Farm expands opportunities for immigrant and refugee farmers - EUROPE SAYS
Community leaders, elected officials and immigrant farmers gathered at the North Shore Friday to bless Pacific Gateway Center’s new 80-acre Haleiwa farm, celebrating a project they say will strengthen. . .
Community leaders, elected officials and immigrant farmers gathered at the North Shore Friday to bless Pacific Gateway Center’s new 80-acre Haleiwa farm, celebrating a project they say will strengthen Hawaii’s food security while creating economic opportunities for refugees, immigrants and survivors of human trafficking. The ceremony marked a milestone in Pacific Gateway Center’s “Growing Roots: Aloha Aina, Aloha Ohana” campaign and the official blessing of PGC Farms Haleiwa, a site developed in partnership with Kamehameha Schools. The farm provides participants with access to land, technical assistance and business development resources aimed at helping them establish sustainable agricultural enterprises. For Bonorath “Bo” Bory, Pacific Gateway Center’s agricultural program director and an immigrant refugee from Cambodia, the celebration represented the continuation of a journey that began more than a decade ago. “Our journey to this moment began years ago in Kunia, where Pacific Gateway Center started a small farm program to help immigrant families, refugees and survivors of human trafficking rebuild their lives through agriculture,” Bory told attendees. “What began as a place of healing and opportunity grew into a community of farmers learning to cultivate the land, build businesses and help feed Hawaii. ”The program provided participants with access to farmland while connecting them with business development, technical assistance and other support needed to establish independent farming operations and generate income. That original Kunia initiative eventually grew to support dozens of farmers before its lease expired, prompting Pacific Gateway Center to search for a new home. After years of planning and negotiations, the organization partnered with Kamehameha Schools to establish its expanded operation in Haleiwa. Bory emphasized that while the land itself is significant, the project’s true focus is the people working it. He described participants who come from different countries, cultures and life experiences. Some work alongside spouses or children. Some carry generations of farming knowledge from their homelands, while others are planting crops for the first time. Some arrived in Hawaii seeking opportunity, while others came as refugees searching for a fresh start or as survivors rebuilding their lives after hardship. “Their stories are all unique, but they are unified in a common purpose to grow food, provide for their families, and help feed the people and communities of Hawaii,” Bory said. Executive Director Matthew Johnson said Pacific Gateway Center was able to access the Haleiwa property last summer and spent months preparing the land before the first eight farmers officially moved onto their plots in December. “We started with our first cohort of farmers who officially were able to get onto the land in December, and they were already having their first harvest by February,” Johnson said. “We just assumed that it was going to take longer. We learned and saw that if we’re able to help these farmers get on the land and take care of all the other things around farming, these guys can farm … they just need that support. ”The organization currently has about 20 acres under cultivation but plans to prepare an additional 60 acres by clearing land and installing irrigation infrastructure. Johnson said a second cohort of approximately 10 farmers is expected to join the project in the coming months. In the long term, Pacific Gateway Center hopes to help participating farmers access a variety of markets, from restaurants and food hubs to institutional buyers such as the state Department of Education and Kamehameha Schools. The need for local food production remains pressing in Hawaii, where roughly 90% of food is imported, leaving the islands vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and rising costs. Organizers say many immigrant and refugee families possess generations of agricultural expertise but often lack affordable farmland and the resources needed to establish businesses. Among those taking advantage of the opportunity is 53-year-old Gigi Reynolds, originally from Thailand. Reynolds said she returned to Thailand in 1999 before eventually becoming interested in farming after watching a close friend work in agriculture. She began farming in Hawaii in 2007 and spent five years cultivating long beans and chili peppers in Mililani. Now settled into her new plot in Haleiwa, she has already planted green beans, chili peppers, sweet peppers, green onions and parsley, with plans to add okra and pumpkin. Although she acknowledged that farm work is physically demanding and often leaves her with back pain, Reynolds said she genuinely enjoys it and values the friendships that have formed among the growers. She described farmers helping one another harvest crops and said she looks forward to seeing her own vegetables mature in the coming months. Friday’s blessing was originally scheduled for March but had to be postponed because of Kona-low storms that impacted communities across Hawaii. The event featured both traditional Hawaiian and Buddhist blessings, reflecting the diverse cultural backgrounds represented within the farming community. U. S. Rep. Jill Tokuda reflected on Hawaii’s plantation history and her own family’s story, saying opportunities created through agriculture helped make her path to Congress possible. “What you’ve got here is a pathway to opportunity for generations beyond yourselves to be able to grow and live and put down roots in this wonderful place that we all call home,” Tokuda said. She contrasted the project with political divisions she sees in Washington, D. C. , describing the Haleiwa farm as an example of “the American dream” in action, where people from different backgrounds work together to build stronger communities. Felea‘i Tau Lobendahn, executive coordinator for the Office of the Governor and an immigrant herself, praised Pacific Gateway Center’s role assisting communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Maui wildfires. Looking across the fields, she said the landscape reminded her of home and called the organization’s investment in immigrant families an embodiment of its mission. Honolulu City Council member Matt Weyer said supporting agriculture has become increasingly important as farmers face mounting challenges from economic uncertainty, climate impacts and food insecurity. He called the Haleiwa project “a shining example” of how partnerships can strengthen both local agriculture and Hawaii’s commitment to welcoming refugee and immigrant communities. For Bory, however, the farm’s greatest value lies not only in the acres being cultivated but in the people tending them every day. “They work in the sun and the rain, they prepare the soil, plant the seeds and care for each harvest,” he said. “Because for them, farming is more than a livelihood, it’s a connection to family, culture, community and the land itself. ”