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When we first took over stewardship of this amazing piece of land, our intent was to farm it to produce food. However, after many failed attempts, we realized that the land had other plans. We spent several years listening to what the land had to say, and we also learned about the indigenous Hawaiian system of agriculture. That is when we realized that our land was actually part of what the native Hawaiians called the Wao akua, that is the realm of the akua (Gods) in which Hawaiians believed that sacred elemental processes took place that insure the well-being of our ʻāina and insure that the Wao Kanaka below us, the realm of kānaka, where people reside and cultivate the land could have healthy clean water and air. The native Hawaiians deemed the Wao Akua to be sacred and kept it pristine.
In a modern scientific context, we now understand those elemental processes to be the very dynamics of the ecology that comes into being in a healthy forest. We now understand that we are to be the keepers of the forest and our job is to establish a sustainable and economically viable vibrant forest that can sustain native wildlife. This is no easy task, as we wish this to take place in perpetuity long after we are gone. Our global society is on the verge of worldwide ecological collapse, and it is now well recognized that the native Hawaiians were right, we must value our forest and consider the ecological services they provide as essential for our survival on this planet. The Hawaiians said “He Waʻa, He Moku”-The island is a canoe, and we now know that that earth is a canoe in space, a va’a for 8 billion people.
To accomplish our goal, we created two entities on the land: one is the creation of the Kikala Waterfall Lodge which will provide the economic engine to keep this land viable as a forest. The second is the creation of The Mauna Kea Cloudforest Bioreserve. a non-profit whose mission is to educate and connect people to botany, regenerative forestry and each other. The Bioreserve focuses on preservation of Biodiversity, regenerative forestry and on mindfulness and the significance of interbeing with the Earth’s biological diversity to support the health and wellbeing of all people and the planet. The the goal is to also let the non-profit be the entity that will implement and manage in perpetuity the conservation easement that will insure that this forest will be the treasure of many future generations and serve as an eco-service engine to maintain the living fabric that keeps us alive on this planet instead of turning into yet another McMansion.
The non-profit will also pave the way to help the Kikala Waterfall Lodge become a part of a new economic fabric of sustainable tourism for our islands. Our goal is to help transform Hawaii into a vibrant ecosystem of small regenerative family farms and ecolodges involved with forestry stewardship that drive an ecotourism model which moves away from extractionist colonialism and nourishes and sustains the ‘aina, promotes a mindful society, and respects Hawaii’s indigenous roots.
Regenerative forestry is our central tenet: it means that all the activities on the farm regenerate both the soil, the environment and the atmosphere. It means that thanks to a vibrant regenerative forest, the riparian corridor runs free from mud runoff, and native wildlife and natural pollinators flourish. Instead of generating emissions, the farm pulls carbon out of the atmosphere and sequesters it in the ground. All this can be achieved thanks to indigenous knowledge and modern science.
Our Bioreserve aims to be an example of what a successful small farm can do in the wao akua. To bring about economic success for a small farm requires a diversity of activities. The mosaic that makes up our farm includes a small area for dedicated to the Kikala Waterfall Lodge to serve overnight guests, small acreage dedicated to crops and livestock compatible with forestry, an arboretum/botanical garden and forest preserve and space for community development. The heart of our farm is a 9 acre forest preserve along the Kikala River with a cascade of waterfalls. This forest serves as a repository for endangered plants from around the world mixed in with native Hawaiian plants and is home to native Hawaiian hawks (‘io) and native Hawaiian owls (Pue’o).
An additional 5 acres are dedicated to an arboretum and mixed open forest as well as an experimental xmas tree field to help jumpstart a vibrant xmas tree industry in Hawaii that will reduce our dependance on imports.
One of the elements that makes our farm unique is the riparian corridor that forms the center of the farm. This puts conservation and regenerative forestry at the forefront as it is the only way to preserve the beauty of the Kikala river that flows through the farm.
The way to a sustainable future needs to be straight forward for anyone to understand so it’s important to keep things simple. While the details matter, the basics really just boil down to three principles: no till, minimize external inputs and build a healthy farm ecology.
By minimizing the soil disturbance and mulching aggressively, we maximize the natural ecology of the soil by promoting healthy soil bacteria and mycelium
Growing our own nitrogen fixing cover crops and chop-and-drop silviculture to generate the required nutrients to feed to forest.
No mono-crops, instead maximize biodiversity with lots of companion planting and islands of pristine nature for pollinator and beneficial predator habitat
Healthy and productive crop fields take time to create and become an economic powerhouse with the right practices such as repeated crop rotations with no-till and cover crop techniques, If the soil is healthy, the fields will produce a real bounty.
The practice of keeping livestock for manure accelerates nutrient cycling and provides a source of rich fertilizer for the farm. If managed properly, the livestock will yield additional profits from eggs, milk and meat and the livestock can be fed efficiently from the farm’s green manure production and efficient rotational grazing practices.
Farms cannot be successful beyond an acre without additional help. Farms need infrastructure for visiting farm help in the form of additional farm dwellings like cabins and glamping structures and facilities where the farm community can gather such as a community hall. It also helps to galvanize your community around philosophical principles and tenets. At our farm we use Zen practice to build community.
Fruit trees are often not a very profitable crop unless you have many acres to plant, vegetable crops often fetch much higher prices for small acreages. However, fruit trees really create a vibrancy on the farm and can be integrated into a CSA to complement vegetables, and are a valuable part of food crops for the community on the farm.
If you want to bring crops to market, you will at the very least need to have a basic certified washing facility. Value addded products bring more money to the farm, so as your farm grows, consider adding a comercial kitchen where you can prepare value added products.
Cover crops usually aren’t enough to really power a healthy farm. In high rainfall areas, chop-and-drop silivculture for ongoing mulch production is critical. If done with the right equipment such as a flail mower to grind up dropped branches, the labor costs are insignificant. (Hint: using a mulcher is too labor intensive.)
Wildlife islands like small nature preserves and pollinator boundaries can provide critical habitat for much needed pollinators and beneficial predators that can greatly reduce the needs for pesticides. In our case, these represent the majority of the farm.
The road to a successful regenerative farm is long and requires financial solvency. Visitor farm stays can provide the extra income to provide the much needed runway to ramp up all the relevant practices on the farm. Set aside a guest house or a couple of glamping cabins so that you can bring in additonal revenue for your farm.
Even if timber isn’t one of your desired crops, it’s still useful to grow timber on the farm. The trees harbor useful predators like hawks and owls and you never know when you might need extra timber for firewood or construction.
Not every farm wants a nursery, but it sure saves money not to have to buy every single plant from an outside nursery. A nurdsery is also critical to for producing vegetable starts that might not get going easily from direct seeding.