Young Farmer Mentorship Program
Pilot Program Overview 2025-26
Reflecting on an Incredible Start: Our 2026 First Year Highlights!
The first year of the Young Farmer Mentorship Program has been an exciting success, far exceeding our expectations and planting the seeds for a bright future in Hawaiʻi agriculture. We were overwhelmed by the incredible community response, receiving over 20 applications in our very first round. A clear sign of the growing hunger for hands on food system education.
From this talented pool, we successfully launched three dedicated mentor mentee pairs spanning the island from Kona to Pāhoa, creating a network of learning that touched both sides of the island. Under the guidance of highly established local farmers, our participants gained high value, real world skills, bridging the gap between traditional wisdom and modern food production.
Luana, one of our mentees, shared what she learned from the program: “One of the biggest things Mike (her mentor) taught me was patience. It all takes a lot of work. People that don’t do things like this (pruning for example), don’t realize how much work it all takes. I would get frustrated at the ‘ulu trees, but I try to remind myself that this is beneficial to the trees, beneficial to putting food on our plates, and beneficial for ALL the work I’m doing.”
Our other mentee, Tearii, shared that he “learned how to build a good friendship” through the program. The experience also helped him realize his long term goals: “I want to keep working in agriculture. It inspired me to want to keep teaching future generations how to survive off the land.'”
We couldn’t be prouder of the growth we’ve seen from this pilot, and we are excited to keep this momentum moving forward.
Britton and Tearii pose beside a fence after completing a joint inspection. Here, Tearii gained hands-on experience identifying weak spots and learning how to repair them.
Luana pruning one of the various ‘Ulu trees on Mike’s farm. This work took many hours, and Mike was always there to show her the way.
Tearii is tending to the Kalo patch, just one of his various tasks while working at Britton’s farm. Clearing weeds was one of the important jobs that showed him that the hard work never ends!
Mike always spent time showing his mentees everything about the farm. Here we were shown the importance of pruning branches before the tree gets too big.
Manu was able to learn from his mentor Ricky all about transplanting during their time together. The hands on experience has given him true insights into all the steps of successfully transplanting samplings.
Manu tended to his own dedicated project on the Bolton farm: working with Kalo!
***2026-2027 APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN IN OCTOBER 2026***
By connecting generations, we’re keeping Hawai‘i’s agricultural knowledge alive and empowering young people to build meaningful careers that care for the ʻāina and their community. Join us in growing the future of local farming!
About Kohala Coast Community Fund (formally known as Koi Pond Bridges)
Kohala Coast Community Fund is a hui of people who love Hawai’i Island and gather to explore economic, environmental, and social issues that affect quality of life for all who live here. Motivated by a sense of gratitude for our island community, they foster collaboration between the private and public sector in advancing opportunities via workforce development. These organizations provide young residents in-depth training, mentorship, and exposure to career paths, enabling them to pursue high-value jobs on-island.
Kohala Coast Community Fund has generously awarded The Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative & GoFarm Hawaiʻi the funding to coordinate this project to help ensure Hawaiʻi island farming knowledge can be passed down to those who need it.
