ona’s

Mary Prevetz’s place.

Prevetz, 40,
year-old husband Andy > Grubb
carved out a small tropical fruit.
farm and. coffee: plantation back
in the hills above the Kona ‘coast
_here onthe “Big Island of
Hawaii."

raising ‘three children
more on their own skills and hard
“work than. on money to. keep
themselves going. :

“We've lived on as little as
$7,500 a year,"’ said Prevetz, ‘‘al-
though now with Andy taking on
part-time carpentry jobs our in-
come has-been as high as
*- $23,000." (All: fi igures are in Ca-
. " nadian funds.)

’ “We . barter, often grow our
.-own food and go through lots of
_ ‘second-hand ... clothes, : especially

*” for the children,’’

, We-met’ Prevetz thanks to my
wife § Mandy's. interest in: coffee.
“While visiting’ a roadside coffee-
.bean’ ‘stand, we started talking to

‘: Prevetz who had also stopped ‘in;

together with 35--

They, built their. own home, are.
and’ rely, -

Michael
Grenby

DOLLARS AND SENSE

their backs. a

“When. .we -first- bought the
property in 1982 — we paid about
$36,000 —. we. lived. under a
tarp,”” she said. “Then we stayed
in a Quonset hut while we built
the house.”’

lowest... four-wheel-drive - gear.
Wild: pheasants - crossing ‘in front

rh

road about.-six. or seven - years
ago.’ Before that,. Prevetz and
Grubb used to. haul supplies in on”

r

“ the’-side - of a: hill,.” th
_Square-metre (2,500-square-foot) -
. Structure is on three levels, with

ut’ we ‘put’ in. the ,-..
“give us’ electricity. for light, TV’
‘and. small ‘appliances, plus . pro-

And what a house. Built into
“the 230-

comfortable and - casual -. large

“srooms and a panoramic. view of |.
‘the ocean about 600 metres below.
The place is wide open: not too.

cool ..in winter, ‘NOt too ‘hot: in
summer, «: ,
“We. have solar panels - - which’

pane for the stove,’’ Prevetz said.

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‘

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_ We have ideal locations available. We' te growing. And we need people to grow ;
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USINESS
Prevetz household
finds paradise in parad

KEOKEA, HAWAII — When you dream of escaping to a
sub- tropical ‘paradise but with enough modern conve-
niences to keep you civilized, you might be dreaming of

“especially baked for us.
- bought several pounds of this tru-
“dy 100% Kona coffee’ to take

works, with » individua,
- answer: ‘your, questi.
allows °— write. to-him\c/o The |
North Shore News,.1 139. Lonsdale’

“We collect rainwater in a tank
and pump it up the hill to give us
a gravity feed.’

Since 1990 there’s even been the
luxury of a flush toilet — com-
plete with ocean view.

Johanna, 10, was born at home
with the help of a midwife; Em-
ma, 8, and Eli, 6, were born in
the local hospital. Prevetz drives
them down to the highway where
they get the school bus.

At home, the children ride their
two ponies which, when the
children aren’t around, also work
as lawnmowers,

We walked through the fields
around the house and Prevetz
plucked some tangelos for us to
sample. Avocado, mango, passion
fruit, pineapple, bananas,
oranges, macadamia nuts, papaya,
guava — Prevetz and Grubb have

‘them all.

’ The -coffee trees. are Prevetz’s

jatest project.. She sun dries the .

coffee and has plans to roast “her

“own beans as well. :

* Mandy savored the coffee with
the cinnamon buns Prevetz had
We

home. ~

Prevetz would ‘like to be self-
supporting with the homestead’s
coffee and other. produce. But to

diversify, she is also investing in a.

massage therapy course'so she can

“do. part-time work ‘to help: sup-
‘plement the family’s income.
:. Coming" from: winter-bound .

Canada, [’m sure-this sub-tropical

. homestead hit“'us~as particularly.

appealing. But it shows once again

you can fi ind ‘your, own wonderful .
doesn’t take a six- .
\ figure. incuine?

life, and ‘i

‘The next time you go ona trip;

open yourself ,to the possibility of .
‘an adventure like this. You’ won't «

find it described in’ the travel

‘brochures and you can’t.buy such. ©
an experience —: but that. only: :

makes it-all the more valuable and
special... . ;

Mike “Grenby isa North
Shore-based’ ‘columnist and’ in-
dependent’. financiai\adviser: who
_ he; will
S space”

Ave., - North Vaneu

2F4,

V7M

; E RRSP. over-contributions a The pros
| and cons of foreign diversifi cation

an \fompounding a and, much more. -

What does the Hat identify?
Interested, interesting people.

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