As the only full-time employee at Monkeypod Jam, Aletha Thomas is as small as a small business can get. But her reach extends across oceans and brings people from the mainland to the island of Kauai, her home in Hawaii for 25 years.
Monkeypod originally focused on selling preserved fruit and pickled vegetables grown on the island, supplied by local farmers. It started as a project Thomas embarked on to help pay for her 2011 wedding and turned into a business that replaced her career as a teacher. Her growing team used the kitchen of a defunct fast-food restaurant to produce their small batches. Five years after they started, the growing company moved into a building that served as a storefront, tasting room and kitchen for cooking classes. At its pinnacle, 12 people were part of the team, and chefs from other islands and the mainland were flying there to guest teach classes.
The pandemic forced the shutdown of her brick-and-mortar establishment. Kauai’s lockdowns affected every business on the island.
“I was in shock and trying to figure out what I could do as a business owner,” she says. “I thought, I need to keep payroll going. I need to keep my community fed. And all of a-sudden, our farmers were no longer allowed at farmers markets. We needed to help them. I made a list and that turned into a business plan for most of 2020.”
Monkeypod created a coffee drive-through off the rear loading dock of Thomas’ café kitchen, which also served as the drop-off and pick-up for produce from local farmers. The company’s loyal longtime customers who lived on the mainland sponsored vegetable boxes for Kauai locals whose livelihoods had been hit hard by the shutdown. Thomas and her team also made takeout dinners while she also ran a one-room schoolhouse for her only child and several of her third-grade friends.
But as hard as Thomas tried to keep Monkeypod afloat, it wasn’t enough. Thomas had to close the business. After schools opened back up, she opened Monkeypod (V2) by leading small cooking classes – 12 people maximum – full-time using a cottage the family owned. While some participants flew in, most students were local.
Thomas taught them how to make marmalades and explained natural fermentation and basic preserving. And Thomas wasn’t the only classroom leader. Master butchers have flown from the mainland to teach students how to prepare a pig for making charcuterie and sausage. Monkeypod started a guest chef program that drew visitors – like the butchers – from the mainland and other islands in the state. The cottage became a place for them to stay while they taught.
As Thomas navigates these big changes in her life and business, she relies on her Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon to power through her many tasks and busy schedule.
“My Lenovo is such a good workhorse, I love it,” says Thomas, whose husband runs the IT department of a local resort and turned her onto the PCs. “They run hard, they’re fast, they don’t break, they don’t get glitchy. I am not a tech person. I’m very much a creative person, so it’s saved me.”
Thomas writes emails using Outlook, and creates spreadsheets with Excel and grant proposals on PowerPoint. While she’s still new to Windows 11, she’s looking forward to using Phone Link, which recently started rolling out. In addition to basic iOS support for calls, messages and access to contacts, she’ll be able to see her phone photos on her PC within the iCloud for Windows app. “It’s all about saving time and staying connected when you have a small business.”
Thomas, who has a daughter and a husband who works long hours away from home, is always looking for ways to make the most of her time. She takes advantage of the power efficiency settings on her Lenovo because she’s often on-the-go visiting with farmers and can’t plug in.
Other Windows 11 features she likes are snap layouts (“great to have multiple things open all in one screen”), focus sessions (“because I do have limited time and because I’m so scattered”) and widgets (“so I can keep up with my local and Pacific Northwest news and weather”).