Nearly 75 acres of land near Hilo have been set aside in perpetuity for agriculture.
That land is at the heart of O.K. Farms, which has been operated by the Keolanui ʻohana for over two decades.
O.K. Farms started in 2002 as a partnership between landowner Ed Olson and Troy Keolanui, and the farm's name derives from each of their initials.
When Ed Olson died in 2024, the Olson Trust offered to sell the land to Troy Keolanui and his family at a "slight discount," according to Keolanui. But the cost was still prohibitive.
"This land — in Hawaiʻi in general — but specifically this land right above Hilo, Hawaiʻi is very expensive land," he said.
Keolanui expected that he would have to lease the farm he spent 23 years building from a new private buyer.
"That would have been a hard pill to swallow, to say the least," he said.
But Hawaiʻi Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land stepped in to help Keolanui preserve three parcels at the center of O.K. Farms through a conservation easement.
Under the new easement, the Keolanui ʻohana agreed to limit uses of the land to agricultural activities in perpetuity. The value of that easement will help Keolanui and his family offset the costs of purchasing the land.
"Without HILT and TPL coming in to assist us in this purchase of this conservation easement, we would not have been able to secure these three parcels," Keolanui said.
The groups worked to raise more than $1.6 million for the conservation easement to help keep the farm in the Keolanui family's name.
"We were about to lose this land. I can't say enough about what's been done," Keolanui said.
O.K. Farms cultivates a range of crops, including tropical fruit, coffee, macadamia nuts, and heart of palm. The farm is hosting its third annual agroforestry festival for the public on Aug. 9.
