Meet Your Farmers: Puna Greens

Puna greens is a family operation run by Daniel and Leo Cravalho and their three kids Khallie-Ann, Ammaron and Leon-Jay on their land in Fern Acres. They grow more than four varieties of hydroponic lettuce for restaurants, markets and CSAs. Daniel, who is originally from Oahu and has a background in irrigation, bought two parcels of land next to his parents’ land and started his hydroponics system in 2012.

Before the pandemic hit, Puna Greens produced 1,600 to 2,000 heads of lettuce per week. Due to restaurant closures during lock down they’ve decreased their production by about fifty percent. They’ve used this year as an opportunity to tackle a lot of farm projects and renovations, and as restaurant clients on Oahu and Big Island bounce back, they are preparing to meet the growing demand for fresh, local salad greens.