance to fundraise with this also). After I read it I realize that this is sooooo much better. 2/3 of the book is an in-depth yet surprisingly easy to follow resource to sustainable living in Hawaii. The theme of this year's guide is to buy local and really explains how doing so will save our economy as well as help the environment. The remaining 1/3 of the book includes coupons from local businesses who are incorporating sustainability into their business model.

For example:
We only have an estimated 5 days of food available to us on Oahu at any one time.
Our imports travel a minimum 2,500 miles before they reach us.
5 great reason to buy local

1-cheaper prices and increased revenue by avoiding the middle man

2- keeps money in the local economy

3-decreases carbon footprint

4-provides fresher and more nutritious foods

5-builds community


I really enjoyed reading the Honuguide, if you know of any non-profit organizations that are looking for fundraising opportunities let me know and I'll hook you up with them!

Take Care and Buy Local!

Happy January 6! Tomorrow is Kawehi's Birthday! Hauoli La Hanau Anake Tabehi!!!

Thursday we will be featured on Aha`i `Olelo on KGMB9 news.  Kehau and Scott were wonderful interviewers making me feel very comfortable! I am so thankful for the free press (Mahalo!) We went over sustainability as a native Hawaiian value and just a little about the business and how it came it be.  I am so thankful to be a part of the native Hawaiian community which allows for such wonderful showcases of its members.

Just a little mana`o on my part, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" are buzz words right now that seem to be everywhere, from my son's preschool to the nightly news.  Keep in mind that these are values that were an integral part of the Hawaiian culture, long before the "green phenomenon".  I will not attempt to be over-prideful and say that Hawaiian's "were the first" since many indigenous cultures who lived off the `aina were also very mindful of the cycle of life and how to sustain.  Let's all do our part to make our ancestors proud and make sure that our keiki have a beautiful Hawaii when they grow up.

Sorry, off my soapbox....I hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year.  

Malama Maika`i Kakou a pau