Meet Your Producer: Kaiwiki Food Forest
Dan and Leanne Mahalak of Kaiwiki food forest shared a dream of becoming farmers: living close to and caring for the ʻāina, providing for their family and their community, and never being short of opportunities to learn. So in 2020, they bought five acres of old sugar cane fields-turned-groomed-pastures and transformed it into a dreamy agroforest and market garden. Recent graduates of GoFarm Hawai’i, they credit their success to the valuable networks and mentorship offered by the University of Hawaii program.
Kaiwiki Food Forest is located mauka of Wainaku on a long, sloping ridge surrounded by thick eucalyptus groves. Walking around the farm with Leanne, we passed various fruit trees like pear, peach, and grumichama (Brazilian cherry) growing along the grassy paths. Chickens nestled together under the shade of an 'ulu tree. We walked down into the valley to see the market garden - neat and colorful rows of green, leafy crops and bright orange marigolds.
Focusing on regenerative agriculture, Dan and Leanne consider the health of the soil when planting and are intentional about what they put into the earth. Patches of ground are covered in perennial peanut, a nitrogen-fixer, to rest and replenish the soil. Vetiver and lemon grass border the market garden to deter pests and suppress weeds. Circling the bases of the fruit trees are clusters of comfrey, a perennial herb grown for its many benefits. Its bright purple flowers attract pollinators, its roots break up compacted earth and draw up nutrients from the soil, and its broad, dark leaves, rich in nitrogen, feed the soil when they decompose. In addition to growing comfrey for its garden contributions, Leanne taps the medicinal benefits of comfrey. With its extract, she and Dan created a signature salve, called Comfrey Salv-ation, which can help heal wounds and reduce inflammation, she tells us. (Leanne gave each of us a tin to try and we loved it! Look for Salve-ation in local shops like Locavore store).
Dan and Leanne are constantly learning and trying out new farming practices. Experimenting with ways to deter wild boar, they discovered a low-cost method that works for them. Leanne tells us "[I]t requires a pallet… if there’s a dead pig lurking about, it goes under, in a hole… and coffee grounds.”
When you subscribe to DA BOX CSA, you are supporting the hard work of Leanne, Dan, and their two daughters. If you’re on Instagram, you can check them out at @kaiwikifoodforest. You can also find veggies from Kaiwiki Food Forest at restaurants around Hilo, like Cafe Pesto, Booch Bar, and Loved By The Sun.
Thank you, Dan and Leanne!