21-Acre Farm in Waiʻanae, Oʻahu Protected in Perpetuity
On December 26, 2019 MAʻO Organic Farms closed escrow on 21 acres of farm land in Waiʻanae, Oʻahu, that is permanently protected by an agricultural easement held by Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. The project, which was facilitated by The Trust for Public Land, brings the total acreage farmed by the organization to 302 acres, making it the largest organic farm in the State. The State Legacy Land Conservation Program and the Freeman Foundation provided purchase funds, and the Joseph & Vera Long Foundation provided Hawaiian Islands Land Trust with a conservation easement stewardship endowment. TPL licensed the land to MAʻO while waiting for the project to close, so the farm could initiate production immediately. The entire parcel is already abundant with food including ulu, kalo, citrus, and veggies.
MAʻO’s approach to food production is grounded in the empowerment of local youth, as new leadership is imperative to the future of both the sustainable food movement and the broader community. As a nonprofit, MAʻO Organic Farms has been serving the youth of Waiʻanae, since 2001, through a series of educational programs, including an on-farm to college two-year internship that provides a stipend and full tuition support for students at the University of Hawaiʻi Leeward Community College, UH West Oʻahu or UH Mānoa. HILT’s own intern, Rawley Riccio is a product of this program.
On January 25th MAʻO Organic Farms held a gathering of partners to celebrate the farm expansion. HILTʻs own Rebekah Walker and Makana Reilly joined Board Member McD Philpotts and Island Council Member Onaona Thoane to celebrated the protection of more ʻāina alongside the Waiʻanae community.
The organization has graduated over 100 interns with Associate of Arts degrees and 25 with their Bachelor of Art degrees to date; several graduates of the program currently manage the organic farm and youth training program, which supplies over 2 tons of fresh organic produce a week to farmer’s markets, grocery and natural foods stores and locavore restaurants on Oʻahu.