Kawanui Farm with Nancy Redfeather: A Unique Experience in Self-Sufficiency
Saturday, April 25, 2009
9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Lunch included.
Building community food self-reliance for the future starts at home—on Kawanui Farm. Visit Kawanui Farm and lunch with owners Nancy Redfeather and her husband Gerry Herbert. Nancy and Gerry will share a favorite recipe with you.
Kawanui Farm, an organic 1.2-acre experimental/educational mini-farm in the ma uka (inland) area of Kona, was established in 2000 by Nancy and Gerry. Their vision for Kawanui Farm: to be a model for Hawai‘i’s home producers, and an educational center for farming fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, dry beans, herbs, and medicines; seed saving; and creating collections of unusual tropical landscaping plants.
Nancy and Gerry have worked to fulfill the vision of Kawanui Farm in a number of ways. Since 2001, they have given classes in sustainable and ecological farming practices: Home Vegetable Production, Home Orchard Production, Home Gourmet Coffee Production, and Rock Wall Building. On the farm, they work consistently toward building sustainable organic soil fertility systems and recycling nutrients from sources on-farm and from the nearby community. The farm is also sustainable in producing fireplace wood; all “out-buildings” were built from recycled and island woods.
Please join us for this unique experience in self-sufficiency. View gardens, orchards, a greenhouse, and storage/production facilities. Learn every aspect of home food production. Sample twelve varieties of coffee, taste in-season fruits, and enjoy a Garden Lunch created from on-farm and locally sourced foods. We hope you will be inspired to plant your favorite garden foods on your own lanai or in your own backyard or farm.
Nancy Redfeather has been a teacher and organic gardener for thirty-eight years. She is founder of Hawai‘i SEED; founder/current coordinator of the Hawai‘i Island Seed Exchange; founder of Hawai‘i GEAN; and co-founder of Biodynamics Hawai‘i and the Know Your Farmer Alliance. She was coordinator of the Hawai‘i Island Food Summit in October 2007, and currently coordinates The Kohala Center’s newest food self-reliance project, the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network. Nancy is an avid seed saver and continues to experiment with new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. She is also a hula dancer with Na Wai Iwi Ola Halau under the direction of Kumu Hula Keala Ching.
Gerry Herbert built a 22-acre farm in Mendecino County, California (1971–1995) before moving to Kona. He is a graduate of UC Davis (international agriculture), an avid researcher of agricultural history/methods, and is currently experimenting with twelve varieties of coffee from around the world. He loves to experiment with different tropical fruits, nuts, vegetables, and berries. Gerry is a wood-worker and blacksmith. He designed and built Kawanui Farm.
Click here to download the registration form, and mail or fax completed forms to:
The Kohala Center
P.O. Box 437462
Kamuela, Hawai‘i 96743
Fax 808-885-6707
For more information, contact us at info@kohalacenter.org or at 808-887-6411.