One of the last things you'd expect a person to do in an area regularly stricken by drought conditions is start a farm.

But that's exactly what Ali'i Chang did on his 13.5 acres in Kula on the slopes of Haleakala. Years of dry weather have prompted Maui County officials to impose mandatory and voluntary water restrictions over the years, but Chang found what he felt is the perfect crop for Upcountry Maui's perennial dry weather.

"I had this beautiful land in Waipoli, what can I raise besides protea?" Chang said. "I had to change my way of thinking, so I thought I better look into the drought situation and here came lavender."

Chang said he had done some research on lavender, but wasn't convinced that his crop of choice would be that member of the mint family until friend Emma Veary gave him a bunch of dried lavender.

"I thought she was the 'messenger,' " he said.

Chang had a background in plants and flowers and operated floral shops and farms on the North Shore of O'ahu and Maui. He also owned and operated the Sun Seeker Resort in Kihei before selling it and returning to his Kula farm full-time.

He planted his first lavender in June 2001 on three acres and was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which the plant flourished. Lavender thrives in dry conditions, requires no watering and little maintenance, and is not eaten by feral pigs, goats or deer.

"We'd water it and give it fertilizer, but it would get all angry and ugly," Chang said. "We realized it wants to be left alone — and once we found that, it was great."

With the lavender growing like weeds, Chang had to figure out what to do with it. He had no knowledge of its uses and didn't have the money to experiment on potential products.

Then in January 2002, Lani Medina Weigert, a tourism sales and marketing veteran, went to Chang's Ali'i Kula Lavender to pick up a wreath. The wreath wasn't ready, so she and Chang got to chatting and "got along famously."

The two would later form Lavender Farms Inc. and do business as Ali'i Kula Lavender. In 2006, Chang and Weigert brought in a third partner, Mars Simpson.

They knew that just selling lavender would not be a profitable business. They had to come up with a way to use the lavender in other products, such as soaps and lotions.

Weigert began to ask Island businesses if they were interested in infusing the lavender into their products. By using the expertise of these firms, they thought, Ali'i Kula Lavender would be able to market quality products without a huge investment.

The idea worked. Companies ranging from Big Island Candies and Kauai Kookies to home-based companies like Jeanne the Bread Lady agreed to make products specifically for Ali'i Kula Lavender.

"What was wonderful was we didn't have all this outlay of cash to create a bottling plant for our jellies and jams, and we didn't have to come up with the recipes, or build a certified kitchen," Weigert said. "Coming together is so relevant, more than at any other time. It really is a key component for us."

She said the goal also was to help out other small businesses and farms by contracting them to create the special products. Ali'i Kula Lavender has about 25 partnerships that produce nearly 80 items.

"It's such a win because they have a new product that they didn't have to spend any money to market, and we have a very high-quality fresh product made in Hawai'i that we could promote," she said.

Jimmy Chan, owner of Hawaiian Chip Co., said he was approached by Weigert at a Made in Hawai'i Festival on O'ahu a few years back. Chan's company makes taro and sweet potato chips and Weigert asked him if he could do a lavender-flavored chip.

Chan agreed to take on the challenge and came up with a gourmet lavender chip that's sold at Ali'i Kula Lavender's retail shop and on its Web site. Chan also agreed with Weigert that the partnership is a win-win for both companies.

The label "says 'Manufactured by Hawaiian Chip' on there, so it does give us a little more exposure," Chan said. "It really helps getting the taro chips and sweet potato chips for the tourists to try, regardless of the flavor. They get a lot of tourists there so that really helps get them to try it."

He added that he appreciated Ali'i Kula Lavender's efforts to get other small businesses involved in its venture.

"With Hawai'i being so small, we all gotta help each other out," Chan said.

Weigert said that once they began developing products, the next challenge was to market the farm. Again, with little money available for marketing, Chang and Weigert invited Maui senior citizens to go on easy walking tours of the farm.

That first year, about 300 seniors visited the farm, but through word-of-mouth, nearly 3,000 people visited the farm a year later and that number has grown steadily over the years. Weigert, who is president of the Hawai'i Agritourism Association, said she hopes other local farmers will open their gates to visitors as a way of increasing business.

At Ali'i Kula Lavender, Weigert said, only about 12 percent of the company's revenue is from the raw crop, with the rest coming from retail sales. She would not disclose the company's annual sales.

"We're able to sustain ourselves beyond just regular farming," Weigert said.

Chang said business hasn't been hurt much by the downturn in the visitor industry. He said many of the people who visit his farm are local residents, including many from O'ahu who take the Hawaii Superferry over to Maui.

At 65, Chang said he has no plans to retire. In fact, he has expanded his operations to include olive trees and honey bees. He also will continue giving guided tours of the farm, which he does several times a day.

"It's just like a piece of heaven up here. When you come up, you're not in a rush. Nobody's rushing when they come up here."