A Living Lab for Tomorrow’s Leaders CHANGE Creating
Domestic pigs feast on the agricultural goodies that abound here – but there’s no stink, and hardly a fly in sight. for always The 1.5-acre “Natural Farming Learning Laboratory” of Kahua Pa’a Mua uses 30% less water than similar-sized farms, and saves 70% on fertilizer costs. It is “We’re teaching advanced also a program STEM and economic that connects development, as well as how to local youth to preserve our land, the land, teaches advanced to produce food naturally agricultural without chemicals that kill techniques, microbes and biology.” and strengthens David Fuertes, the community’s Executive Director of food sustainability. Kahua Pa’a Mua Students who participate are learning to apply STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) knowledge from around the world, and foster
For All… And
biology and engineering, in this type of farming. Rather than chemicals, we’re using natural fungi to produce better crops. We apply the same science to our chickens, hogs, cattle, and goats. Even the feed is made here, using microbes.” The recipient of a Career Connected Learning Grant Some of Kahua Pua Mua’s best lessons come from the Hawai‘i Community from hands-on experience working with animals like these domestic pigs. Foundation, Kahua Pa’a Mua hopes to build more venues on Hawai‘i entrepreneurship — six youth have Island where schools, youth, and already started their own businesses. community members can come to Yet, visitors always come back to, the farms on excursions, or stay “How come no stink?” and learn. A veteran of Hawaiian “We use microbes as nutrients to agriculture, David says his mission replenish our soil, we call it ‘input’, is to get more keiki interested in we add wood chips, charcoal logs, agriculture as a career, whether in the pigs kick it down, the input breaks industry, research or business. down the manure to produce fungi “We’re teaching advanced STEM that eliminates insects and odors and economic development, as — no antibiotics needed,” explains well as how to preserve our land, David Fuertes, Executive Director. to produce food naturally without “There’s a lot of science, math, chemicals,” David says. “This will
help our students be productive citizens and better leaders, in whatever community they live.” When he talks about the impact he hopes to make, he sounds almost poetic. “The goal is getting our students to learn, learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, and living to serve,” he says. And with David at the helm, it seems Kahua Pa’a Mua is doing just that.
DID YOU KNOW:
The Career Connected Learning grant program at HCF was created with cornerstone funding from Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and is now supported by numerous funders. These grants contribute to large scale programs that provide instruction in skills that will be useful for STEM-related local careers.
Learn how to transform your generosity into lasting change at HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org