In 2016 Turtle Bay Resort committed to preserving a large parcel of land mauka (toward the mountain) along Kamehameha Highway for farming. That means the 468 acres the resort owned, which was already being farmed by small growers, would remain zoned for agriculture in perpetuity.
The area is now Kuilima Farm. Owned by the hotel and managed by Honolulu-based natural resource conservation company Pono Pacific, the farm grows veggies, herbs, and edible flowers specifically for the hotel's restaurants, of which Alaia is one. About 25 acres are in active production, with crops like 'ulu (breadfruit), leafy greens, carrots, beets, and radishes. Another 11 private farmers—the ones who had been farming here before 2016—still operate, supplying the hotel with produce, too.
Our first stop on the walking tour is a state-of-the-art hydroponics greenhouse, where the farm grows a variety of leafy greens for the resort. (Some are bagged and sold in the farm stand, too.) There are rows and rows of beautiful red and green heads of Salanova butter lettuces, sprouting from grow channels that look like rain gutters. This soil-less growing method requires less space and water than traditional in-ground farming, and it produces consistent harvests with less damage from pests.
Other parts of the farm are not on the tour, including its 10 acres of carrots, beets, radishes, and leafy greens beyond a grove of 'ulu trees, and its apiary with 12 hives.
Read more at Hawai'i Magazine