About
Our Story
Nestled between Kahuku’s Mauka (mountains) and Makai (ocean), Kuilima Farm is home to bountiful ecosystems that connect land and sea, which hold a rich past and a promising future. Turtle Bay Resort is committed to our conservation easement status – meaning the land is permanently dedicated to agricultural use and cannot be developed – and to do all we can to grow, to harvest, and to share. We hope to influence gratitude by bridging the narrative between Kuilima’s past and present, leading Hawai‘i into a sustainable future.
Sustainability is our goal
Kuilima Farm seeks to establish a model of public/private partnership that can help achieve Hawai‘i’s food sustainability initiatives by supporting local farmers and promoting agricultural education. Currently, more than 85% of Hawai‘i’s food is imported. Kuilima Farm seeks to move Hawai‘i toward food sovereignty to reduce our carbon footprint, diversify the local economy, and innovatively support farmers. With major infrastructure improvements on the horizon, Kuilima Farm and Turtle Bay are striving to be the first ever farm-to-resort relationship, where all fresh goods at the resort restaurants are grown just across the road!
About Us
A Place Reserved for Agriculture
Kuilima Farm’s 468 acres of agricultural land are owned by Turtle Bay Resort and managed by Pono Pacific, Hawai‘i’s first and largest natural resource conservation company. Held under conservation easement, the land is permanently dedicated to agricultural use. Kuilima Farm aims to provide fresh produce to local families and hotels by establishing a model of public/private partnership that can help achieve Hawai‘i’s food security initiatives by supporting local farmers and promoting agricultural education.
WE PARTNER WITH LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS
Farm plots starting at five acres are available to food producers who are devoted to high-efficiency and best practice farming techniques, dedicated to obtaining food safety certification, and committed to efforts of sustainable food production.
Community Garden
Kuilima Farm also includes the Laulima Gardens: 34 community garden plots available to North Shore organizations and community members. Soon a Hawaiian medicinal plant — La‘au Lapa‘au — garden will also be available for cultural practitioners and guests alike.
Turtle Bay Partnership
Turtle Bay Resort is the only destination resort on O‘ahu’s historic North Shore –mecca of the surfing world. Situated on nearly 1,300 acres, it offers outdoor enthusiasts four and a half miles of beach, 12 miles of oceanfront hiking trails, and the 468-acre Kuilima Farm. Kuilima means “holding hands with the land,” which is true for Turtle Bay Resort’s vision to provide locally grown food, decrease its carbon footprint, incubate agriculture business, and offer cultural and agricultural education opportunities for residents, visitors and resort guests. Kuilima Farm supports over a dozen independent farmers, the Laulima community gardens, and soon, a fully producing model farm, hydroponics operation, and wash-pack facility.
MAKING A POSITIVE CHANGE
In pursuit of a vision rooted in sustainability and community, Turtle Bay Resort has made significant improvements to the farmland at no cost to the farmers:
- Built over 3.5 miles of roadway infrastructure
- Installed nearly 25,000 linear feet of perimeter fencing
- Removed 44 abandoned vehicles
- Removed 750+ cubic yards of trash
- Demolished 5 illegal structures
- Established 34 Community Garden plots
- Provided security staffing and control points
- Provided monthly farmer education meetings
- Initiated day-to-day oversight of compliance and administration