A TEAM OF ONE

    The next morning we headed down the coast to Ho'okena to meet Nalani Merrill. For the size of the island, there are not many beaches on Hawaii, but this one was idyllic. A few automobiles and campers parked under the trees at the edge of the beach, and visitors had pitched tents near the cliffs that rose above the beach. A hundred yards away near the entrance road the parks department had built outdoor showers and a changing room and bathrooms for visitors. Nalani had invited us to go out in her outrigger canoe. Just as Robert Putnam linked social capital to choral societies in Italy and bowling leagues here in the United States, the rowing clubs seemed to fulfill part of that function in the American tropics. We sat on a picnic table under a tree and talked about her involvement in MIRA. Although few people in her group had computers, they felt this was more important for the children than for the adults, and her work has been centered on the school that she helped found. Lack of childcare, the long distances, and a small pool of interested people were the reasons why her group never met the Kellogg training attendance requirements--probably the most controversial part of the whole project--and Nalani became a team of one. As a long-time activist working on educational and economic development projects in her community, Nalani found the technology to be transforming, providing her with new tools to use with traditional ones. However, too much email on listservs caused her to drop off of some lists. Recently, the Roadrunner cable modem service, which provides very high-speed connections for some consumers, reached Nalani's house, at the end of the cable loop, and she also maintains close ties with MIRA people in Kona and Ka'u to the south.