Aspiring farmers in Maui County have a chance to become the next generation of growers. For the 12th year, the Hawaiʻi Farmers Union is offering its Farm Apprentice Mentorship Program. It’s a seven-month opportunity to learn both in the classroom and in the field.
The opportunity runs January through June.
“It's over seven months, and all of our instructors are farmers or ag professionals,” Program Director Sara Gilligan told HPR. “So there's 45 different farmers that are paid for their time to come into the classroom on Thursday evenings, and then on Saturdays, we go out to their farm and learn hands-on.”
There are paid apprenticeships with a mentor farmer, and graduates can use a stipend they earn toward their own farms. They also earn a certificate from University of Hawaiʻi Maui College when they complete the program.
“There's a lot of information out there, but it's not really localized to Hawai’i, or Maui specifically,” said Gilligan. “So when you are a part of the FAM program, you're learning from people who are farming right here and have been for quite a while. So they can tell you not only how to get the local resources to make your farm happen, but also they can talk about things that they've been through and how they see it as a farmer here.”
The Farm Apprentice Mentorship Program accepts 20 farmers from Maui and five each from Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi. But Gilligan said the Molokaʻi program is expanding and had eight participants last year.
"The FAM program has increased my motivation to think longer term rather than short term," Haunani Madela, a program graduate from Hoʻolehua, Molokaʻi, said in a press release. "My vision for my farm is set on a small scale due to my living circumstances and the access I have to farm land but I have learned small skills I can do in preparation for my bigger vision once I am ready."
In its 12 years, the program has graduated more than 250 participants.
“It's a huge community of farmers who are all rooting for more farmers,” said Gilligan.
Applications are open now until Oct. 15, and you can learn more here.
