Producer
John's Farm, Kalae
Contact: Mark & Paula Scott
Address: PO BOX 149 Kualapuu, HI, 96757
Phone: 808-567-9604
Website: https://bit.ly/Johnsfarmkalae
About Us
John’s Farm is a small startup located in Kalae, Molokai, dedicated to contributing to the island-wide effort towards food sovereignty. The farm is named after my father, John Mondoy and this is our family property, as I grew up here in Kalae. Specializing in crops such as avocados, bananas, tangerines, and an array of garden vegetables and herbs, the farm leverages Kalae’s ideal climate for avocado cultivation. The primary objective is to offer a year-round supply of avocados, reducing the island's dependency on imported varieties.
Mission and Vision:
Emphasizing sustainability, community engagement, quality produce, ethical practices, transparency, and a family-oriented approach. The farm prioritizes high-quality food production while maintaining environmental health and strong local community ties.
Location and Land Details:
-We are situated in Kalae, Molokai, at an elevation of 1600 ft. The farm comprises a residential acre and 9.9 acres of agricultural land, with approximately just 2 acres usable for cultivation due to the gully terrain. The micro farm boasts avocado trees,100+ banana trees and multiple other edible crop varieties.
Sustainability Practices:
-Water Management: All of the growing areas of the orchard are mulched first with thick layers of cardboard and covered with mulch which gets replenished as things break down. This practice makes a tremendous difference in retaining moisture which is monitored between rain events.
-Soil Management: Cover crops are used (primarily comfrey) around the base of the trees along with introducing biochar and organic material to increase soil biodiversity. Soil analysis is also done periodically.
-Pest Management: Our trees and crops are monitored by sight daily for unwanted infestations of pests. Natural and eco-friendly means are used: for example, the lacewing fly gets treated with Neem oil spray.
-Biodiversity: Within and adjacent to the avocado orchard are Native Hawaiian plants such as Pohinanhina, Kukui trees, Ala he’e. The orchard also has banana and papaya trees growing in it along with some herbs (rosemary) and squash. Part of our biodiversity practices include using cover crops (as mentioned), practicing responsible water usage, no use of chemicals, and incorporating diverse tree species (Kukui) to create a more natural ecosystem within the farm boundaries.
-Composting: There is regular integration of biochar, mulch, and organic waste for soil health. Composting is done on a regular basis which involves making trips to the land refuse area to pick up truck loads of dry mulch which is then incorporated with biochar, greenwaste and duck droppings.
Community Engagement:
-Farm Tours: Regularly held, educational tours open to all ages, promoting sustainable agriculture. All the tours include a brief outline of the overall vision of practicing regenerative farming techniques along with educating our tour guests about sustainable farming practices and why it is important to support local farms. The demographics of the tour guests range from six years old up to 80+ years old. Tours are free of charge.
-Volunteer Opportunities: We offer volunteer opportunities with our local youth. We have hosted the HAYC (Homestead Agricultural Youth Council) to come and work on the farm. In addition to that, we have become hosts for a world wide platform called World Packers (a work-trade platform) and have had volunteers from Chile, Italy, Mexico and Germany in 2024. All of them come to learn what it takes to run a small farm that is in the start up stage.
-Educational Workshops: We have held several workshops here in 2024. One of which was for the Homestead Agricultural Youth Council on how to make biochar. We are also planning to hold a similar workshop via the NRCS organization here on Molokai in regards to making biochar and grafting. We have also conducted an off-site workshop at Pu'u O Hoku Ranch to teach avocado grafting last summer to the interns there. We also post these educational sessions on our social media account (Instagram) for a broader reach.
Mission and Vision:
Emphasizing sustainability, community engagement, quality produce, ethical practices, transparency, and a family-oriented approach. The farm prioritizes high-quality food production while maintaining environmental health and strong local community ties.
Location and Land Details:
-We are situated in Kalae, Molokai, at an elevation of 1600 ft. The farm comprises a residential acre and 9.9 acres of agricultural land, with approximately just 2 acres usable for cultivation due to the gully terrain. The micro farm boasts avocado trees,100+ banana trees and multiple other edible crop varieties.
Sustainability Practices:
-Water Management: All of the growing areas of the orchard are mulched first with thick layers of cardboard and covered with mulch which gets replenished as things break down. This practice makes a tremendous difference in retaining moisture which is monitored between rain events.
-Soil Management: Cover crops are used (primarily comfrey) around the base of the trees along with introducing biochar and organic material to increase soil biodiversity. Soil analysis is also done periodically.
-Pest Management: Our trees and crops are monitored by sight daily for unwanted infestations of pests. Natural and eco-friendly means are used: for example, the lacewing fly gets treated with Neem oil spray.
-Biodiversity: Within and adjacent to the avocado orchard are Native Hawaiian plants such as Pohinanhina, Kukui trees, Ala he’e. The orchard also has banana and papaya trees growing in it along with some herbs (rosemary) and squash. Part of our biodiversity practices include using cover crops (as mentioned), practicing responsible water usage, no use of chemicals, and incorporating diverse tree species (Kukui) to create a more natural ecosystem within the farm boundaries.
-Composting: There is regular integration of biochar, mulch, and organic waste for soil health. Composting is done on a regular basis which involves making trips to the land refuse area to pick up truck loads of dry mulch which is then incorporated with biochar, greenwaste and duck droppings.
Community Engagement:
-Farm Tours: Regularly held, educational tours open to all ages, promoting sustainable agriculture. All the tours include a brief outline of the overall vision of practicing regenerative farming techniques along with educating our tour guests about sustainable farming practices and why it is important to support local farms. The demographics of the tour guests range from six years old up to 80+ years old. Tours are free of charge.
-Volunteer Opportunities: We offer volunteer opportunities with our local youth. We have hosted the HAYC (Homestead Agricultural Youth Council) to come and work on the farm. In addition to that, we have become hosts for a world wide platform called World Packers (a work-trade platform) and have had volunteers from Chile, Italy, Mexico and Germany in 2024. All of them come to learn what it takes to run a small farm that is in the start up stage.
-Educational Workshops: We have held several workshops here in 2024. One of which was for the Homestead Agricultural Youth Council on how to make biochar. We are also planning to hold a similar workshop via the NRCS organization here on Molokai in regards to making biochar and grafting. We have also conducted an off-site workshop at Pu'u O Hoku Ranch to teach avocado grafting last summer to the interns there. We also post these educational sessions on our social media account (Instagram) for a broader reach.
Practices
Growing Methods: We primarily practice regenerative farming techniques and do not use any chemicals on our property. We are very passionate about this approach and we always recommend people to watch the documentary, "Kiss the Ground" movie.
The fertilizers we use are all natural and we do a LOT of composting! This is a chemical free farm!
Pest control practices are done naturally since we do not use chemicals on our property. Anything used are non-toxic and natural.
We strive to produce a quality product and take pride in that. For us, it is quality over quantity. Our goal is to have avocados as our main crop and we hope to be able to provide avocados on a year 'round basis. We do grow many other things, so just look for our products under, "John's Farm!" We sell exclusively to Sustainable Molokai Mobile Market because we believe it is a good model and it should be supported whole-heartedly as it definitely supports local in many ways!
We continually to host workshops here and farm tours in order to spread the word about regenerative farming practices and how we can all make a difference -particularly when it comes to climate change. If you would like to come up for a farm tour, send us a message and we can schedule one.
You can find us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/johnsfarmkalae/
The fertilizers we use are all natural and we do a LOT of composting! This is a chemical free farm!
Pest control practices are done naturally since we do not use chemicals on our property. Anything used are non-toxic and natural.
We strive to produce a quality product and take pride in that. For us, it is quality over quantity. Our goal is to have avocados as our main crop and we hope to be able to provide avocados on a year 'round basis. We do grow many other things, so just look for our products under, "John's Farm!" We sell exclusively to Sustainable Molokai Mobile Market because we believe it is a good model and it should be supported whole-heartedly as it definitely supports local in many ways!
We continually to host workshops here and farm tours in order to spread the word about regenerative farming practices and how we can all make a difference -particularly when it comes to climate change. If you would like to come up for a farm tour, send us a message and we can schedule one.
You can find us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/johnsfarmkalae/