This ‘aina-based system, in which you cultivate the farm and the farmer at the same time, lies at the heart of MA‘O’s mission statement:
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“Growing organic food and young leaders for a sustainable Hawai‘i.”
created a space within that community where these kids felt like they had a place to grow,” Kukui recalls. She wondered, why can’t we do this for the bigger kids? Together with her New Zealand–born husband, Gary, she set out to create a farm rooted in the traditional Hawaiian value of aloha ‘aina—roughly translated as “love of the land.” “For the ancient Hawaiian people, forced to survive
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on the most remote island chain in the world, ‘aina meant more than just ‘land’.. . it meant ‘that which feeds,’” says Kamuela Enos, MA‘O’s director of social enterprise. “The concept entails people being connected to the land, in intimate relationship to it.” “We are going back to our roots—literally,” said third-
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year intern Michelle Arasato one bright fall morning, smiling as she plucked weeds from the MA‘O herb garden. “For the Hawaiians, everything was put into the ‘aina. You have to take care of it so that it will produce for you. And it’s the same with our community,” she added, pointing to the fields, where a dozen students bend among rows of
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MA`O intern Michelle Arasato. “We are going back to our roots— literally,” she says.
salad greens. “We are a family. And you want to be there to pick each other up, knowing they will be there to pick you up when you need it.” This ‘aina-based system, in which you cultivate the
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farm and the farmer at the same time, lies at the heart of MA‘O’s mission statement: “Growing organic food and young leaders for a sustainable Hawai‘i.” The farm was slow getting started. “I visited when
they first opened, and there were only five or six interns,” recalls Lea Hong, Hawai‘i state director for The Trust for Public Land. It was just this little thing, and I remember thinking, man, this is gonna be tough!” But with irrigation and organic techniques, the garden
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The farm’s name translates to “youth food garden.” Interns receive a stipend and college tuition and attend workshops on finance, Hawaiian culture, and communication.
began to thrive and the gardeners began to sell produce. With advice from The Trust for Public Land, the farm grew from less than five acres to 23 acres by acquiring adjoining lands. “It’s amazing to see the correlation between the expansion of the farm and the growing success