Foundational Tenets

Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative Purpose, Mission, Vision and Values

Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative (HUC) was founded as a grassroots organization by nine farmers on Hawaiʻi Island who aligned around a larger purpose of strengthening Hawaiʻi’s food security and the viability of farming in the islands. As the cooperative continues to expand in terms of membership size, geographic area, and market reach, articulating our foundational tenets will anchor our future actions in the ideals defined by our original intentions and goals. 

Mission: To revitalize breadfruit as a viable crop and dietary staple by empowering farmers as changemakers in Hawaiʻi’s food system.

  • ʻUlu is a keystone species for Hawaiʻi’s food system resilience in the past, present and future; as one of the only staple food crops on Earth to grow on trees, this indigenous starch plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and ensuring our islands’ abundance and prosperity for generations to come.
  • We maintain a varied base of commodities to allow our member-owners the opportunity to have a diverse farm operation and multiple streams of income. Diversification should maximize synergies with existing capabilities and minimize pulling the cooperative’s focus in too many directions. 
  • As a marketing cooperative, providing added value through processing of our farmers’ raw agricultural products is a key benefit the cooperative offers its farmer-members. To this end, we maintain infrastructure in processing and invest wisely in capital projects that safeguard the cooperative, while leveraging partnerships that offer strategic advantages to the cooperative and its members.

Vision: A thriving cooperative that sustains and uplifts producers, consumers and society as a whole.

    • Our employees and farmers are empowered to help build a successful cooperative for all.
    • We are an innovative, mission-based business. We believe in the strength of collective wisdom through continuous improvement, transparency, and inclusivity. None of us is as smart as all of us. 
    • We must run a sound business with good business practices and good customer service that responds to consumer demand. A mission or vision is not viable unless it can be transformed into a viable business. 
    • Our diversity is our strength, both among membership (our farmers have between 1 and nearly 1,000 trees and got into farming for many different reasons) and among our employees, partners and customers. In accepting our differences and our flaws we are able to work together to serve our common mission.
    • We will keep growing as long as we are consistent with our mission.

Values:

  • Mālama ‘āina, mālama kanaka – to care for the land using diversified agroforestry practices and to care for the community by prioritizing local food security and access.
  • ‘Ike maoli – to respect true knowledge, both from the traditional cultures that have spread breadfruit throughout the Pacific, and from modern scientists and practitioners who seek to apply new information and technologies to make the world a better place.
  • Hoʻoulu – to revitalize appreciation for and consumption of breadfruit as an incredible staple crop with tremendous nutritional benefits, ecosystem services, and culinary versatility.
  • Alo a he alo – to approach all human relationships with openness and respect, working to resolve conflicts through honest discussion or hoʻoponopono whether they arise within the cooperative or outside it.
  • Pupukahi i holomua – to unite in order to progress, recognizing that none of us are as smart as all of us. 

Purpose: We exist to restore Hawaiʻi’s food sovereignty.

  • Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture system; it prioritizes local economies and empowers family farmer-driven agriculture (The International Forum on Food Sovereignty, 2007).
  • We are inspired by the food systems built by Native Hawaiians over generations to be abundant and in balance with the islands’ natural resource base.
  • The resilience of Hawaiʻi’s food system rests on the long-term viability and health of its island farms.
  • Building a system that works for farmers, requires farmers to hold a seat at the table, with a voice equal to that of other food system stakeholders. 
  • Our diverse farmer base represents our community across many demographics and the co-op works to support all farmer’s needs equally.
  • Sustainability is at the center of all we do; this starts with caring for the Earth but also encompasses economic sustainability for both the cooperative and the farmers we serve.

Co-op business philosophy:

Member-owners:
  • We build our supply chain around our farmers
  • Members patronize the co-op through their expertise, hard work, and quality that lies within the products they provide. The co-op distributes its earnings back to patrons when there are profits to be shared. 
  • One member one vote.
  • Farmer pay price is based on farmer-set target prices designed to be sustainable and stable. It is our intent to be competitive on a farm gate basis, while recognizing that the target price concept is subjective and no pay-price can serve all farmers equally. 
Business operations:
  • There is a dynamic relationship between farmer-members and the business/employees which keeps the cooperative balanced and effective. 
  • While farmers provide high quality agricultural products, equity, and governance, employees run the day-to-day operations of the business according to the mission and Board directives. 
  • The cooperative Board is a governance board that relies on input from employees and advisors, including both members and nonmembers.
  • Trust in the goodness and good intent of each other is the foundation upon which the cooperative is built. On top of that is sharing common goals, then learning to communicate while minimizing rules and controls. (This is also known as Gibb’s triangle for managing an institution.)
Strategic approach:
  • We are a learning organization continuously striving to do our best, learn from our mistakes, and always have good intent. We welcome jokes and lightheartedness as a tool to help people speak truthfully but not offensively.
  • Diverse sales streams are key to building a strong market base for farmer-members; the 3 principal components for our cooperative are retail packaged products, bulk products, and ingredient sales. 
  • We cooperate with competitors because we know that we need help developing Hawai’i’s local food sector and “a rising tide floats all boats.”
Farmer value statement:

As Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative farmers, we represent a diverse, sustainably minded, and forward thinking group of growers dedicated to strengthening Hawaiʻi’s food security and building a more resilient food system that works for all.

  • We provide sustainably produced food with an emphasis on diversified practices that regenerate our islands’ natural resources.
  • Membership in the cooperative is a privilege. In addition to satisfying HUC policies, members are evaluated on their cooperative attitude and production integrity.
  • Farmers and employees each bring something unique and vital to the cooperative. We recognize our mutual interdependence and pledge to work together in harmony to serve the organization’s mission. 
Employee value statement:

As Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative employees, we represent the support system for our growers and we are committed to positively engaging with our members, partners, and community at large in order to advance the mission of the organization.

  • Employees create added value that provides economic stability and critical market share to the farmers.
  • Empower HUC’s farmer-members to be successful in producing high quality, sustainable food.
  • Engage positively with our partners and community to increase awareness of the importance of our purpose and mission.
  • Increase the operational efficiency and capabilities of the cooperative in order to expand membership and production, remain economically viable, and ensure the continued presence of the co-op as a leader in the local food system.
  • Employees are creative, energized self-starters who offer solutions and are positively motivated by the work and mission of the cooperative; we continuously strive to improve our performance, are accountable to ourselves and each other, value every team member, and communicate clearly and constructively while remaining open to learning new things and being challenged each day.
  • Employees co-create the co-op workplace environment as an efficient, mission-driven space with open communication among all stakeholders, effective collaboration, and fair compensation. Co-op employees are motivated by a shared purpose and supported to grow personally and professionally.