The article is about the Uluwehi Farms / Hawaii Youth Agriculture Project CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in North Kohala. The project is growing food and farmers.
One of our “green businesses” in Hawaii is farming, but the high cost of land and inputs, and the low cost of imported food, have driven many farmers off the land. It is generally agreed that in order to re-localize our food production we need to have more farmers, and that means making farming an attractive and financially viable career option for our youth. Dashiell Kuhr of Uluwehi Farms / Hawaii Youth Agriculture Project / The Kohala Center (growing food and farmers takes many hands!) is one of the people helping to foster agricultural entrepreneurship among youth on Hawai’i Island.
Check out my new story in this month’s Innov8 magazine (the Go!/Mokulele in flight magazine) about The Natural Step framework. The Natural Step is a framework/process that helps companies and communities plan for sustainability. The County of Hawaii just adopted The Natural Step as it’s framework for sustainability planning.
In this podcast I interview Tyler Mongan, Founder and Publisher of the Honu Guide- a guide for sustainable living in Hawaii. The Honu Guide is a resource book that is published once a year. The Honu Guide features well written articles on sustainability issues in Hawaii, and has a coupon book and resource directory that links people to green goods, services and organizations. Their distribution model is also innovative- organizations can sell the guide as a fundraiser for their organization. Schools take note- the Honu Guide is much healthier than a Krispy Kreme doughnut fundraiser! As a green business owner and writer- I think the Honu Guide is a great way to get the word out about my work.
I was recently a speaker at the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii 4th Annual Sustainability For Business Forum on Oahu. I spoke about the Business Case for Sustainability and using the Natural Step framework for Sustainability Strategic Planning.
There is a group of us meeting to form a BALLE chapter here on Hawaii Island. There is already a chapter on Oahu and a group of us will be meeting on Oahu next weekend to discuss how we can synergitcally launch BALLE statewide. There will be representatives from all the islands.
Form the BALLE website:
The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) brings together small business leaders, economic development professionals, government officials, social innovators, and community leaders to build local living economies. We provide local, state, national, and international resources to this new model of economic development.
We´re showing that independent locally owned businesses can go beyond traditional measures of success. We’re proving that these businesses are accountable to stakeholders and the environment. We’re helping these businesses flourish in their local economies. And we’re leveraging the power of local networks to build a web of economies that are community-based, green, and fair – local living economies.
