KAHUMANA MANDALA GARDEN
Kahumana Dry Land Integrated Agriculture/Aquaculture System
What began in 1974 as a compassionate service oriented intentional community grew into a residential facility for helping individuals and families who are disenfranchised, disabled and/or dispossessed. After they outgrew their Makiki base, they built the facilities at Kahumana with a largely volunteer crew. The garden and farm has grown and changed dramatically with subsequent new owners and decision makers.
The half-acre Kahumana Mandala Garden is a developing, model integrated agricultural/aquaculture system master plan in Waianae, Hawai’i, on the leeward side of the island of Oahu. The garden design therefore has many unique features applicable to the dry land tropics. The garden will be a special one for many more reasons: the integration of agriculture, art, and small-scale aquaculture, maximum plant diversity, and brilliant color harmonies that satisfied Paul’s wish to have every color of the rainbow (‘chop suey landscaping’) and Calley’s practice of separating out harmonious color blends.
The design is singular in its potential as a community educational research and teaching model of a permanent, multistoried, productive, sustainable, residential agriculture; its potential for high food production in a small space; its labor intensive quality of horticulture over machine maintenance, and the subsequent energy, water, and soil-conserving measures; organic techniques for soil building in a seaside environment; and finally, its design aesthetics, color harmonies, and integration. Read more...
Email: Calley@CalleyO'Neill.com
Kona Freshwater Products was an integrative aquaculture/agriculture small farm master plan Calley created in concert with aquaculturist/author Dr. Barry A. Costa-Pierce. The plan was based on the integration of beauty and utility, productivity and a semi-tropical vertical forest model designed for easy maintenance. The strategy rested heavily on tree crops, including citrus, a papaya, banana, and avocado orchard, spice trees, native plants and trees, Hawaiian staples such as kalo and sweet potatoes, a wide variety of tropical food bearing plants, vines, and shrubs, bamboo, and native koa trees, ground covers, massed bedding plants, food bearing aquatic plants, and fish species.
KONA FRESHWATER PRODUCTS
KAHUMANA MANDALA GARDEN
The word Kahumana means guardians of the spirit in Hawaiian. The heart of the Kahumana Community is expressed in their mission.
Our mission is
to co-create a healthy, inclusive and productive farm-based community with homeless families, people with disabilities and youth.
We accomplish this through the practice of
Mindfulness (maka’ala)
Empathy (aloha)
Working together (lokahi).
The way we care for the most vulnerable members of our society
determines our mark as a people and a nation.
Art and Soul for the Earth
Big Island of Hawai'i
