West Kauai Program Connects Beginner Farmers to Commercial Markets
Why It Matters
Hawaii’s food import dependency remains one of the state’s most persistent vulnerabilities, with the islands relying on outside sources for the vast majority of their food supply. A new agricultural training program on Kauai’s West Side is working to address that gap by giving residents with no farming background a structured path into commercial food production — and a guaranteed buyer for what they grow.
What Happened
A small business called ResiRoots Cafe launched a beginner farmer initiative in February called Farm Learn Earn, operating out of roughly 20 acres in Kekaha that the company subleases from agricultural firm Corteva, which has designated the land for incubating new and small-scale growers.
About 10 residents from Kekaha and Waimea — organized into six groups — are currently enrolled. Among them are Liesel Rudolfo and Jayce Foster, a local couple who had little farming experience before joining the program. Participants grow pala’ai (pumpkin) and kalo (taro), with nearly all of their harvest already committed to the Hawaii ‘Ulu Cooperative, a regional food cooperative for which ResiRoots serves as the Kauai processing partner.
Emilio Ruiz-Romero, a farmer and co-owner of ResiRoots Cafe, designed the program after Rudolfo and Foster approached him looking for agricultural work. Rather than hiring them as laborers, he built a structure that allows participants to own their output and receive income from everything they produce.
“Another company would have said I’m going to pay people to come out here and pocket all that,” Ruiz-Romero said, explaining his reasoning for the cooperative model.
The program is notable because it fills a gap left by the closure of GoFarm’s Kauai Community College site, which had previously served as the island’s primary commercial farmer training resource. Farm Learn Earn is now likely the only program of its kind on the island.
How the Program Works
Each participating group is assigned approximately 1.5 acres. Ruiz-Romero prepares the land — clearing weeds, tilling the soil, and laying drip irrigation — then trains participants in seed germination, planting, drip tape maintenance, fertilization schedules, and ongoing crop care. Participants are responsible for regular weeding, watering, and removing debris left behind by former large-scale operations that previously occupied the fields.
Groups are expected to plant one row each of pala’ai and kalo per month to ensure a steady production cycle and consistent income. Pala’ai reaches harvest in roughly 120 days, while kalo requires 10 to 12 months to mature. If a participant chooses not to continue, their rows are redistributed to other growers or managed by ResiRoots directly.
The program launched in response to Ruiz-Romero’s need for a more reliable crop supply for the Hawaii ‘Ulu Cooperative’s processing facility in Hanamaulu, which handles breadfruit, pumpkin, sweet potato, and taro. The cooperative’s breadfruit harvest peaks between July and December, creating a longer off-season that additional crops can help offset.
By the Numbers
- ~10 participants across six groups currently enrolled
- 1.5 acres assigned per group
- 20 acres total land under sublease in Kekaha
- 120 days to harvest for pala’ai; 10–12 months for kalo
- Several thousand acres of state Agribusiness Development Corporation land currently available for lease in the region
Zoom Out
West Kauai’s agricultural lands spent more than a century under sugar production before transitioning largely to seed and genetically modified crop companies over the past two decades. That legacy has left the region with significant farmable acreage but few small-scale operators with the training or market connections to use it.
The availability of state Agribusiness Development Corporation land for lease represents a longer-term opportunity for graduates of programs like Farm Learn Earn. Ruiz-Romero has noted that smaller farmers need space and support now to be positioned to take on larger parcels as major operations exit the region.
Hawaii’s broader food security challenges — including high housing costs that strain household budgets and pressure local workers to prioritize immediate income over long-term investment in agriculture — make community-based farming programs an increasingly relevant policy conversation for the state.
What’s Next
Program participants are continuing to plant on their monthly schedule through the spring and summer. Participant Wil Dargan, who works at the Pacific Missile Range Facility and keeps bees, is preparing to add watermelons to his plot and intends to distribute the harvest to the West Side community. ResiRoots expects to continue expanding its grower network as additional Kauai residents express interest in commercial farming.