Aloha and  Welcome to LEAF Project Hawaii !

NEXT MEETING OF THE  LEAF PROJECT WORKING TASK FORCE AND HAWAII FOOD  SUSTAINABILITY COALITION  ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 AT 4:00 PM 

LEAF PROJECT CREATING FOOD SYSTEMS OAHU  SUMMER CONFERENCE  WAS  AN  OVERWHELMING  SUCCESS!!! BIG MAHALO TO ALL OF OUR PARTICIPANTS, SPEAKERS, ATTENDEES AND SUPPORTERS!!! Special thanks to KEY Project for providing such a beautiful and comfortable  location  for the conference to be held. Special thanks to Styrophobia for providing all the compostable serving ware for the food and drinks.   Special thanks to Shawn Steiman for providing all the fresh coffee throught the day.

LEAF Project Hawaii is a  community-based  ‘green’ nonprofit organization, which aims to create Food Systems that connect at-risk populations with affordable, nutritious food, and enable them to grow their own food wherever possible.  As you visit us here, please ask yourself, what part can I play to help free my community from hunger and poverty?   

If you know of some vacant land that could  serve as a community garden or  some available farmland, please let us know.     If you are also an experienced gardener or farmer join our  “Aina Corps”   training team.   We look forward to hearing from you!

LEAF Project Volunteers Needed

Currently we need experienced gardeners, administrative, and fundraising experts who really want to make a big difference. The homeless and low-income population’s food problem is best solved by creating community gardens and partnering with farmers where they can be trained to grow food. If you have special areas of expertise and would like to help be part of this wonderful initiative, contact us with your qualifications and particular interest. Thank you very much!

Note:  If you run into any problems with the dropdown menu, you can access all the webpages at,   SITE MAP

Become a partner in solving hunger and poverty now!

OUR PURPOSE

“Solving hunger and poverty one garden,
one farm, one ahupua’a at a time”

LEAF stands for Laulima Eco-friendly Alliance of Farms. Laulima is a Hawaiian word that means  collective hands working together or cooperation. In this spirit of cooperation  LEAF strives to connect communities with the aina’s (land’s) abundant  wealth of natural resources and natural beauty in order to alleviate poverty.

LEAF is committed to create model self-sufficient communiities in Hawaii where at-risk populations are empowered through gardening and  farming the land to guarantee food security and general well-being for everyone.

 LEAF aims to introduce youth and families at risk, as well as ’working homeless’ to ecologically-minded gardening and farming to the end that they get proper nourishment, and also earn a living wage.

 LEAF also serves the still active elderly as kupuna/ teachers or engages them in some aspect of growing as horticulture therapy. 

LEAF’s aim is to use natural and healthy organic methods to reduce poverty and hunger with one green stroke.

There are several model projects LEAF emulates, diverse, yet similar in focus and values.

Hartford Food System in Connecticut . HFS directs its efforts at  four major food system components: production, distribution, education and training, and public policy. 

Homeless Garden has been recognized as a MODEL PROGRAM by World Hunger Year, a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty.

 Lettuce Links is an urban agricultural project that provides fresh, organic produce, vegetable seeds, and gardening information to low income families throughout Seattle.

One other inspiring model is called Putting Down Roots, which employs homeless, by developing their gardening skills, whereby they create beautiful green spaces all over the city!

See this Homeless Gardeners video for an example of this style of project in London. 

Other LEAF models, include Kaala Farms and Key Project on Oahu and Waipa Foundation on Kauai , all of which are excellent samples of Native Hawaiian Cultural Learning Centers and proper care of their ahupua’a.

“Where there is land, seed, sunshine, water, and compassion, there is the ability to grow food.This simple solution is just waiting to become a reality. What is the difficulty? The splendor of a seed sprouting into delicious life-sustaining food, is nothing short of a miracle, and that miracle must be shared with everyone, if we can even be considered compassionate human beings. It is very sad to see nations fighting over land rights, oil rights, and now over seed rights. This senseless quarelling must stop, and progressive visionaries must come together, laulima, and plant and cultivate seeds of hope, love and trust for the benefit of every living creature, for the survival of the earth.” D.A. Santistevan

Contact us today and become part of the soul, in soul-ution!

The support of the community  will always  be our biggest  asset  as  we grow in strength and assets as a contributor to a stronger healthier agriculturally-rich society,  at the same time serving our at-risk population.

Donate today to LEAF Project Hawaii!   Your donation is tax deductible.

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