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Breadfruit

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SUPERFRUIT OF THE GODS
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Revitalizing Breadfruit

Revitalizing Breadfruit

"The Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu Project.“

Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu is a project to revitalize 'ulu (breadfruit) as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant, affordable, and culturally appropriate food which addresses Hawai'i's food security issues. It is well known that Hawai'i imports about 90% of its food, making it one of the most food insecure states in the nation. Additionally, since the economic downturn of 2008, many families lack access to affordable and nutritious food. We believe that breadfruit is a key to solving Hawaii's food security problems.

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Diversification is key to success: Ken Love

 MG 4031Ken Love, of Love Farms, Captain Cook, South KonaKen Love has 35 years experience as an agricultural producer, processor, chef, and educator. His specialty is tropical fruits. Although Ken and his wife Margy sold their farm a number of years ago, Ken harvests fruits from several farms and sell dozens of tropical fruits, both fresh and in processed products. He has a number of test fields at the UH experiment station and manages other farms. Love’s policy is to diversify his markets, rather than relying on just one or two. His markets include a local produce distributor, supermarket, hotels, chefs, and direct to consumers at the farmers market and through Internet sales. By diversifying market outlets from low-end wholesale to high-end chefs, Love can usually count on selling all of his harvests, whether they are 10, 100, or 1000 lbs.

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When Pigs Fly Island Charcuterie

WhenPigsFlyBlackforesthamChef Devin Lowder's Black Forest hamCharcuterie (from chair 'flesh' and cuit 'cooked') is the culinary art devoted to salting, smoking and curing meat and making forced meat products. Originally intended as a way to preserve meat millennia ago, long before the advent of refrigeration, today the art continues to be practiced not only for preservation but also, and particularly, for the flavors derived from the preservation process.

When Pigs Fly Island Charcuterie Company is owned by Devin Lowder, PCEC, and his wife, Kristin Lowder. Chef Devin, a 1989 graduate of the New England Culinary Institute (NECI), is also the Co-President of the American Culinary Federation Kona-Kohala Chapter, a Kona County Farm Bureau Board member and serves on the Advisory Committee for the West Hawai'i Community College.

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Kohala Farm-to-Fork Tour

KohalaTourPalili1Taro growing at Palili 'o Kohala, a cooperative farm headed by David Fuertes.On Saturday, February 2, North Kohala Eat Locally Grown hosted a Farm-to-Fork Tour of three farms on Ho'ea Road. Lokahi Farm, Palili 'O Kohala and Sage Farms opened their gates to the North Kohala community and visitors from all around Hawaii Island for a taste of the agricultural scene in and around Hawi.

The tour began at Lokahi Farm, a tropical botanical garden and working organic farm where Richard Liebmann and Natalie Young are fusing farming with the healing arts. Our hosts led us through the farm's diverse plantings (crops include asparagus, dragon fruit, and horseradish) and showed us the farm's research plot of medicinal plants. We were amazed by the diversity of plants grown at Lokahi—from recognizable daily fare, to edible flowers and healing herbs.

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Sun's Microgreens

SunsMicrogreenshandfullFreshly harvested sprouts at Sun's Microgreens.Sunserene Quevedo is a very enterprising young woman with a mission to teach everyone she meets about the benefits of microgreens in our diets. The project started in a small way with Sunserene's love for gardening and her desire to start eating a bit healthier: she began in her bedroom with a growing tray sitting in a tin pan for drainage, a bit of soil, sunflower seeds and a spray bottle. After a few days the seeds started sprouting and before she knew it, she was clipping tender shoots and adding them to salads, wraps, and sandwiches.

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Learning from the 'Aina: Puna Charter School Develops Model Culinary Arts Program

KOKLWinners-032-1Kua o ka La students celebrate their cooking contest win at the September 2012 Breadfruit Festival with their teacher Mariposa Blanco (2nd from right) and Chef Sam Choy (right). Three years ago, Kua o ka La New Century Public Charter School, (KOKL NCPCS) began the formation of an agriculture and culinary class for its middle school students. The idea was an outgrowth of our regular Friday, project-based class for middle and high school students. The class applied the students’ science and social studies learning to projects of daily life relevance and practical skills, with the added benefit of being outdoors and hands-on.

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Local chefs desire regional, seasonal, and artisanal products: Chef James Babian

XR0Y8275Chef Babian shows the local produce stored in the chill room at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.James Babian
Executive Chef, Four Seasons Resort, Hualālai at Ka‘ūpūlehu, Kailua-Kona

When Chef Babian came to Hawai‘i Island 14 years ago, he informed hotel management that his style is centered on supporting the local agricultural community through sourcing food “from the region, buying things that are in season, and using products from small artisan farmers, such as Kona coffee, goat cheese, and honey.” The concept of supporting local producers Babian feels is an ancient concept that chefs are rediscovering around the world, bringing the restaurant industry “back to the ground roots” and developing strong farm to table programs.

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