MA`O Farms is located in the Wai`anae District, northwest of Honolulu, home to one of the largest Native Hawaiian populations in the islands. In recent years, The Trust for Public Land has helped the farm grow from five acres to 23 acres by acquiring adjoining lands.
But MA‘O Farms, in the Lualualei Valley northwest of Honolulu, is steadily working to change that. MA‘O is an acronym for the farm’s full name, Mala ‘Ai ‘Opio— “youth food garden.” Every year MA‘O enrolls motivated high school graduates—most from at-risk and underprivileged backgrounds—in a two-year Youth Leadership Training internship. Students work 18 hours a week, learning every
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stage of the organic farming industry: from planting and harvesting to packaging and sales. In exchange for their labor the interns receive full
tuition at local Leeward Community College, along with a $500–$600 monthly stipend. They attend workshops in personal finance, Hawaiian culture, and communica- tion and complete the program with an Associate of Arts degree. The farm also offers workshops for intermedi- ate school and high school students. As a nonprofit, the farm is supported by donations, and income from the sale of its produce cycles directly back into supporting its educational endeavors.
BACK TO HAWAIIAN ROOTS The idea for the farm program originated in 2001 with Native Hawaiian community activist Kukui Maunakea- Forth, who had volunteered as a youth development leader in a gardening program at a local high school. “Integrating their academics with a leadership program