IN YOUR FRIDGE / Farmers’ market managers, Pamela Boyer and Annie Suite have joined hands with local farmers to create Oahu Agri-Tours. There’s no fancy farmhouse or massive farm machinery; what you see is what you get. You’ll experience first-hand how farmers are committed to practicing clean, organic farming.
Poamoho Farms is one of the farms on tour, and guests learn how the fruit orchard uses natural pest management and fertilization methods. Tin Roof Ranch farmers Luann Casey and Gary Gunder butcher their chickens the day before selling them at the market.
Na Mea Kupono wetland taro farm practices old school taro farming methods that most locals don’t even know about. Here you can also watch a traditional poi-pounding demonstration.
At Mohala Farms you’ll see how simple and natural farming is still possible (and still exists). After a tour of their herb garden, guests enjoy farm-made treats in the hale. And if that simply isn’t enough to get you excited about organic farms, there’s of course, chocolate. Waialua Estate Cacao, a local chocolate and coffee farm that serves up world class chocolate and coffee, rivals that of our neighbor Island.
Yes, all the hype of organic produce at chain markets may sound a little cliché, and the truth is, it is simple and true to Hawaii’s history. These tours are a reminder that sustaining people on what the land can naturally give is a deep respect for our resources.
