Agroforestry and vertical regenerative farming to provide dappled shade to crops underneath, maximizing production per square foot, while creating diverse microorganism habitat, which maximizes plant health and minimizes water needs, etc.   Coconut, banana, moringa, and papaya are the tree crops shading kale, tatsoi, basil, flax, arugula, etc.  Nani Kai Hoku Farm is certified organic.

 Woodchips and mulch conserve water, reducing Nani Kai Hoku’s water needs to dryland farming levels per research conducted in 2018 research for the Department of Agriculture hemp pilot project.  Wood chips control weeds – no plastic groundcover mat.  Microplastics in the soil is an increasing problem because it can make is way into food.   

Regenerative and organic farming can create very nutrient dense food and increase production and yield per square foot.  Nutrition in food has been declining for over 80 years in the U.S. due primarily to depletion of soils.  Nani Kai Hoku Farm is reversing this trend, which results in better health outcomes for our community.

The photo above shows the high mineral content in the food and the photo on the right underscores healthy, high yields.

Clarence was the only farmer invited to the University of Hawaii planting of hemp for a pilot project in 2015.  He co-founded the Hawaii Hemp Council in the 1990s to help move the islands towards greater sustainability for food, fiber, and fuel.

Awarded the first license to grow hemp in Hawaii, Nani Kai Hoku Farm is one of the few farms in the U.S. that grows hemp with food (polycropping), which increases the variety of plant structures for a diverse soil microbiome.  

Dedicated public access to beach below from boundary of farm.

Regenerative farming includes poly-cropping with multiple food and pollinator species planted together with a focus on soil building and protection of the soil microbiome.  The soil on Nani Kai Hoku Farm is alive – this is a shot of the soil just under the wood chip mulch.  The microorganisms encourage a plethora of beneficial worms and insects.  These beneficial insects and microorganisms can protect crops against pests and invasive species and our healthy soil captures carbon.

Using pumpkin as a cover crop.