Paia Town & Upcountry

Kuau Bayiew is on the outskirts of the old plantation town of Paia and just down the volcano from Makawao town. Paia became the most important community along the North Shore of Maui during the 1880s when the Alexander and Baldwin Company built the first sugar mill on the island just outside of town. Although the Paia Mill was mothballed in 2000, the plantation architecture still lends its flavor to the town itself, just as the paniolo lifestyle is inseparable from the face of Makawao town.

Watercolor artist Eddie Flotte has captured Maui's charm and preserved its history and people like no other. We are all indebted to him for preserving these precious soon-to-be memories in such a perceptive and loving way.

Here is Eddie's original Tribute to Paia in song & video.

Here is a great article from April 2007 which serves as a tribute to Rene Silva, Paia's own "Grand Master of Native Plants." Born in January 1929, Uncle Rene passed away on 12/28/2008. He was one-of-a-kind.