Olana Organic Farm is a fertile 3 acre permaculture farm dedicated to building sustainable tropical agricultural systems on a human scale.
Since 2001, our team has continually transformed the land from its previous life as a pasture to a productive tropical farm. We grow many fruits in our tropical orchards both exotic and common varieties, as well as vegetables of all kinds throughout the year.
Located on the beautiful north shore of the Garden Island of Kaua’i, our farm is close to many of the island’s favorite locations yet still feels far enough away. Our rural neighborhood is a few miles from the community of Kilauea in the Waipake ahupua’a. We are a short walk from the beach surrounded by beautiful mountains.
We serve our community by selling our produce, honey and other products at a weekly farmer’s market in our nearby community of Kilauea. We also contribute by training our interns and volunteers to become farmers and gardeners themselves.
The Mission of Olana Farm
At Olana Farm, we strive to create and nurture a place of abundant beauty where gardens, gardeners and lovers of life can come together to manifest our shared vision.
We honor the natural world through sensitive land stewardship, sustainable living practices, and exploring the healing power of plants and nature.
In service to this mission we grow an abundance of high quality organic food for the farm residents and the Kaua’i community. Through growing and marketing a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, honey and other products we are inspired to help people connect with the source and beauty of food and plant allies used for self-healing.
By hosting interns and volunteers we are also growing farmers and gardeners by expanding the wisdom of connecting people to the source of their food.
In our view, this is a vital act of bringing health and balance back to our families, communities, and Mother Earth.
What does
OLANA
mean?
Many people ask what Olana means. The Hawaiian word “Ola” means life or health. Borrowing liberally from this tradition we coined the name Olana to mean exuberant, healthy life. Olana Organic Farm is a place to enjoy the exuberance of life in a tropical, Hawaiian setting.
Meet the Founder
Tim O’Connor — also known as Jiva — grew up on a small farm in Southern Oregon raising livestock and growing gardens with his family. While at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington he further expanded his knowledge of natural and organic agriculture while working and studying at the on-campus farm.
After college he became deeply involved in the natural foods movement in Olympia and Portland, Oregon where he raised his family. In work with various non-profit and other organizations, he has worked to promote food security and awareness. Throughout his life on the mainland, Tim kept his hands dirty by growing urban gardens.
In 2001, he and his former partner, Catherine Downey, purchased a small piece of land on the island of Kauai, started planning fruit trees and building a home. Moving to Kauai full time in 2005, Tim has continued to plant seeds and nurture his passion for growing and marketing fresh garden vegetables, tropical fruit, and herbs.
Welcoming the help of interns over the years, he has taught many people how to successfully grow and market food. Tim has been known to say it is the many hands over the years that have made Olana Organic Farm the beautiful and abundant farm it is today.
