What a tour, what a group. 11 total because we invited the African Gold Coast native's driver to join the group. She was a guest at the Four Seasons Wailea and graced us with her regal charms and perspective. Farmers from Vancouver expressed a lot of interest and knowledge in the field- like state of the art wind powered Osprey decoys. The tour was progressing with some powerful synergy when a genuine scandal erupted. In the process of bringing wine up to the picnic grounds, chilling and serving, a bottle of wine went mysteriously missing when it came time to sit down and enjoy lunch. They claimed emphatically that they had given it to the tour guide down in the parking lot- an observation that was seconded, and apparently confirmed by the two ladies… but the tour guide had no recollection of such. Despite the standard quip “I can be trusted with wine- only because I have my own”, it looked to everyone that the tour guide had misplaced or mis appropriated the bottle. Five witnesses had placed it in my hands putting it in the truck, but it could not be found. “I hope you enjoy it” was one guest's comment.
Ever want to get away? It looked bad. The tour guide was dumbfounded and struggled to make sense of the missing bottle. Excruciating painful and embarrassing. The whole group was weighing in on the controversy. Finally as everyone was leaving, a guest told me that he had solved the mystery by finding the bottle in his backpack. There it was, all along.

Today was a standard tour on the small side with no surprises. All of the guests arrived on time, and eager to begin. The tour consisted of nine people in four groups. There was one newlywed couple, an older couple from California, a couple from Washington, and a group of three from California. The tour began very quietly, but livened up a little once we met up with chef Sean for pastries. There was a lot of fun asking questions, and showing an interest for new information. The rest of the group seemed satisfied with the normal description of things on the farm. Back at the picnic area everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal. After lunch the guests gave the chef and tour guide a round of applause. Most of the guests departed right away, but one group stayed for a few minutes and purchased some spice rub. This was another successful tour with satisfied customers.

We finally got nailed with our limited infrastructure. We knew there might be rain and so proceeded at a quickening pace being careful not to short change the overall tour experience. Just as the gathering tour was rapping (11:58 am) down came precisely an inch of rain in the next half hour. We really had to shuffle to keep everyone dry. Under these conditions only 12 to 14 place settings were sheltered even on the main table, with heavy rain pouring in on both sides and flooding underneath the table. 7 guests had to hastily be relocated in the kitchen (were the buffet was) and a couple people just elected to stand in a dry area while eating. Water was flooding into the kitchen area as well and chef had to build a make-do board walk to keep from getting muddy. The tour guide was using an umbrella to escort guests from the buffet line to the lunch table and got soaked in the process. Many in the rather quiet and benign group seemed mildly irritated yet politely tolerant. A few lingered and enjoyed. Craig Nalette of Lahaina News was back with his buddy Guy, and distinguished part time resident and Molokai Ag land owner Kerri Lether seemed to take it all in stride.

Wednesday April 22. Earth Day open house. There was a slow but steady stream of guests all day that totaled around 70 overall. Tours at the top of every hour averaged about 10 to 12 people and were handled by all the field laborers who did a fine job- even part time high school student Devin! Traffic in the picnic grounds pleasantly light with guest chefs Murph covering for Sean and Sunanda with vegan dishes. Theo was there too with organic chicken eggs. The weather cooperated and it was a fine day for mostly local people to see our operation, and more importantly, meet our proprietors. Events at the Aina Gourmet and restaurants were followed up on by the farm manager and all executed quite well in the spirit of the event: to advocate wise stewardship of local resources and a sustainable local food supply that benefits the local people and economy. Could be a nice annual event for us.

Today’s tour was easy going, with one child a baby and two dogs. All of the guests arrived on time this morning, and they were eager to get started. There was a local group here celebrating a birthday. They come for a tour every year, but they also brought their dogs. We did not allow the dogs in the garden; however, they did sit at the table while everyone was eating. This provoked the question should we allow dogs on the property. Maybe we could allow them but require that they stay down in the parking area. The tour flowed very smoothly. Most of the guest were home gardeners, so they had many questions for me. We made several stops throughout the farm to sample a variety of fruits and vegetables. At the picnic area the guests had many questions about food preparation and the restaurants. Chef Sean gladly answered all of the questions, and served a wonderful lunch. The guest enjoyed their lunch while taking in the scenery of the farm. By one-thirty all parties had expressed their thanks and departed.

Very uneventful group of only 4 guests. The tour guide started them out and chef Sean finished with the gathering tour through the gardens and lunch. At least one shared his experience of growing up on a small farm in Mass. Auntie (who brought along her niece from Kihei) had an unusual request: she wanted a bagful of our farm soil to take with her. Sean obliged but it sparked an interesting discussion amongst the staff about how appropriate such a request is. We get some strange requests from time to time; like, “where’s the Maui Wowee?” but this one was different. Despite the low numbers, a full and complete tour was executed. They got their monies worth, and then some- a bagful of the farms very essence, which is priceless.

April and May are “jumping into action” months for the preparation and planting of summer crops. Now that we’re more diverse than ever, this means making room out in the fields for many different crops and getting to work. Weeds and pests are at their seasonal peak as well. May Day (mid point of spring and summer) is our solar marker for getting it all done. Despite a modest 1.4 inches of rain for the month, classic spring- time conditions prevailed in the misting forest, with cool temperatures and plenty of fog and mist and dew. A fine glass of Volnay is known to smell of a “dewy garden”

Pretty standard group of 12, this time a predominantly senior crowd with 2 younger couples from B.C. A very light rain slowly intensified during the course of the tour so things kept rolling along. Not to skimp under any circumstances, a full gathering tour was executed but with only 4 people sticking it out to the end. Lunch was served and enjoyed with some specialty vegetarian items that were consumed by the non vegetarians. Chef Sean has a multitude of stories concerning the unpredictable behavior of buffet type diners- often it’s a free for all and every person for themselves. The couple from New Mexico kept the focus on nutrition as it related to liver ailments and kept up a lively discussion. The Mrs. took a liking to Sunanda and invited her to farm for them in N.M. Altogether a subdued crowd on a rainy day.

18 total guests today with three families. The children, ranging from 5 yrs to 13, were all very sweet and well behaved, especially two shy girls who were encouraged by the group to pick away in the gardens, and away they did. Plus, Myra, being the youngest, had honors of ringing the lunch bell…ever so softly. With us was Craig who works for the Lahaina News. He said he wanted to experience the tour as a guest before writing about us. There was a lot of interest in our new market: the Aina Gourmet.

Production. It’s refreshing, encouraging, and rewarding to know you can out perform previous years (seasons) results…nearly across the board. Credit is given to a more intimate relation to the land, more expertise, and a vastly improved farm staff of committed professionals. Huge difference!

We are partnering with the Pacific Whale Foundation in their “Volunteers on Vacation” program to host volunteer labor once a week at O’o. Director of Education at P.W.F. Merrill Kaufman is heading up the program at the farm. They are also working with State and Government agencies to preserve Maui’s protected lands in places like Haleakala and the coastal reefs.

There was a large contingent of Washington State folk in our group of 16 today. There were two families with rambunctious but well behaved boys that gave the tour that holiday family get together feel, with a lot of rough housing and ball playing and running around all areas of the farm with the grandparents in tow also taking it all in. Even so, there was a lot of interest and questions, which today seemed to focus on nutrition and, who would have expected from this group…biodynamics. The couple from Alaska started it, and the group as a whole took the ball and ran with it, exploring the subject in much detail. I think too that bringing the group to where the harvest was being staged and somewhat fleecing the boxes for some specialty items for their lunch was a bonus they greatly appreciated. Nothing has ever made so much of an impact as involving the group in the farm harvest and sharing the bounty with them. There was that true moment of magic, like opening gifts on Christmas.

Another solid tour that swelled from 13 to 18 in the final moments before getting underway- good solid crowd too. The party from Colorado were giving us the once over and asking peculiar type questions about our materials and infrastructure. We get many parties that do this because they want to do something similar and use our farm as a model. There was a lot of picture taking and videotape too. A professor joined us who travels to Columbia every year to work with students in agriculture- including coffee. You know we get a lot interest in our coffee growing and roasting- it’s a real draw. Finally, one family was having so much fun, the Mrs. joined Sunanda out in the field and helped pull weeds, while Mr. and son helped clean up- they did not want to leave!