Can A Sustainable Industry Be Built From An Invasive Species?

A landmark project on the UH Manoa campus shows the albizia tree’s potential as a building material — and the challenges of developing manufacturing in Hawaii.


When Joey Valenti built his dome-shaped tiny house on University Avenue a year ago, it was designed in part to rebut skeptics who said albizia wood was too light and weak to use as a building material.

Valenti proved the skeptics wrong with his celebrated, striking structure. He also raised another, bigger question: Why couldn’t Hawaii harvest and process albizia as a building material?

The answers highlight many of the problems associated with growing the manufacturing sector in Hawaii.

Even with an abundant raw material like albizia – an invasive species that needs to be removed – growing a manufacturing sector in Hawaii can be daunting. Shipping costs, labor, the need for capital investments, a relatively small and uncertain local demand: all of these pose obstacles to starting something new.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/04/can-a-sustainable-industry-be-built-from-an-invasive-species/


Joey Valenti’s Albizia Project on the University of Hawaii campus shows the invasive wood can be used as a building material.