Founded in 1998, Kawanui Farm is a 1.2 acre mini-farm,  located at 1,500 ft. elevation in the uplands of Kona on the Island of Hawai’i. Before coming to Hawai’i, Gerry farmed in Potter Valley, Mendocino County from 1971-1995, and Nancy began growing home gardens in 1973 and has lived and gardened in Kona since 1978. Both have been growing food and selecting seed at Kawanui since 1998. 

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Our intention to build Kawanui Farm started 40 years ago. Our vision was to create a homestead that would sustain us, discover varieties of food crops that grow well in this environment (and we like to eat), and find ways to recycle on-farm nutrients that build soil and plant health. We continue to occasionally offer workshops and farm experiences for the community that will deepen connections with the ‘Aina and build food self-reliance and sustainable organic systems for Hawai’i.   From 1999-2008 we gave workshops for the community on a variety of agricultural topics and conducted coffee variety trials settling in on 12 wonderful varieties.  

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​Nancy retired from The Kohala Center in 2016, where she directed the Hawai’i Island School Garden Network (HISGN), created and coordinated the Hawai’i Island Food Summit,  10 years of Seed Festivals at the Amy Greenwell Gardens, directed the Ku’Aina Pa School Learning Garden Teacher Training program and the Hawai’i School Garden Curriculum Map, was the statewide Director of FoodCorps Hawai’i, and founded the Hawai’i Public Seed Initiative (HPSI) and co-founded HSGN.    Gerry is a farmer, builder, agricultural innovator, ag historian, grape researcher, and voracious reader!

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Since 2015 we have been conducting table grape trials looking for varieties that want to grow here and taste delicious!.  In 2021-2023 we received a Western SARE educational grant, to further this work.  The final product was a downloadable PDF of our book "Growing Table Grapes in Subtropical Hawaii Using Organic Practices.”  You can find this resource along with our Blogs on grape growing and creating sustainable home gardens on our website.  www.kawanuifarm.org  A limited amount of scion wood is available in February each year.  Sign up on our website to receive a reminder of that resource.  

We are currently conducting Asian Vegetable Trials along with other farmers in the HSGN, and working for  a bright future for locally-grown seed.  

 

We are always searching for more experienced growers who might want to add their varieties to the HSGN Online Marketplace and grow community food systems and security across Hawai’i Nei. 

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