Kamehameha Schools, partners to develop Haleiwa farm

Kamehameha Schools has partnered with a pair of Oregon agriculture investment and management firms to establish a more than 200-acre farm on Oahu’s North Shore.

The venture, Kalona Brand Co., intends to focus on growing cacao, breadfruit and avocado on 223 acres to make value-added products including premium chocolate bars.

Another 20 acres are slated to provide local consumers and schools with fruits and vegetables including taro, tomatoes, turmeric, lettuce, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, beets and radishes.

“We have been laying the groundwork for this venture for over four years now and I’m very excited that we are now moving forward,” Eric Pond, founder of Oregon­-based Greenleaf Farm Management, said in a statement announcing the farm project.

Greenleaf is a partner in the farm with Oregon-based investment firm Equilibrium Capital Group and an affiliate of Kamehameha Schools, Ho‘oulu Mahi‘ai LLC.

Kamehameha Schools owns the land and is leasing it to Kalona.

The farm site above Haleiwa Town between the Anahulu River and Opaeula Stream is fallow but most recently was used to grow corn. The property was once part of roughly 1,900 contiguous acres Kamehameha Schools leased to Dole Food Co., and prior to that was part of the Waialua Sugar Co. plantation.

Kawika Burgess, a former Kamehameha Schools land manager and Office of Hawaiian Affairs chief operating officer, was hired as CEO of Kalona and said the first crops are projected to be fruits and vegetables ready to harvest next summer. Other crops will take longer. For instance, it is expected to take four years to produce cacao for making chocolate.

Burgess declined to disclose how much money is being invested in the venture, but said Kalona, named after Oahu high chief Kalona Iki, aims to become a unique Hawaiian brand based on traditional and sustainable practices that help revitalize farmland and contribute to rural economic development.