Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture

The Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture (hip ag) farm program practices a variety of farming methods, including market gardening, agroforestry systems, tropical permaculture techniques and more. The farm serves as an experiential education site and model for regenerative agricultural systems. The goal is to inspire and grow the next generation of farmers. Hip ag is on a mission to restore food sovereignty to the islands of Hawaii. Hip ag feels that increasing access and sharing plant starts of these food security crops are crucial parts of the solution. Hip ag farm offers a beginner farmer training program (bftp) to increase farmers and farmer capacity to increase local food production. The associated objectives include our local instructional farmer training program (lift) for pre-established and new small-scale farmers on Hawaii island? And the residential apprenticeship program (rap) for aspiring young farmers. The programs train new farmers for increased crop production that meets the needs of regional market demand and combats climate change by alleviating the amount of produce procured through shipped goods. The offering includes bimonthly workshops and classes, farmer-to-farmer mentorship field days, online readings, daylong educational intensives and networking events, expert technical assistance, and field trips to local farms.

The Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture's (hip ag) youth education program hosts farm field trips to youth that teaches about canoe crops, harvesting fresh fruit, tasting of new foods, organic gardening, nutrition, mindfulness, leadership skills, and lo'i kalo stream restoration. Hip ag partners with kohala high school to support their school farm and career technical education lines with teaching, gardening, orchard care, being a community advisor, supporting garden to cafeteria program, hosting senior internships, and feeding students farm to table meals and beverages. Hip ag also has been working to reinvigorate farm to school to kohala cafeteria and is determined to get local procurement established while also supporting new menu trialing. During the summer, hip ag hosts high school interns on the hip farm to learn, work and get paid to join the team from four to six weeks.

A project of the kapaau based nonprofit hip Agriculture, kohala food hub was launched to serve the Hawaii state farm to school pilot program for the department of education's kohala school complex, in which our local cafeterias were able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers. The kohala food hub is an aggregation for small local farmers and a resource for farmers with a wash pack, walk-in refrigerator, and support and educational services. Kohala food hub is also an online marketplace and distributor of healthy, locally grown produce and locally made products in north kohala on the big island of hawai'iHawaii'i. Customers can shop weekly for individual items, as well as signing up for our farm fresh food subscription program, a multiform csa service which offers a weekly rotating variety of seasonal, freshly harvested local produce. The endeavors of the kohala food hub focus on synthesizing a direct connection between farmer/producer and consumer. This creates a more equitable relationship for both, and helps enhance our local agricultural economy. The farmers the kohala food hub works with are working together to meet the growing demand for local, nutrient dense food in the kohala area and beyond.