Kahumana Farms, Waiʻanae, Waiʻanae

Hawai‘i Land Trust (HILT) and Kahumana Food Hub & Organic Farms (Kahumana Farms) announce the protection and expansion of prime Wai‘anae farmland through an agricultural conservation easement, ensuring that 24 acres of land will be permanently farmed to grow healthy food for local families. 

Hawaiʻi Land Trust, a 501(c)3 statewide nonprofit that protects, stewards, and connects people to the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi, secured funds to purchase a conservation easement over 24 acres of land co-owned by Kahumana Farms and a private individual. Kahumana Farms then used the conservation easement funds to purchase the interest of the private individual, allowing Kahumana Farms to own and expand its farming operations over the entire 24 acres.

An agricultural conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land to prevent conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses. Funds for the $1.27 million easement came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and The Freeman Foundation. The James & Abigail Campbell Family Foundation, the Serendipity II Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, and Hawaiʻi Land Trust donors generously provided additional support. 

“This agricultural easement means so much to Hawai‘i during a time where we collectively want more locally grown food, yet values are skyrocketing and farms are shutting down,” said Shae Kamakaʻala, HILT’s Director of ʻĀina Protection. “With an alignment of values and intentions, it is beautiful to see how agricultural easements can have such a dramatic impact on the protection of Hawai‘i’s farmlands.”

Kahumana Farms uses regenerative agricultural practices that improve soil health, sequester carbon, and increase the health of the surrounding ecosystem. Under the easement, a small portion of the newly acquired land is dedicated for farmworker housing, a vital need to ensure the sustainability of farming as a profession in Hawaiʻi. 

“This partnership with Hawaiʻi Land Trust removes the threat of development and expands the farm’s agricultural operations by one-third, from 16 to 24 acres,” said Christian Zuckerman, Kahumana’s Farm Manager and Director of Social Ventures. “We expect to increase production to 150,000 pounds of food annually to the local market, including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, value-added products, healthy school lunches, and our farm hub, which primarily serves new and socially disadvantaged farmers.”

Kahumana Farms is a Wai‘anae-based nonprofit that provides housing, food, life skills, and job training to homeless families, people with disabilities, and youth. Founded in 1974, Kahumana Farms produces 100,000 pounds of organic produce each year in Lualualei Valley, while also providing 110 homeless families in Leeward O‘ahu with housing, employment, and resources since 1989. In addition, Kahumana Farms operates a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, a farm hub for local growers, a farm-to-table café, and more.  

“This project encapsulates in so many important ways the priorities of the Campbell Family Foundation’s giving program. It will protect Hawaiian practices of land stewardship in ways that sustain our people and communities socially, culturally, economically, and environmentally. We are proud to support Hawai‘i Land Trust’s mission of protecting the lands that sustain us,” D. Keola Lloyd, Senior Vice President & Corporate Secretary, James Campbell Company LLC, and Grants Manager, James & Abigail Campbell Family Foundation. 

The Kahumana Farms agricultural conservation easement is the first agricultural easement completed under HILT’s major partnership with the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) that began in November 2020. HILT and USDA-NRCS’ partnership opens opportunities for HILT to bring home millions of dollars in federal matching funds for the protection of agricultural lands throughout Hawai‘i. 

This partnership, the first of its kind in Hawai‘i, provides opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and the possibility of expansion for fishpond stewards to preserve their lands in perpetuity for the production of local foods, with wide-ranging impacts including food sustainability, community resilience, and ecological health.

“Mahalo to our dedicated partners and forward-thinking supporters for helping us keep this land in active farming. Our collective actions today ensure this farm will provide healthy food for Hawaiʻi’s families forever more,” said Laura Kaakua, HILT’s President and Chief Executive Officer. 

Hawaiʻi Land Trust protects and stewards the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi and teaches future generations to do the same. To date, Hawaiʻi Land Trust has protected more than 21,700 acres throughout the Islands – 2,100 acres are Hawaiʻi Land Trust owned public preserves open for everyone to enjoy, and over 19,000 acres are protected via 47 conservation easements restricting privately owned lands. HILT protects coastlines, wahi kupuna (Hawaiian cultural landscapes), and lands that grow healthy food for Hawaiʻi’s people.