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Oahu, Hawaii |
A little background on growing in Hawaii:
· Even with a twelve-month growing season, I was
surprised to learn that Hawaii imports 85% of its produce (The University of HI plans to conduct a new survey around this import
figure).
· Much of the produce grown, primarily lettuce and
greens, is sold to the resorts for fancy salads for tourists. Here at Johnny’s,
10% of our total lettuce sales are to Hawaii.
· Some crops are not cost-effective to grow in
Hawaii, or are difficult to produce, such as field-grown fruiting crops like
tomatoes and peppers, due to insect and disease pressures.
· There is a mounting interest in growing
Hydroponically and Aquaponically for more controlled growing conditions.
MA'O Organics’ motto is "no panic, go Organic". MA'O's mission is to empower young
people to become leaders and to make their island home a more food-secure place
to live. The organization is in its
10th year of offering Youth and Leadership training internships for 17-24 yr-old
Hawaiians who are pursuing Agricultural Studies. Beginning with a two-year Youth Leadership Training,
interns can go on to a second two-yr Step Up Training. After completion, Graduated interns can
choose to go on to admin work, or to become co-managers and managers at the
farm. The diverse produce raised on the 23-acre farm is distributed through a
local CSA as well as to markets such as Whole Foods and Foodland in and around Oahu.
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Oahu, Hawaii
Stay tuned for part two of Lainie's Hawaii Blog series- coming soon!
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