The Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative along with the Kona Coffee and Tea Co., Miss Kona Coffee, Miss Aloha Hawaii and many others from the Kona coffee industry planted 500 keiki coffee trees May 15 on the slope of Mauna Kea.
The Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative along with the Kona Coffee and Tea Co., Miss Kona Coffee, Miss Aloha Hawaii and many others from the Kona coffee industry planted 500 keiki coffee trees May 15 on the slope of Mauna Kea.
The Kona Coffee and Tea Co. formed an alliance with the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative to plant the coffee trees on a historic site which was once a majestic koa forest and the personal property of King Kamehameha I.
It is the intent of the HLRI to return this tropical forest to its former glory. KCTC hopes to perpetuate the growth of coffee with the addition of the coffee trees to this new way of sustainable reforestation.
“Our mission is to not only restore Hawaii’s endemic forests, but to provide landowners with real world revenue-producing solutions that support the forest as well as the families who care for them,” said Jeffrey A Dunster, HLRI executive director. “Our association with KCTC was established to create a working model of food forest innovation where coffee can be an integral component and provide additional revenue streams for forest owners.”
“This is a truly exciting venture for us as a company and as stewards of the aina,” said Malia Bolton, chief operating officer of KCTC.
The Kona Coffee and Tea Co., founded by owners Jan and Dan Bolton in 1997, is a family-run company that prides itself on the “farm to cup experience.”