Hawaii: Ma’ona Community Garden
While taking classes and coordinating projects at the garden, Chantal also manages her four acre coffee and macadamia nut farm in Honaunau.
By Diana Duff
West Hawaii Today
December 20, 2020
Excerpt:
She declares, “We always had a garden at home to grow vegetables for our family. I loved working in our garden.”
Her experience has helped her understand the value of growing your own food. During the difficult times we are currently experiencing, it has been a primary goal for Chantal and those who work with her at the Garden to increase food security in our community. In pursuit of this goal, the Garden offers a monthly give-away of food plants from 9 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of the month. Gardeners and would-be gardeners gather monthly at the site at 84-5097 Keala O Keawe Road in Honaunau to choose food plants to take home and grow.
Recipients of plants get information on how to grow their new crops successfully as well as lots of gardening tips and advice. They also get to tour Ma’ona Garden and see some full grown and productive examples of food crops.
This monthly plant distribution is made possible by generous donations and the collaboration of several organizations including the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, Hawaii Ulu Producers Cooperative, Mala Kalu‘ulu, University of Hawaii Master Gardeners, and the Ka‘u Seed Library. Local farmer, Mary Lynn Garner, and UH Master Gardeners Robin Hill, Debbie Kokinos and Ray Sundstrom help to coordinate this project.
