Meet Trinity Asing: Student & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Trinity Asing and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trinity, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Mauka Market is the world’s first regenerative marketplace with a goal to set in motion a change in Hawaiʻi and around the world. Mauka functions as a platform where products made from abundant local material, such as Albizia, an invasive tree to hawaiʻi, as well as responsibly sourced indigenous materials, can be sold and purchased. This exchange creates demand and economic drivers that incentivize the use of removed invasive material and supports sustained cultivation of native resources in its place. Mauka directs its profits to projects that are restoring ecosystems. We empower artisans & customers to do business in ways that heal our environments.

What should our readers know about your business?
Mauka Market is the world’s first regenerative marketplace. We started as a pop-up market and have grown into an e-commerce platform for the eco-conscious consumer who is looking for radically ethical local businesses who primarily source out of their home state.

We are super excited to announce the launch of our e-commerce platform in Winter 2021, so that the world can support our amazing artisans. We really took our time with this process. We spent most of 2020 researching and listening to our artisans so that we could learn about the kinds of support they needed. From these conversations we developed what we call “Mauka Certified”, which is an assessment tool that you can take on our website to certify your business or product as being radically ethical!

The Mauka Certified assessment tool asks questions about where your source, who you source from, and what ways you give back to your community. These are all things that we look for in our artisans – we have to admit it is not easy to become a Muaka Artisan! We are looking for creators who truly are making an impact.

I am currently a full time student, so balancing running Mauka Market, school work and a part time job has been difficult. It has also taught me so much, how to keep organized, to stay motivated and determined, I am definitely still working on time management, but I’m only 19 so when the surf’s good, I’m there.

What I love the most about what I do is the fact that we are building a community of like-minded creators. My team has become like family and the artisans have become great friends. You have to check out Brittnee from Treehouse Teas, Danya from Laulima and Tyler from Revive Woods, just to name a few of artisans who have become so close to me.

My journey began in 2019 when I was a part of Nalukai Academy, an intensive tech and entrepreneurship camp for highschool students. From there I was asked to join the Purple Prize competition, that is where I met the Albizia Project team and collectively we came up with the idea of Mauka Market. Your team is so important, your support system is so important, and keeping up with those relationships is what helps me continue on my journey. I wouldn’t be able to be doing what I am without these people who continue to support me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in paradise, I’m so blessed to be born and raised in Hawaiʻi. There are so many things to do! I love surfing, so that would definitely be one of the first things I would want to take them to do. Now, I won’t name any of my favorite spots, but the best place for beginners is in Waikīkī! The best time to surf is early morning, we call it dawn patrol. Then I usually love to get Rainbows Drive Inn, my go to is a BBQ burger deluxe with a strawberry slush float. Waikīkī is located on the south shore, next stop would be the beautiful windward side, where I am from. Hiking Kaʻōhau pill boxes for the sunrise is breathtaking, the view of the Mokulua islands is amazing. After that we would for sure have to stop by Wilsons Store for some shave ice and “crack seed”, which is a local style candy. Next stop north shore, now depending on the season the waves can either be monstrous in the winter, or flat like a lake and glassy in the summer. Waimea Bay is the best spot for some rock jumping, famous for the 30 ft. tall rock, perfect for “bombing” off. Waimea Bay is also a great spot for snorkeling. Nearby is Haleʻiwa town, where you can find small local shops, and Farm to Barn, one of my favorite places to eat on that side.
Last stop of the week would be west side, I won’t tell you my favorite spot out there, but you have to try Kahumana Organic Farms Cafe, for some farm fresh gindz, and Kalo Bombs which is a local delight. Soooo ʻOno! (delicious) Remember Hawaiʻi is rich in culture and ʻāina (land and sea) is deeply respected, so when visiting please respect the people and the places. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to the rest of the team, Matt, Christine and Joey. They have taught me so much and I couldn’t be doing it without them!

Website: https://mauka.market/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maukamarket/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinity-a-492816125/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloMaukaMarket

Image Credits
Jack Solomon, Trinity Asing