Led by Common Ground's Agroecology team, the first portion of the tour begins with a discussion of the urgent need to transform the destructive practices of industrial agriculture into regenerative solutions. It then leads to a walk through his multi-story agroforestry design which incorporates multi-species grazing. An exploration of this food forest will reveal a symphony of relationships between Hawaiian favorites such as ʻulu, kava, and taro, Amazon rainforest specimens, annual vegetables, mushrooms, egg-laying chickens, and dairy cows. All of these diverse elements are woven together into a resilient agricultural ecosystem, a snapshot of what the farm of the future could look like.
Farm tours at Common Ground
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To Book an Upcoming Tour Please visit our Farm & Food Experience Page.
Common Ground’s Farm Tour cannot simply be described as a walk around the farm. It is not just a visual experience, nor a lecture. It is an experience of smell, touch, introspection. It is the sound of rushing water at the Stone Dam, built in 1880. It is a scavenger hunt on Kauaʻi agricultural land for canoe crops first propagated here hundreds of years ago by Polynesian explorers. It is the observation of harmony between plant, animal and fungal elements. It is the taste of an exquisitely crafted farm-to-table meal. An immersion for mind and body, the Common Ground Farm Tour is an experience of interconnectedness.
After the walk through the food forest the tour proceeds to the kitchen lanai with a discussion about the importance of supporting the local food system while on Kauaʻi and specifically how visitors of the islands can bolster this work. After so much talk about farming and food, we a enjoy farm-to-table family style meal . With the Food is harvested from the farm and prepared fresh for the tour, menu includes a tropical fruit tasting with in-season fruit (Currently featuring mango, papaya, surinam cherry, cara cara orange, guava, pomelo) and a Roasted rosemary farm raised chicken with Ulu (breadfruit), farm greens. Meyer lemon and ginger blossom lemonade.
Arrive before the tour to walk to Stone Dam, just beyond the gates of the CG campus. Experience the Plantation-era of Kauaʻi and the sugar industry which drove development and infrastructure and forever changed the island. Common Ground Kauai was part of the Kilauea Sugar Plantation and Guava Plantation, Guava Kai. Upon reaching the dam, take a pause and a collective breath and honor the practice of entering a space with reverence. Hawaiian canoe crops are thriving in this area; keep an eye out to find them. Native and endemic plants are vital for a healthy ecosystem in Hawaiʻi. Because of the extreme isolation of the islands, 90% of Hawaiian plants are found nowhere else in the world. Join in a conversation about why Hawaiʻi is referred to as the “Endangered Species Capital of the World.”
For those looking to connect deeper with Kauai. Not focused on a single crop like popular Kauai Chocolate Tours, Common Ground’s farm tours is an activity lends to a greater understanding. Not only of the ecosystem and food systems of Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi at large, but also extend a vision of interconnectedness between humans and our planet that any person, local or tourist, will take home with them.
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A True Kauai Experience-With a Bigger Purpose
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