Aloha,

If you missed our last email - we have our big grant presentation in Maui next week, which will determine whether or not we're able to secure a major grant for land for the ‘ÅINA Center. If you want Kaua‘i to have an ag park with housing for the future of our farmer pipeline, we need your voice to be heard!

Help us advocate for Kaua‘i!

Kaua‘i has been highly underfunded in this State grant program. Only 4% of projects (just 2 out of 46) have been awarded to Kaua‘i; Kaua'i County has received only 5.5% of awards (Hawai'i received 43.6% of awards, O'ahu 38.2%, Maui County 12.8%).

Pledge to advocate for:

• Agricultural land preserved for community benefit forever

• Increased food production and beginning farmers

• Entrepreneurship and workforce development opportunities

• Affordable housing access and models

• Sustainable models for energy, waste, and water management

Can you give 5 minutes to help?

Without matching funds commitments and community support, we have little chance of winning this investment for our island!

• MAKE A PLEDGE: If everyone receiving this newsletter pledged $85, we’d meet our total matching funds goal! Help us to show that the community wants this project - Make a Pledge Here - just a promise of support if grant is awarded. Any amount helps!

• WRITE A SUPPORT LETTER: We know everyone canʻt afford to give, but support letters from the community strengthen our application. If you’d be willing to write a letter, you can use THIS TEMPLATE and email it to us!

• SHARE THE STORY: Forward this email to a friend who can help. Share our social media posts. Ask your employer to make a pledge or write a letter. Rally your friends. Every bit makes a difference!

• TIME IS SHORT:  Please help us reach our goal by this Friday, August 30th! We’ll share the outcome with you by mid-September.

Help us make the most of this opportunity to create real entrepreneurship opportunities for aspiring and beginning farmers!

With hope for the future,

Megan Fox
Executive Director

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What is the ‘ĀINA Center?

It’s been MK’s dream for years to create an agricultural park where our local youth and beginning farmers can thrive and live on the land while they build their businesses. 

A place where we can combine our ag internships and minority farmer/rancher assistance program, and add a layer of support that can project our local youth & young adults interested in ag towards owning their own farmlands.

A place that not only locks acres of land on our island in ag in perpetuity (aka forever), but de-risks agricultural housing as a model for the state so that large land owners can see that it can work to allow farmers to live on the land they steward.

And we need it - currently only 4% of our island’s primary farm owners are under 35 and 10% Kanaka Maoli or other Pacific Islander. It’s time we farm farmers.

Agricultural lands are disappearing to development and many of the ones left are in risky flood zone areas - as we saw during 2018’s flooding disaster. Let’s lock in some mauka lands for our future.

Land access, cost of living, inequitable systems and so many other challenges prevent us from increasing our food production, and are not being significantly addressed. We believe the ‘ĀINA Center will.

Should we receive this grant, the 22-acre historic cattle plantation would be redesigned into an Agricultural Incubation N Acceleration hub featuring:

- Production Farm Plots
- Agroforestry & Conservation Areas
- Dormitory & Tiny Home Farmer Housing
- Shared Equipment
- FSMA-Compliant Processing & Storage
- Agribusiness Development Services Center

The plan has been in the works for years, and with your help we could create the reality!

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Donate

Help us to continue our community-based work by making a tax-deductible donation. You can specify the program(s) or project(s) you'd like your donations to go to!

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