The Albizia Initiative
Illustrative AI-generated image of albizia trees with flat umbrella crowns over a Hawaiʻi rainforest at golden hour
Illustrative AI-generated image
In planning · No one hired yet

Albizia is a hazard.TAI plans to turn it into paid work.

TAI plans to pay local people who want paid work, including people who have been without a home, to clear invasive albizia, mill the wood and build small buildings. TAI is a for-profit company. It sells shirts, apps, software and advertising. No one is hired yet.

Shop Pledge a Hale ad
Concept art

A for-profit way to start

TAI sells things people want:
shirts, apps, software and advertising.

A for-profit Hawaiʻi company in planning that plans to pay local people to turn a hazard into lumber. No one is hired yet.

Wear itDresses and crop tees for her, tees from $24.99, aloha shirts for him.Use itPū conch app $5 · OwnIt Studio $49 · guide membership $4.99/mo.Advertise on itA 12-month Hale ad. $15,000 plus Hawaiʻi GET.

For-profit · JKG Inc · Secure Stripe checkout · Clothing printed on demand, ships in the US

The numbers, honestly

11,637

people experienced homelessness in Hawaiʻi on one night in January 2024. HUD 2024 AHAR, Part 1

81per 10,000

residents, one of the highest rates in the country (same HUD report). More than 5,000 of the people counted were in disaster emergency shelter after the Maui fire.

0hired. yet.

TAI is in planning. No one is hired and no Hales are built. This is the starting line.

16×16ft

planned size of one TAI Hale (a small home). None is built yet.

Every number here is either from the HUD report linked above or a plan detail. We will add real hiring and building numbers the day they exist.

Concept art: a huge albizia tree leaning over a narrow Hawaiʻi road and power lines

The problem

Albizia is a hazard.

This fast-growing invasive tree drops onto roads, homes and power lines across Hawaiʻi Island. Owners pay a lot to remove a single hazard tree.

What if the hazard became the paycheck?

The plan

Four steps.
One plan.

Concept art: a portable sawmill in a Hawaiʻi forest
01

Hire

TAI plans W-2 jobs for local people who want paid work. Pay, benefits and training are not set yet. No one is hired.

Concept art: a leaning albizia over a road
02

Clear

TAI plans for paid, safety-trained crews to remove invasive albizia for landowners and along power lines.

Concept art: a sawmill blade cutting an albizia log
03

Mill & build

TAI plans for a paid crew to mill the wood and build small buildings (hale). TAI has not chosen land. Approvals are still ahead.

Concept art: hand-built hale at dusk
04

Learn & move up

TAI plans to offer training. Whether anyone lives in a Hale, and who, is not decided.

Read the full mission

For businesses

Advertise with a Hale for 12 months.

A 12-month advertising package: a listing in the TAI local business directory, commercials made by TAI, ads on TAI social pages, and a Hale page that says “made possible by” your business. It runs online and inside the Hale, with no outdoor sign.

12 monthsOne Hale ad, one year of advertising
DirectoryA listing in the TAI local business directory
CommercialsMade by TAI: a main ad plus short social cuts
QR plaqueInside the Hale, linking to your listing

Hales pledged: 0 of 696 needed

696 is the number of people counted as homeless on Hawaiʻi Island in the January 2026 point-in-time count (Star-Advertiser). TAI plans one Hale per person. The pledged number counts only pledges that TAI has confirmed with the business. Pledges are not contracts. No Hale is built yet.

Advertising for your business

One Hale ad.

$15,000 plus Hawaiʻi GET, for 12 months
  • A directory listing, commercials made by TAI, social posts and a Hale page for 12 months.
  • Buy more: a 5-Hale Neighborhood or a 10-Hale Village.
  • Pledging is not a contract. Nothing is charged on this site.
Pledge Hales

No outdoor sign or sticker with your name. A Hale is a planned 16×16 ft private shelter with a small yard, for one person. None is built, and TAI has no land or permits yet. Sold by JKG Inc, a for-profit company. It is advertising for your business, not a gift. Ask your tax professional how it applies to you.

Concept art: a row of hand-built hale at dusk with Mauna Kea behind

Concept art of the kind of Hale TAI is planning.

From hazard to lumber

Albizia, stacked and drying.

Albizia grows fast and drops on roads and roofs. TAI plans to turn clearing it into lumber and paid work. No one is hired yet and none of this is a TAI product.

Read the plan

Illustrative AI-generated image of a stickered stack of pale albizia boards under a Hawaiʻi sawmill roof
Illustrative AI-generated image · not a TAI product

The wood works

Real albizia. Real proof.

Jeff says the double doors he built in 2013 from quartersawn albizia have stood unpainted in Hilo weather since 2014, with no warping or termites.

Double exterior doors made of albizia, in Hilo weather since 2014
Albizia doors, 2013 to today
Albizia round ornament reading Pomaikai ia keia hale
Albizia ornament
Albizia and koa paddle earrings
Albizia and koa earrings
Hand-carved albizia and kiawe chess piece
Albizia chess pieces

Shop

Wear it. Use it. Advertise on it.

See everything
Illustrative AI-generated image of a woman wearing a navy koa-print palaka t-shirt dress
Illustrative AI-generated image, colors may vary. See the navy palaka dress
Illustrative AI-generated image of a woman in a red palaka plaid crop tee at a flower market
Illustrative AI-generated image, colors may vary. See the red palaka crop tee
DressClassic Navy Koa Palaka Women's T-Shirt Dress

Classic Navy Palaka T-Shirt Dress$73.99

Koa-print palaka, all-over print. Made on demand.

Buy now
Crop teeHeartwood Koa Palaka Women's Crop Tee

Heartwood Koa Palaka Crop Tee$63.99

Koa-brown palaka plaid crop tee.

Buy now
Cream TAI tee with a green plaid Hawaiian monk seal and the words I support The Albizia InitiativeThe same TAI monk seal tee with a koa-brown plaid sealThe same TAI monk seal tee with a navy plaid seal

Monk seal palaka tees$24.99

Our Hawaiian monk seal in palaka plaid. Seven colors, two poses, “I support The Albizia Initiative” on the chest.

Real Printify product mockups.

Pick your color
Get him one tooNavy Koa Nui Palaka Men's Pocket Aloha Shirt

Navy Koa Nui Aloha Shirt$97.99

Men’s pocket aloha shirt. Get him one too.

Buy now
Pū app screen: tap to blow the conchPū app screen: lead a group blastPū app screen: send a wave across the room

Pū: Blow the Conch$5.00

A real Hawaiian conch on your phone: blow it solo, lead a group blast, or send a wave across the room.

Real screenshots from the app.

Buy Pū
OwnIt Studio screen showing a script and voice settingsA preview scene drawn by OwnIt Studio: a piggy bank, an arrow and a money tree

OwnIt Studio$49

Turn a script into a whiteboard-animation video on your own Windows PC. Buy once, no subscription.

Windows 10/11, 64-bit. Real screenshot, with a scene it drew itself.

Buy OwnIt Studio
Concept artConcept art of the kind of Hale TAI is planning

Advertise on a Hale$15,000 + GET

A 12-month advertising package: a directory listing, commercials made by TAI, social posts and a Hale page. It runs online and inside the Hale, with no outdoor sign. Pledges are non-binding.

Sold by JKG Inc. Nothing is charged on this site.

Pledge a Hale ad

Purchases are sales by JKG Inc, a for-profit company. They are not charitable donations.

His and hers

Matching color, two ways to wear it.

Pick her dress or crop tee, then get him one too. Pairs share a color family; the prints can differ slightly, so check each product page.

Illustrative AI-generated image of a woman in a navy koa-print palaka t-shirt dress holding the matching navy men’s pocket aloha shirt
Illustrative AI-generated image, colors may vary. Her: Classic Navy Palaka T-Shirt Dress
Him: matching Navy Koa Palaka Aloha Shirt
HersRed Koa Palaka Women's T-Shirt Dress

Her: Red Koa Palaka T-Shirt Dress$73.99

Red palaka plaid.

Buy now
HisBright Red Koa Palaka Men's Pocket Aloha Shirt

Him: Bright Red Koa Palaka Aloha Shirt$97.99

Men’s pocket aloha shirt in red.

Buy now
HersGreen Koa Palaka Women's Crop Tee

Her: Green Koa Palaka Crop Tee$63.99

Green palaka plaid crop tee.

Buy now
HisBright Green Koa Palaka Men's Pocket Aloha Shirt

Him: Bright Green Koa Palaka Aloha Shirt$97.99

Men’s pocket aloha shirt in green.

Buy now

No dues

Wear TAI.
Spot each other.

See someone in a TAI tee? Give a nod. Share it with #IfYouSeeTheLeaf. No dues, no sign-up, no list and no perks. If you wear TAI gear, you’re in.

How the club works Get the tee

Quick answers

What is The Albizia Initiative (TAI)?

TAI is a for-profit Hawaiʻi company (JKG Inc dba The Albizia Initiative) in the planning phase. The plan: pay local people who want paid work, including people who have been without a home, to clear invasive albizia trees, mill the wood and build small buildings (hale). Pay, benefits and hiring rules are not set. No one is hired yet.

Has TAI hired anyone yet?

No. TAI is in planning. No one is hired, no Hale is built, and no community exists yet. Pictures marked “concept art” are illustrations of what we are working toward. The day that changes, we will say so here with real numbers.

Is TAI a nonprofit or a charity?

No. TAI is a for-profit company. We say that up front because it matters for you: purchases are sales by JKG Inc, advertising is advertising, and nothing here is a charitable donation.

Is TAI asking for donations?

No. TAI is a for-profit company. It makes things people want (apps, software, shirts) and sells advertising to local businesses. Purchases are sales, not gifts.

All 55 answers

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