Who We Are

Sustainable organic farming

Malu 'Aina's approach has always been to grow for local consumption rather than export. We believe the strongest economy is when you market within eyesight of the village church or temple. We also believe in diversity and in growing what suits the local conditions. Things like kalo (taro) and sweet potatoes are basic for Hawaii.

In our forest area we are planting high value hardwoods with emphasis on native varieties for future generations building, craft and aesthetic value. We are also experimenting with planting under stories of coffee and awa. In our field crops we do rotations of things like corn, beans, root crop and then a nitrogen fixing cover crop like sun hemp. We have also used lablab as a nitrogen fixer.

For our fruit trees we are planting some perennial peanut for nitrogen fixing under the trees. Macadamia nut husks are used for mulch. The fish tanks are used for back up irrigation during dry weather and for fertilizing fields. Bananas, papayas, and avocadoes are year round fruits complemented by a wide variety of other seasonal fruits. Some vegetables are grown in green/screen houses for fruit fly and water control. Sometimes too much rain simply rots out some of the lettuces. We have had success with organic hydroponics by using certain algae as a fertilizer. The farm map lists many of the approximately 60 or more varieties of fruit trees that we grow. In addition we grow several varieties of bananas, papayas, kalo, sweet potatoes, bush beans, corn, pineapples, edible yellow ginger, various salad greens and assorted garden vegetables. We are experimenting with neem as an organic pest control.

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