Kona Outdoor Circle is sponsoring a tour of several Hamakua Farms on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. The first farm on the tour is Hamakua Springs Country Farm. Owner Richard Ha will be leading the tour of his farm, which is a model of sustainable farming on a large scale. The farm is 600 acres planted in bananas, tomatoes, cucumber and watercress. The tomatoes are grown hydroponically in huge greenhouses on the property. He will discuss his entire operation focusing on the sustainable systems he has installed.
Following a catered lunch at the Lapahoehoe Train Museum we will visit Honopua flower farm in Kamuela. The farm is owned by master lei maker, Marie McDonald and operated by her daughter Roen and her husband. Most of the farmland adjacent to the house is planted in native Hawaiian plants that are suitable for lei making. Roen will lead the tour and Marie will join us to talk about how she uses many of the plant material that we will see growing on her farm.
Registered participants will meet at KOC’s “Festival of the Trees” parking lot at 8 am to car pool to Richard’s Farm in Hamakua and return around 4:30 pm from Waimea.
This tour offers a wonderful opportunity to meet two excellent farmers and learn about their ways of using their land sustainably while giving back to their community in many ways. The tour is $50 for KOC members and $65 for non members and includes lunch. Space is limited so call the KOC office at 329-7286 to reserve by Friday, June 13.
July 8, 2008 at 10:58 am
Has there been an effort in Hawaii to resurect sugar cane plantations for growing cane as an ethanol feedstock for local and export markets? This is an area where Hawaii might be able to demonstrate sustainable farming practices to produce fuel and other products.
Producing sugar cane for ethanol using new cane farming, harvesting, and etanol production practices might be the key to re-vitalizing Hawaii’s plantation agricultural base. Hawaii Island, particularly the Hamakua coast has geographic features that make etahnol production in Hawaii potentially competative with corn ethanol production on the mainland. Most important is Hawaii’s abundent rainfall and a mountain slope offering natural advantages for water savings and energy savings by using gravity. Visualize a system that captures rain at higher elevations, irrigates and grows cane at the middle elevations and processes, stores and loads ethanol for shipping at the lower elevations. It would be interesting to calculate the savings from using potential energy due to the differences in elevation for pumping and transporting product . Also, cane ethanol production is known to be more efficient efficient than corn ethanol production and does not compete with food products from corn.
I remember the happy Hawaiian population when the plantations were providing jobs that kept the young folks in the Islands and were producing a comodity of value in world markets.
Can we get there again?
September 25, 2008 at 9:26 am
Sounds like a great big island activity to me. I haven’t been to Hawaii in quite awhile, but I would love to do something like this activity if I were to go back.
May 13, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Hey! Where did you go! Great blog, wish you were still posting!!
May 18, 2009 at 3:45 pm
awesome blo about wellness here S)
May 24, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Что-то такое слышал, но не так подробно, а откуда материал брали?
May 24, 2009 at 9:32 pm
awesome news about Hamakua Farm Tour … In Kauai we offer Massage in Kauai