Madre Chocolate cofounders Nat Bletter (left) and David Elliot (right) demonstrate the art of chocolate making in one of their classes.With several national and international awards won in 2012, Madre Chocolate has earned its self-ascribed tagline, “Hawai‘i’s best bean-to-bar chocolate.” Cofounder Nat Bletter sums up the company’s business philosophy as, “Hawai‘i-made chocolate will never be competitive on quantity or price, so our primary focus is on quality and originality.” As an ethnobotanist (one who studies the complex relationships between plants and people), Bletter first started making chocolate on a dare from a friend to put his academic knowledge into practice. His initial experiments were enthusiastically received by friends, family and colleagues, inspiring him to continue professionally. Now Nat’s official title is “Chocolate Flavormeister” for the company, with cofounder David Elliot taking on the role of production manager. Both Bletter and Elliot had long experience in Mexico and Central America before putting down roots in Hawai‘i. This bicultural context explains the company’s two distinct lines of bar chocolate, “Xocolatl,” incorporating Mexican flavors and inspired by traditional chocolates of Central and South America, and “Kokoleka,” made from Hawai‘i grown cacao and incorporating a distinctly Hawaiian flavor palette. In addition to these two regular lines, the company makes limited edition flavors, as ingredient availability and creative whim allow.

Tray of tomatoes packed and ready for shipping from Hamakua Springs.Earlier this month I was fortunate to be able to participate in a "preview" of an agricultural adventure tour on the Hilo side of Hawai'i Island. The Hilo Grown Tours, which start in June, are supported by the Hawai'i AgriTourism Association (HATA), the County of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

Our group met in the lobby of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel where we were greeted by Lani Weigert, HATA Executive Director, and Benson Medina, who served as our guides for the day.

Mahi‘ai Match-up is a statewide agricultural business plan contest for farmers and entrepreneurs looking to establish an agricultural business in Hawai‘i. Winners will get an agricultural lease from Kamehameha Schools (rent waived up to five years*) and a cash prize from Ke Ali‘i Pauahi Foundation to help make their winning agricultural business plan a reality.

Hawai'i Ag plan contest, Click Here

For detais and full Application information, Click Here

A free 58-page guide entitled, Adding Value to Locally Grown Crops in Hawai'i: A Guide for Small Farm Enterprise Innovation is now available. Because of the high cost of labor, land, and materials in Hawai'i, family farms are only economically sustainable if they can produce high-quality products that are valued above cheap imports. This guide helps growers add value to all aspects of their farm enterprise and offers resources for further developing their strategies. "If you cherish the farming lifestyle and want to keep farming, you have to make your farm profitable. This guide goes a long way towards showing how to escape from the fatal trap of commoditization by adding value for the consumer," observes Dr. Kent Fleming, an extension economist who has developed numerous cost-of-production spreadsheets for the University of Hawai'i and other organizations worldwide.

The 23rd Annual Hawaii Tropical Fruit GRowers meeting will be held from September 26th through October 4th, starting on Oahu, then continuing on the three main neighbor islands.  Hawai'i Island dates are October 1st and 2nd. For complete information with schedule and registration links, Click Here.

Aliʻi mushrooms growing at Hamakua Heritage Mushroom Farm.Thirteen years ago, Bob and Janice Stanga bought property in the Laupahoehoe area of Hawai'i Island with the idea of creating a niche food for island chefs raising either mushrooms or edible snails. Mushrooms won and The Hamakua Heritage Mushroom Farm became a reality.

The enterprise started small and eventually grew to fill a 16,000 square-foot production building that houses their own sterile tissue culture laboratory, incubation rooms and six indoor growing rooms. The facility is equipped with automated specialty mushroom cultivation equipment and climate control installations, and is where they produce a variety of mushroom species of exceptional quality.