On a former cattle ranch north of Hilo, about 20,000 koa trees are no more than 4 feet tall, but they represent high hopes for a company with a new model for renewable forestry in Hawaii.
The endeavor by Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is based on attracting wealthy investors to finance a koa farm. As trees mature over eight to 25 years, they theoretically will generate returns to investors and fees to the company for cultivation and the harvesting process.
Hawaiian Legacy’s plan is ambitious, with a goal of planting as many as 1.3 million trees by 2016.
The company began selling blocks of 100 seedlings to investors about a year ago. This year the price for 100 seedlings is $6,808. The company projects that those 100 trees could return nearly $300,000 to an investor as the trees are gradually harvested over 25 years.
