Harvesting Compost
The diverse peoples that make up the population of our adopted home share certain values unquestionably. Foremost among these are respect for the Creation. A phrase taught to every school child, Mālama Honua, means "care and respect for our planet island." A related Hawaiian word, 'āina, (which literally means land) points to something much more: the sacred character of this precious resources and its mysterious power to bring about the miracle of sustenance for all the island's peoples. Consider that most of this island is a mass of black, barren rock. The eons that were necessary to develop topsoil boggles the mind. Where topsoil is abundant, this place is accorded a reverence that is very real and palpable.
The region where Hermitage Farm is located, Kohala, is accounted to be the holiest in the Hawaiian Islands. This is the region where Kamehameha the Great was born. The name of our village in Hawaiian means "high altar."
Certainly, Hermitage Farm seeks to be part of this reverence. Everything we do honors the sacred character of the Creation. In practical terms we partner with the Mauna Kea Soil and Water District (County of Hawaii), with the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service, and with CCOF and CNG.
Our sustainable methods — no-till, dense planting, polycultural fields, cover crops as in-place mulch — protect the soil from erosion and infuse nutrients from nitrogen-fixing, phosophorous-fixing, and potassium-fixing plants.
In addition to our conservation of the
'āina,
our other most precious resource is water.
The degradation wrought on the Hawaiian
'āina
by the cane industry during the 1930s-1990s means that natural Hawaiian waterways
are contaminated.
Toxins continue to leach out of the soil
and
wash into the once-pristine gulches.
Clean, safe water is a precious resource on Hawaii Island.
And we permit no water to touch our fields, crops, and fruit
except rain water and monitored, potable water from the County of Hawaii.
In the past year,
we have installed
a 1000'-foot micro-irrigation system
thanks to a generous grant from the USDA.
We are have received County approval for our water catchment system which
will harvest water from the roofs of our four buildings and store them in
a 6,000 gallon reserve system
to be constructed next year.
