Producer

We searched along the Hamakua Coast for more than a year before finding the five-acre property mauka Ninole that is now Waikolu Farms. The orchard had been planted with tropical fruit trees -- lychee, mangosteen, rambutan, mango, ulu, coconut, durian, jackfruit, etc. -- in the 1990s, so the trees were mature when we purchased it. However, the farm had been neglected for at least a decade and was in dismal condition. We've had to remove many trees and replant. Along the way we added banana, papaya, lilikoi, citrus and avocado and cleared space for row crops that now include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and chiles. In 2025 we added a dozen sheep, which graze in the orchard.

We use a agroforestry approach to farming, mixing many kinds of trees and shrubs and low plants together rather than segregating into specific crops. We have banana next to ulu next to coconut next to pineapple.