Aloha,
Our beautiful Hofa certified organic 8 acre farm has coffee, macadamia nut, hearts of palm, cacao and many varieties of exotic tropical fruit. Some of the fruit we have: mangoes, bananas, figs, cacao(chocolate), pineapples, guava, avocados, passion fruit, bread fruit, taro, papaya, oranges and many more. Lots of greens, veggies and herbs from the gardens….We have an intern garden for you to learn and harvest in. Food can be harvested from the farm and gardens. We also provide some food weekly to compliment your garden bounty. We have nice living quarters for our interns. We live like a neighborhood here. Everyone has some privacy and their own space. We are very organized on the farm. Our goals are to keep the farm chores moving forward, for you to learn how to grow your own food, to farm as sustainable as possible and have fun on the island in our free time. We work in the mornings 5 hours a day 5 days a week, so you can have the rest of the day to enjoy the island. The beach is just 3 miles down the hill. There is great swimming, snorkeling and surfing. You may even see a dolphin, turtle or whale in your travels. Our farm is located in a wonderful small community. There are locally owned stores and shops. There are many local activities such as yoga, dance, art, music and sports programs. There are many opportunities to become a part of the community.
We are always in the process of learning here. We are trying to live and make our farm as sustainable as possible. We grow most of what our farm needs for food by using different types of cover crops, mulching and composting. We use agroforestry techniques when ever possible. We have incorporated nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs to help feed the farm. We have 4 chicken tractors that we move around the farm for bug, weed control and fertility ( also they provide a lot of entertainment!) We are in the process of putting in a catchment water system, micro irrigation, solar hot water and a solar dehydrator.
We try to grow all of our food that we can and then sell the excess at the local farmers markets. We also market our products locally and through mail order. You will learn how to grow and process coffee, cacao (chocolate) and macadamia nuts while you are here. You will learn about marketing and value added products.
We enjoy the work we do and enjoy sharing what we do with others. We are happy and easy to get along with. We have farmed organically for over 20 years. We have taught many classes and have had many interns on our farms in Alaska and Hawaii. We lived off the grid in Alaska for many years. Our Alaska home and our commercial fishing camp were both off grid. We have built our homes and they have solar and windpower systems. Hawaii is our new project.
We ask you to stay at least 1 month. The longer the stay the more you will learn. There is a trial period to see if you are a good fit for the farm. We are a nonsmoking farm. We can house 1 to 4 interns. We have no facilities for children or pets. We ask you to have your own personal health insurance before you stay on the farm.
If you are interested in learning where your food comes from, how to grow your own food from the ground up and see how a small family farm runs day to day this is the farm for you. Give us an e-mail and we can send you more detailed information about us and an application to fill out.
Have fun!
Bonnie and Bacci
