 and I'm excited to journey with you as we learn how to take your health back. We are coming to you live from the studios of Think Tech Hawaii. Today, we will hear from Christina Laini-Mietri, who is the executive director for Smart Living Hawaii. Live smart with green and healthy homes. Welcome, Christina. Hi, how are you doing? I'm great. I'm so happy to finally get you on. I know how busy you are being a mom and a business lady and a community servant. I know it takes a lot of your time and for you to be here with us. So we're very excited to get us started. But before we get started, I want you to tell us a little bit about your beautiful family and what you've been up to. Well, in this picture that we have, I have a whole bunch of, actually I didn't have any group photos this year. So I have a whole bunch of photos of our Ohana. And this one here is my little son. He is 20 months. Actually, I think he's 21 months. And his name is Elijah. We have our daughter, Charlie, and she's 11. And my mom and my dad at the bottom there, we like to go hiking. My husband just got this bike where you can put him on there. If you can see that picture, that's pretty cool. And I did want to add my other business partner, which is Ryan Naka in that picture, because he is instrumental to our Start Living Hawaii Ohana as well. Right, I do remember meeting Ryan and yes, he and you both exude this living lifestyle and was very excited to see young people of the community taking this to heart and making it happen. And that's what we need more of. As you shared with us, you have a beautiful young family. And I'm sure a lot of this has got to do with them. And that's probably your motivation for making this a success for their success for their future. Yeah, that's exciting. So let's get started, Christina. So tell us what is Smart Living Hawaii and what is your mission? Smart Living Hawaii started off as a platform for my real estate career, actually, to showcase who I am and my family is, what we do and the healthy lifestyle that we live. And little by little, it became focused on sustainability. And when that happened after the podcast that we started doing focused on sustainable leaders of Hawaii, what happened was I decided it made more sense for us to create a nonprofit. So our nonprofit focuses on the Hawaii Sustainable Initiatives from 2050's sustainable plan. And that's what the state of Hawaii and the areas of focus that came from there would be agriculture, environments, energy, housing and culture. And then we also have kind of like a subsector which would be more on health and wellness. So that's what we focus on and we like to be a platform of education resources and also sharing what Hawaii is doing in this area for all of these sectors. Wow, I don't remember the year that I met you but it has been a few years now and I did meet you at one of the trade fairs that you were working or probably sponsored if I'm not mistaken. And I was very excited to see the samples of Smart Living Hawaii and what you guys are all about. And that's when I further researched you and sought you out. And then I really saw your heart and it's truly for the future generations to come. So, you know, Christina I was wondering how do you make folks aware of sustaining their environment? So the biggest thing I think is the most important is to be involved with your community. And there's different ways that I've done that I by trade him in real estate but I've always wanted to give back in other ways. So what has come, what's just happened is that, you know, besides a nonprofit that I have I'm also in our Eco Rotary Club of Kakaako I'm their president this year. So that contributing factor of just working with the environment as a whole and also getting volunteers and creating service projects around the environment and then offering those opportunities to members of, you know, our community so they can participate too. So that's probably the biggest to just get in there and do some work. And there's a lot of work to be done. I mean, everywhere you turn we could have improvement and more awareness. And I know that you're very avidly working on that with you and of course your partner Ryan and all your committee members as well as your Rotary groups but what are your areas of focus? So our areas of focus when it comes to real estate I know that we covered our nonprofit I've realized that there is a connection between real estate and green real estate and then also smart living Hawaii. So what we focus on is of course first and foremost is the residential real estate but we also are niche is moving into green homes sustainable building, high performance homes and healthy homes, farm and agricultural lands and affordable housing. So those areas of focus are things that we I think our passions and our hearts really are geared towards. Wow, that's a lot. So I wanna ask you what is a green and high performance home? So a high performance home usually if it's fully decked out it's kind of like a smart home high performance luxury product. And they have the cutting edge smart features but then they've also got the energy efficiency side of things. And when you're looking at a high performance home there's a lot of things that make a home whether you go from designing it or whether the materials that you're using the layout, bringing the natural elements in and then also the AC systems in the main that of course would be heating as well then there's just when you're dealing with solar and you're dealing with all of these things that really help you create a home that either reduces your carbon footprint or you're saving a lot on energy expenses because you're much more of an efficient home and it contributes to a more greener society I would say. When I was looking at that slide it just reminded me of a lot of being do you know feng shui? I think feng shui? No. Yeah, so many people say feng shui but I mean I think the Cantonese word is a feng shui and a feng means wind and soy is water. So feng shui means living in harmony with nature so the wind and the water and balancing it out. And so when I saw your, when I looked at that slide it just reminded me of the Chinese philosophy of living in harmony with nature and that has a lot to do with bringing harmony into your home, bringing into your home means bringing harmony into your lives. Do you agree with that? For sure and I think more and more now that we have been going through COVID for as long as we have we're seeing the need to be comfortable in your home have the space in your home finding a place of like center and health and well-being and people are trying to find ways to bring that into their house. And I think for the most part most people would love to come home to that balance where they can like a retreat where you come from your busy day and then you're able to relax and this contributes to the way you design your house and bringing nature in the elements that actually when you go outdoors and you're experiencing a hike or in the beach or the ocean and those same type of feelings that you get and then dolphins and everything that kind of calms you when you're out there on that hike if you can bring them into your home then you will naturally have that feeling internally. So that part of it is designed there's a lot that you can do that doesn't have a big budget that you can bring into your home even the sounds of water right or even the smells things that you can definitely do to take away some of this added stress that you get from every day. These are kinds of things that you can bring into your house and make it more of a healthier whole. Wow, I must be part of your organization because I feel the same about coming home to your quote unquote palace it doesn't have to be monstrous but it just has to be comfortable and full of harmony within your home. And you know, I live in a condo in the sky. So if you have to say that I would try to mimic the feeling of being an outdoor on a hill or the forest because although I live in a condo I still try to bring nature in here as well. All the windows are wide open the sliding doors wide open I have air breeze constantly going through I have water fountains outside so I can hear the water flowing through my ears and just bringing me that serenity causing a lot of harmonious and very productive days here in my office as I spend many, many hours. So you're absolutely right Christina you're creating that environment no matter where you are and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money but you just have to figure things out and I'm sure that's where your expertise will come in as you guide people along to achieve that level of life. It doesn't cost a lot of money, I know that. Yeah, sure. We have, sorry. We have a magazine, a digital magazine that I subscribe to for our clients and followers so if you decide to, you know if you want it's called a wellness magazine like a wellness real estate magazine and it really has all these extra tips and things that you can do in your home to have it more be a more healthier home. So, you know, that's something that we try to share with our clients too. That's always helpful, right? A guideline. So we don't just wing it and you actually give us helpful hints and tips and also by listening to what you have to say in this talk, I think it's very valuable a direction for people to achieve what you're trying to offer them. So can you tell us a little bit about how these homes are energy efficient? Yeah, so if you are checking out the slide that's on this, that is actually a system in place that is connected to photovoltaic and there's ways that you can store the energy as well. There's actually rebates now from Hawaii from HIKO and everything in regards to getting storage. That's another thing that we like to help our clients with is, you know, finding those rebates, working with Hawaii Energy. They have a ton of rebates on a lot of energy efficient things for your home. If there's a way to save, you know, a couple of hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, I always want to share them with our clients. And especially if you're going to do or put on a system, then you definitely want to take advantage of them. So whether you're looking at solar hot water heaters, which by the way are mandated since 2015 for any new construction, but now more and more when you're, you know, an expiring hot water heater is coming up, then maybe you might want to look at, you know, solar hot water heater instead. And then you can look at just lighting in general, the types of lighting that you use in your home. A lot of natural lighting, that's free, right? If you can bring the light into your home, not only as that natural element, but it's going to actually brighten your rooms without having to use so much electricity. You've got the AC, you'd be surprised. Split AC systems do cost more, but I can tell you they are more efficient. When you get the right AC system in your home, when you think, oh, it's so cheap to buy one of those window ACs, you know? Like, but I can tell you, you will gradually lose out as how much you're putting into electricity for that little tiny box that you bought for like a hundred something dollars. At the end of the day, it's going to cost you a lot. So, you know, the energy efficiency of things, it's a big difference. Even if you're able, and this is an expensive cost, if you're able to have a home where you're doing construction and you're building double wall construction, with the insulation in those walls, you'd be surprised how much of your home could be practically an ice box, you know, if you can insulate it like, you know, an ice box would be, or like a cooler. And then you, you know, you, the amount of money that you spend on electricity continues to go down. So there's a lot of different things, even roofing, the type of roofs you use, the windows, the type of windows that you're purchasing, you know, even putting, you know, how in your cars you're going to put a tenting, you could tent your windows too, and having less heat coming into your house can also do things like that too. So there's a lot of things you can do that are on a budget. And then there's other things that I know you will have to save up for, but they will be worth it if you're looking long-term for your house, that you're going to- And then you hit it right on the nail, you know, for so many, they all they can see when you adjust those options, they're going to see the upfront costs and they're saying like, I don't have the money. I don't have the money and I would love to, but so how do you get them to first investigate this option? You know, it's going to save them a lot of money in the long run, but they just can't see beyond the initial cost. How do you get them to look at this option? Well, I did do a blog specifically on solar because I wanted people to kind of see what the numbers were like. And I did get a local company to run some numbers on a typical scenario, right? With solar hot wire heaters and then if you were to get a PV system, and with the rebates that you get, the tax credits that you get back, how much you actually pay up front and how quickly you will pay that off. So, you know, if you have the cash, then great. If you don't, there are definitely options that you can look into for financing. I would highly suggest if you're able to purchase, it makes a lot more sense for you as a homeowner. And also if you happen to sell, then it would be to lease a proper actual system. So if you can own it, then you will get the rebates yourself. If you own it, you will get, you know, that money coming back to you fully when you have your solar running. But if you lease it, then all of that goes to that leasing company and you just get a small break off of your electricity bill. So there's a lot to know and education is key. And the people that we always refer to are very good about explaining everything in detail and walking you through the process. So you don't feel like you are making decisions that, you know, you're unfamiliar with. And that's a huge thing when you're, you know, spending this kind of money on things like this. For sure. I guess the key word would be savings, long-term savings, you know, and then of course the environmental factors as well. So you have a lot of pitches that you can deliver to help people understand. I mean, the main thing is the cost, the long-term cost of savings, I should say. So I know you're doing a good job at it as you continue to use your blog to get the word out. So just keep on going and never stop because we really need to do more than what we have been doing. And it's up to you girl and smart living Hawaii. So I'm encouraging all of us to be listening in and understanding what we can and should be doing. So I want you to just share with us how can a home be green and high performance at the same time? So a green home, a lot of times is a high performance home, but I think usually a lot of people ask like, what's the difference between a green home and a healthy home, right? And green homes, high performance homes, the ones where it's more focused on energy efficiency. They also have things like off grid, net zero, net positive permaculture, where you're bringing other systems in like wastewater management, where you're not just maybe using the sewer, maybe you're using your water and reusing your water three or four different ways, right? So when you flush that toilet and that water is filtered, then it goes into another, it just continues to be filtered and then you're able to use that water then to maybe for irrigation or other types of reasons where you can move that gray water to somewhere else and use it for the second or third time. So there's different systems like that. We have water catchment systems. If you're off grid in a place that maybe isn't connected to the board of water supply perhaps, and you're meeting, you've got a lot of rainfall, this is a good way to catch water and then use that water. And they have filters and things like that as well too. So all of those different things contribute to a green home, but a healthy home is not necessarily all of those features. It's more of things like that you can look at maybe less toxics, things that you put in your home, chemicals that you're adding, the type of paint that you decide to use. Energy efficient homes have really good filtration air systems. Now that ties in also with the healthy home, right? I mean, if you got the fires in California or a fog in Hawaii on the big island, having a home that's completely enclosed with this filter system, AC system is probably something that would be super beneficial to your health. So there's things like that. There's a ton of things that you can look into for that healthy home, I would say. And a lot of it is more prevalent now because of COVID and making sure things are much more clean. And some... They've introduced many different sanitation systems, but and simple ones. And the simple ones are the best, like the simple recipe of vinegar and salt and water to use to clean and sterilize. I think that's back in the old days at its old school, but it works. But I wanted to just ask you, are there many homes on Oahu that are off grid? On Oahu? Yes. Don't have a lot of homes off grid. Actually, I believe you still have to be hooked up in when I think... Like if you have a system, I believe you still have to be hooked up to power and stuff. I'm not totally sure. Like the neighbor islands though, there's a lot of off grid. Right. I remember when I bought my home in Kona, all the neighbors above me had these big water tanks and I'm like, what is that? I only used to see that on Petticoat Junction where they would be in the water tanks. I'm like, people drink the water out of those tanks because we're city people, right? Even though I was born in the country on this island, we don't see a lot of catchment. And on the big island, a lot of them are off grid and they all depend on water catchment to for their daily supplies and everything. I mean, absolute no electricity sources is the way that a lot of them choose to live. And I bet that you will probably get very excited when you see these homes on the big island, especially where they're off grid. That's probably what your goal is and your dream is, isn't it? Yeah, if I were to say having a well or a spring or something plus water catchment would be ideal, right? And then having a full decked out solar system, solar photovoltaic system with battery storage. Right. And that kind of covers your electricity side of things. But that storage is very expensive right now. So hopefully soon the storage prices will come down, which will make it more feasible for people to get storage. And then you can also, currently right now, like I said, there's rebates for, Petticoat wants us to get storage, believe it or not, but that's their plan. We are actually getting rid of our coal plant and this will happen next year. This is anywhere from 12 to 25% of our current power usage. So we're needing to find ways to disperse our, where our power is coming from, from at least from our island, right? So these are kinds of things that we have to be a little more creative with. And if we can get more people using the batteries at night time, then they're getting incentives to do so. So there's different things that's in the works and all of these little bits of things, if you can take advantage of them or it's something you're already planning on doing, then let's help you save a little bit more. Yep, all right. So you keep talking about a healthy and a safe home. So how does one manage a healthy and a safe home? So safe home, I would say that might be a relative term. Yes. So in general, when you're looking at safety, there's a lot of security types of safety, but safe as in, I would say, non-toxic. And the types of things that you can do in your home when you're looking at eco-friendly and sustainable organic products that you're deciding to use, right? And there's a lot of things that you can do, you can bring indoor plants in. Believe it or not, plants are really great for air purification and for cleaning the air. That helps a lot. And bringing extra oxygen into your home, maybe you might not have it as windy as your house, windy. But some people, to have more of the greener, not only adds to the natural elements in your home, but it actually does a different side of health for yourselves. And then let's see, flooring, carpets are huge. They're really dirty if you don't clean them. Yeah, pets, it also collects a lot. So a lot of people have been moving to hard surface flooring and that has been easier to maintain and clean. That's another thing. And then I know I mentioned the paint. That's a huge thing. There's lead-based paint under a lot of the paint that we use, but there are actual paints now too that are even more less toxic, that are even better for, like when you have kids, like they suggest you definitely painting your kids' rooms with that type of paint if you don't use it all together throughout their whole house. So things like that are very great. Simple things, right? I mean, pretty common sense things, but when you really think about it, right in the old day, everyone had shade carpets. And so you can see when you walk into someone's home, uh-oh, shade carpet. That means it's probably been there for at least a good 10 to 20 years, right? Because... Oh my God. Oh yeah, more than that. I didn't want to make them people feel bad, but anyway, so, you know... You know that funny color? Yeah. Popular. The orange. These are 50 years old. So, you know, my friends living off grid are all totally into their own gardening and growing their own food. In fact, my daughter is on the big island. She does grow her own chickens, raises her eggs, and I mean, gets the eggs and does all of that. So, please share some thoughts around this lifestyle and concept where you're growing all your food, both veggies and animals' livestock. Well, I think it's a growing... I wouldn't say industry, but I think people are starting to do more farming on their properties. They're wanting to learn how to farm. They are looking for property with space to farm. A lot of people in condos are trying to find community gardens, even talking with their building and their condo associations to have space for this, if they have the space downstairs or whatnot, or even having rooftop areas to be able to have platter boxes and things like that. So, these are all different areas of focus that we help our clients with, or when we're with Eco Rotary and we're doing service projects, these are things that we focus on if we're helping with a community garden like we do in Kakaako. And composting is a new big thing that we've been kind of seeing. And also Aloha Harvest has got a new pilot program with Chinatown that they're gonna be launching, and that's with composting with surfrider and sustainable coastlines. So, there's a lot of areas that are, within the community that you can participate in if you can't actually do them at home. So- There are so many ways. And I guess when they pick up your magazine and read it, I too grow most of my veggies on my lanai. So, again, and the way I do the animal thing is I became a vegan while at home. So, I don't buy any meats and things, so I don't have to consume it. But when I go out, that's when I will. But as far as being self-sustainable, I think I'm doing a pretty good job here in my home. But I wanna go right into, can we discuss affordable housing and housing for everyone? Sure, affordable housing. I like and love this topic because it's trying to find a way that everybody has a home. And I feel that everybody has the rights to one. So, however we can do that, that's our goal. And right now, they do have homes for sale that are quote unquote affordable, but probably not affordable for everyone. They are less expensive in the market rate units and getting into one of these are, it's hard, but we're here to help, so. Well, and one more thing I wanna talk about real quickly is we all know that government can tackle many of these huge problems that you were talking about. Is the answer to get, is it the answer to help some of these problems? Is it community involvement? I would highly agree with community as a whole. When the community comes together, it's when we see the biggest change. And when people come together on one topic or one issue or one hurdle, then we're all brainstorming together on how to solve that. And when everybody's together working on it, it's bringing in the government, the business and the community and then things get done. Wow, so we're better together, right? Wow, Christina, there's just too much to talk about in this time, but we have to leave it there for now. Everyone, you've been watching Taking Your Health Back on Think Takawaii. Mahalo to Christina Lamy-Mitri from Smart Living Hawaii. Thank you for talking story with us and introducing a great way of living. Smart Living Hawaii. I'm Wendy Lowe. We'll be back in two weeks with another edition of Taking Your Health Back. Mahalo, Christina and Aloha. ["Take Your Health Back On Think Takawaii"]