no. 5 - mala'ai'opio

as often as we have driven out to the west side for my fella's dawn patrol surf sessions when we go home, i never realized that there were as many as 200 mom & pop farms hidden throughout the valley. one of them is the grassroots effort at mala'ai'opio (aka ma'o) which was established a few years ago as an organic farm where the 15 to 25 demo on the waianae coast could simultaneously receive vocational training while learning to care for the 'aina.

many island foodies have enjoyed ma'o's organic produce which is dished up at alan wong's, town restaurant, and aloha 'aina cafe. with the popularity of its produce growing, ma'o is working to expand its programs at waianae h.s. and turn the current 10 month internship into an associates degree at lcc. the good work they are doing to make the waianae coast more self-sufficient is as cool as their mantra:

no panic . . . go organic!

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